Charges for stopping lost (in post) cheque

djpuds

Hi,

I sent a cheque (payable to me) to my mortgage company. They never received it and told me just to cancel it and try again.

But when I contacted my bank (HSBC) they told me it would be £10 to stop the cheque. I queried this over the phone but was told unequivocally that this was an admin charge and was no way I'd get out of it. [They did say if it was a blank cheque I'd lost then it would be free as there was less chance of it being presented than one made out to me...??!]

So my questions are: 1) is there anything I can do about this? and 2) what are the other banks' policies on charging to cancel a lost completed cheque... so annoyed at this I'm ready to break 13 years' loyalty and go through the pain of moving current accounts!

Cheers,

Dave

stclair

Im sure on HSBCs policy however I know Natwest/RBS will cancel lost cheques for free.

Googleplex

Lloyds TSB charge £10 to stop a cheque, but they do say that they will do it for free if a cheque is lost or stolen.

callum9999

Moving current accounts is hardly a "pain". You just find a new bank, give them your old details, and they'll do virtually everything for you. Many will even pay you for it.

As to getting the fee waived, I can't see any exceptions on the website. Try and call them again and maybe you'll get lucky, but I wouldn't hold you hopes up.

GlamGirlie

Most banks charge for stopping cheques that have been written. It is usually free only if you have lost the chequebook.

HSBC's charge is detailed in their pricing leaflet and so you are unlikely to get the fee waived, especially as you were told about it at point of contact (i.e. as opposed to after the cheque had been stopped).

Sorry.

djpuds

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I should just pay the £10... and then get £125 cash back for moving my bank account!

pmduk

Next time send the cheque made payable to the recipient not yourself.

djpuds

I am the recipient.

zxspeccy

stclair wrote: »

Im sure on HSBCs policy however I know Natwest/RBS will cancel lost cheques for free.

Absolutely correct NatWest/RBS do not charge for stopping cheques that have been lost. The reason for this is that a lost cheque is unlikely to be presented for payment so other than marking the cheque details on your account, there is not much else for the bank to do. If you want to stop a cheque to stop someone from cashing it then the bank have to do a lot more work, hence the charge. The bank will need to dig the cheque out from it Clearing Department (once it has been presented for payment). It will then need to draft a letter to send back to the presenting bank (with the cheque enclosed), and advise them the cheque is being returned due to being stopped.

I thought most of the main banks followed this procedure so am surprised your bank is charging you. I would still query it with them.

lippy1923

Could you not have made the payment online instead of writting a cheque? If you can, maybe its something to think about in future.

Lovelyjoolz

djpuds wrote: »

I am the recipient.

If YOU are the recipient, then why on earth are you paying to stop the cheque???? It's the issuer who should be contacting the bank to stop the cheque THEY issued and they should pay the fee.

It's no skin off your nose if their cheque is lost is it?