Cheque received in error - can I keep it?

NickWarren_2

After reading all of the previous posts I feel that I can strongly say that this is not a case of illegality, as the cheque was delivered to the OP's address and the cheque in his name, it is not as if he has obtained the money fraudulently or by deception, it is simply a case of do they notice the error if it indeed was an error, and also Morality.

As previous posters have suggested I too would have banked the cheque and left it for 28 days to see if I was contacted regarding it. If you hear nothing it is then just a case of do you feel comfortable keeping the money? given the problems you say you had before I can honestly say I would be!

geordie_joe

Tozer wrote: »

They can't get the cheque back, but they can say to you "you owe us several hundred quid that we paid you in error. Cough up."

Or to put it another way, they can say "We sent you a piece of paper, now you have to pay us several hundred pounds for that piece of paper"

I can't believe the number of people, not the Tozer post I quoted above, who assume the cheque was sent in error!

We do NOT know it was sent in error. We DO know the OP is not sure, they have doubts, but also have a reasonable reason why it may be a legitimate payment.

In my mind the question is not what someone should do with a cheque sent in error, but what someone should do when they have been sent a cheque which they banked, because they had reason to believe it was a legit payment, but now have doubts about it.

Should they just keep the money and hope it was either a legit payment or that if it was a mistake the company does not realise their mistake.

Or do they ring the company and ask, running the risk of the company saying "yes, it was a mistake and we want the money back"

little_miss_moneysaver_3

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

I can almost guarantee you that this is a cheque fraud.
You were silly indeed in paying it in.
The scam works like this - you pay it in - it goes through clearing cycle and may be some time before accounts dept. of drawer chases this up with their bank and debits your account back (2-4-6 does not apply when there has been fraud on clearing cycle).
Next part of scam is that you will either get a phone call or e-mail saying it has all been a mistake and that could you please return the money to them - you do so using your own cheque.
You surely have worked out the rest - original cheque bounces back so you are now down by amount you refunded - as you paid cheque in bank may think you are a party to the fraud.

Just wanted to ask, how will the big comany get his personal bank details? I didn't know that the bank would release those details to companies. And if it is for a fraud attempt. Surely as the one getting ripped off he is the victim of fraud not a party in it.

Personally I would cash it and like others have said put it into a high interest account and think of it as an early Christmas present :rotfl:

zulubabe

Working in Accounts Payable of a big company I know how easy it is for mistakes like this to occur (If it is a mistake).

We have found invoices which we have paid 2x and often not for a couple of years. All we do is call the company or individual up & ask for the money back. Its not seen as theft or anything like that. I would do what one of the other posters said. Put it in a high interest savings account and then if they do ask for it back at least you've had some benefit from it!

Biggles

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

The scam works like this - you pay it in - it goes through clearing cycle and may be some time before accounts dept. of drawer chases this up with their bank and debits your account back (2-4-6 does not apply when there has been fraud on clearing cycle).

No, the only time '2-4-6' clearing doesn't apply if is the recipient is 'a knowing party to fraud'. That can hardly apply if the whole point of the setup is to scam him.

Tozer

little_miss_moneysaver wrote: »

Just wanted to ask, how will the big comany get his personal bank details? I didn't know that the bank would release those details to companies. And if it is for a fraud attempt. Surely as the one getting ripped off he is the victim of fraud not a party in it.

Personally I would cash it and like others have said put it into a high interest account and think of it as an early Christmas present :rotfl:

Why would they need his bank account? They would write and say cough up. If the OP didn't cough up then they would be well within their rights to sue to recover the money.

Vomityspice

Surely the OP knows that there may be a problem otherwise why would they post a question?

The simple answer would be to ring the issuing company and ask about the cheque, but it would seem that the OP doesn't want to do this as it risks that the money may need to be returned.

This is covered by the Fraud Act 2006. Just remember the banks have very good legal advice and would likely be able to have the monies returned.

You do know what you need to do, you just don't want to do it! Thats not a legal defense.....

LittleVoice

little_miss_moneysaver wrote: »

Just wanted to ask, how will the big comany get his personal bank details? I didn't know that the bank would release those details to companies. And if it is for a fraud attempt. Surely as the one getting ripped off he is the victim of fraud not a party in it.

Personally I would cash it and like others have said put it into a high interest account and think of it as an early Christmas present :rotfl:

The scam works on timing. The scammers don't need the bank details - though they would get them from a cheque sent by the scammed.

However, with ordinary post and cheque clearance times, this isn't really going to work. What works is an immediate request for a refund and payment by Western Union which can't be recalled. Not likely in the OP's case!

However - if the cheque is in payment for an article then the OP needs to include it in their tax return for the year ending 5 April 2009. Time enough for the original company to get in touch if it were an error and needed retrieving - and obviously then removed from tax records and no need to pay tax or NI on it.