Cheque bounced over 2 months after 'clearing'.

muddy

Hi
We paid in a cheque given to us over 2 months ago. It appeared to have cleared and we were very surprised to see that over 2 months later the funds have been reclaimed from our account.

Queries to Cahoot (our bank) say that it is unusual but occasionally happens. I notice the cheque and the letter sent with the returned cheque both are dated 19th March so why has it taken Cahoot 2 months to realise that the funds were not cleared.

Having investigated on the internet it would seem that cheques never really clear and in cases of fraud they can be reclaimed at any time. However this seems to be an error on Cahoot's part. Any suggestions on what to do now? We are £150 poorer as a result.

hollydays

My bank told me it can happen within a 6 month period.Have you got any name and address details?

muddy

We know the name and address of the person who wrote the cheque. This is another (long) story. Basically we paid this bloke a deposit for carpentry work which he never did. He gave us 3 postdated cheques to cover the deposit - First cheque cleared ok, next cheque bounced after 2 months, third cheque bounced after 4 days!

jonesMUFCforever

To my mind this is not fraud just a bank trying it on to save itself money.
Ask for documentary proof of when and where the cheque was originally debited and why it has taken them 2 months to advise you.

It could also be that Cahoot your bank has only just ''found'' the letter that was indeed posted in March and therefore I would be asking them to compensate you for their error to the tune of £150.

Something definately not right in what they have told you.

Dylanwing

What was the reason for the cheque bouncing? Was it fraud or lack of funds?

soolin

Unfortunately cheques can bounce for months and this is barely ever publicised, often even bank staff are not aware of this. However, from November this year this sytem will be tightened up and this shouldn't happen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6144756.stm

muddy

Thanks Soolin - I had also read about this change happening - too late for us I fear. The Halifax - which is the cheque writers bank, wouldn't disclose details of his account - but didn't mention anything about fraud. I suspect he just doesn't have the money in the account.