Client's cheque bounced - the bank is charging me!

LarryGreg

I have a business account with HSBC and I recently received a letter from them telling me that a cheque I had paid into my account had bounced and that they were charging me £4 for this.

Now I've heard that if you write a cheque and it bounces, you, the drawer, will be charged for it, but this is the first time I've heard that the payee gets charged as well.

I haven't had a business account very long, but this seems to me to make running my business rather awkward. Do I ask the client for another cheque which may also bounce, therefore costing me another £4? Even if I ask the client to add the bank charge onto their bill, if the cheque bounces again, I'll still get another charge. If enough of this client's cheques bounce, the bank charges will outweigh the money the client owes me anyway.

Does anyone else have any experience with this?

dzug1

Yes it's quite common for banks to charge in these circumstances.

You can ask the client for the charge - but as you say there comes a point where it's obvious they cannot/won't pay anyway. It's just one more hazard of running a business

greyteam1959

Only £4.00........
Very lucky not to have been charged more !!
Thats one of the reasons that I stopped taking cheques in my business 3 years ago.

jonesMUFCforever

It is common for business accounts to have this T&C.

[Deleted User]

£4 is cheap compared to other accounts

LarryGreg

Thanks for your replies.

I guess I won't be storming into my branch and demanding to close my account.

pinkdalek

Like you the bank is a business, so charge your client for the inconvenience too.

Indecisionismymiddlename

I have never been charged by Lloyds for this despite it having happened numerous times over the last six or seven years.

Anyone who's given me a cheque has paid us in the end even if that's been via their credit card.

Sometimes the bank is asked (by my customer's bank) to re-present the cheque several times. This has never cost me money but has been a pain in terms of book keeping.