Tracing an old cheque that we may not have had

nessy39

In a short paragraph, I have come across some paperwork from June 2005 indicating that I should have had a cheque for £1500. I have proof that it was banked from the company that issued it, but am having trouble because

a) HSBC say they cannot provide a bank statement prior to July 2005 which would prove that the cheque was made payable to me and banked by me.

b) Barclays say they cannot go back that far when I have requested a copy of the cheque.

Both enquiries were made in person at my local branch.

Can anyone give me definite ideas on whether they CAN do this for me? More so the actual cheque as this is the only way of proving it was made payable to me and not someone else!

InsideInsurance

If the issuer of the cheque says it was cashed they may be able to provide a copy of the cheque to you and the details on the back of the cheque from the clearing house will enable a bank to tell where it was paid into.

Obviously it was a long time ago and so it may no longer be possible and even if it is they may be charged by their bank for doing it and so probably would want you to cover it.

nessy39

I think it's pretty unlikely that the issuer copied the cheque. It all depends on Barclays having a copy.

InsideInsurance

No, it is part of the process, the original cheque goes back to the issuers bank and they store it (normally a scan these days rather than the physical piece of paper)

So the issuer can go to their bank and ask for a copy of the cheque, if it still exists - need to make sure they ask for both sides otherwise lazy banks just send the front which wouldnt help you trace where its been paid into.

nessy39

Thanks InsideInsurance, but will the copy only be at the branch or would there be a digital copy available elsewhere, ie would writing to Barclays HO help or would they just redirect me to the branch again?

InsideInsurance

It is the issuer that will need to contact their bank as it will be held against their bank account, due to Data Protection you obviously cant call and speak about their bank account.

Where and how it is kept probably varies by bank. Certainly a former banking client stored the scanned cheques centrally and so they were available at all branches instantly (though I cannot remember how long they kept them in the system before archiving them off)

nessy39

The cheque is from a wound-up pension scheme. There really is no-one to ask now. The person who got us proof of the cheque being cashed has left. Anyone reading this who works for Barclays?!!

jackyann

I was involved in a different situation, but it also involved demonstrating that a cheque had been cashed and by whom.
My enquiries led me to find out that records have to be available for 6 years, but can then be archived. The bank can refuse, or charge a great deal of money for finding them after so long.
We settled on me swearing an affidavit - although in the end, the other party accepted a formal, witnessed, letter. But it was a very different situation.

alanq

nessy39 wrote: »

The cheque is from a wound-up pension scheme. There really is no-one to ask now.

Could try getting in touch with The Pensions Advisory Service for advice about who to contact.

"The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) is an independent non-profit organisation that provides free information, advice and guidance on the whole spectrum of pensions, including state, company, personal and stakeholder schemes."
http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/

nessy39

The pension people forwarded my contributions back to the Trustees. They wrote the cheque and it was banked, so the actual pension people are no longer involved. All I can think (if we didn't bank it) is that it was made out to someone else and they banked it even though it would have been an unexpected gift!

agrinnall

It's not very clear from your post, is HSBC your bank, and that's where the account was that the cheque would have been paid into if it had come to you? If so, you can submit a Subject Access request to HSBC for all information relating to you, which will include all transactions done on your account. The most they can charge is £10.