Cheque lost in sorting process by my bank after 9 months!

giovanna1

My banks has just sent me a letter explaining that a cheque of £799 I paid in 9 months ago has been lost in their sorting process. They also enclosed me another letter for me to sign instructing them to contact the people who gave me that cheque and issue me with another one. I do happen to remember who gave me that cheque 9 months ago and it was actually a bankers draft from another bank. Can my bank lose a bankers draft in their sorting process and why are they asking me to sign something if they lost the cheque and why has it taken so long? I'm concerned that if I do sign this document I am agreeing to their terms and exhonerating them from losing the cheque in their sorting system. Can anyone help or suggest anything please?

custardy

free bump,no idea but hopefully someone will

pitkin2020

out of interest did you actually receive the amount of £799 to your account balance (i.e spendable) ??

stclair

I wonder how after 9 months they have discovered its lost?

giovanna1

Yes, I did receive the £799 as spendable. If my bank were to deduct the £799 now then it will put me into overdraft. I don't understand why 9 months later they have discovered this? I could of had a baby during that time? The bank which gave me the £799 is a high street bank and the bank I deposited the £799 is also a large high street bank so there's no dodgy overseas transfer thing going on.

pitkin2020

you need to get down to the bank and sort this out with a manager.
I would be asking why if the cheque has been lost was it cashed into your account, and how they can now 9 months later deem it as being lost, cheques go through a cashing process where its sent to the bank that administered the cheque for clearing, so it obvioulsy made it to its destination or it wouldn't have cleared??

Ivory_Tinkler

Did you pay the cheque in over the counter OP? If you did then you will have a stamped paying in slip that will prove that the bank received the cheque. I would have thought as long as you can provide this proof then the fact that they lost it after you deposited it into their care should be their problem and not yours! If the funds were credited to your account then they must have had it in their possession for it to have run through the clearing system.

As others have said, get yourself down to your bank to sort this out and make the manager there do some ringing round to find out what went wrong.

giovanna1

Yes, I paid the cheque over the counter but when cheques usually clear I throw away the deposit slip after a couple of months so I don't build up a stash.

Pitkin2020 when you say "cheques go through a cashing process where its sent to the bank that administered the cheque for clearing", do you mean that the bank who administered the cheque could have lost it then or held onto it without honoring the payment? It maybe worth my while contacting the bank who sent me the cheque in the first place then to see why they have held it up? The cheque was part of a mortgage account which I had shut down so I havn't got any proof of that cheque being sent to me in the first place which may be difficult to track down.

pitkin2020

basically if i were to pay you a cheque, you pay it into your bank account, your bank will then send the cheque to my bank by post for them to authorise the payment, so if the funds cleared into your account i would say pretty confidently that the bank of the person who sent you the cheque cleared/authorised the payment, why all of a sudden they are saying the cheque is lost is the odd part, especially after such a long time.

Really you need to get down the bank and find out the ins and outs, they cant really cash it then 9 months later decide not to honour it because they have lost the cheque, if they weren't going to honour it then it should have been taken back/bounced immedietly

pitkin2020

thats fine, but what if they refuse to issue another one??? like i said i would speak with the bank and find out what is likely to happen in the event they refuse to issue another cheque

valos_mummy

A bankers draft is a bit different from a cheque in that the funds are taken out of the account straight away. So when the other party (who gave you the £799 draft) had the draft from their bank the £799 would have been debited from the account before draft was issued. In this way, bankers drafts are more reliable than cheques because you know the money has already come out of their account so it won't be bouncing when you pay it into yours. Although many people don't use them as there is a charge for issuing. They're usually used when large amounts of money are involved.

So I'm a bit confused that the bank is asking you to instruct them to contact the payers for another one; because the money would have left their account already. Their bank, however, should have a record of the draft (amount of draft, date, who it was payable to).

Maybe contact your bank and double check what they intend to do; they may just need to check the details of the draft from the other bank. And also clear up with them that they won't be debiting your account in the meantime.


edit: Ah. Just double read, it was from a mortgage company and not an individual person going to their local branch and asking for a bankers draft to be issued. Still, if it's a draft and not a cheque the money should have debited their accounts already. I'd still go with what everyone else has said and get in contact with your bank before you sign anything.