Santander - cheque paid in - how long til I can withdraw? (HAVE read T&Cs)

matttye

Hi

Today I deposited a £4.2k cheque at Santander (over the counter). According to the literature on the Santander website I should be able to withdraw the money by Friday and be sure it won't bounce by next Wednesday (it definitely won't as it's a cheque from my own ISA).

The lady on the counter told me it will probably take "a few extra days" to clear because it's a high amount. Does anybody know what she's talking about?

The only thing I can find is:

https://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/StaticBS?ssbinary=true&blobkey=id&SSURIsscontext=Satellite+Server&blobcol=urldata&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobwhere=1314015790831&SSURIsession=false&blobheadervalue2=inline%3Bfilename%3D317%5C941%5CBANK0457MAR14HT_acrobat+7.pdf&SSURIapptype=BlobServer&blobtable=MungoBlobs&SSURIcontainer=Default&blobheadername1=content-type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition#satellitefragment&maxage=3600

"The timescales given in this table are only a
general guide as to when we aim to make
funds available to you. The time it takes
us to process cheques in a currency other
than sterling will vary. Separate conditions
apply to paying in foreign currency cheques.
Please ask a member of staff in our branch
for details."

The table itself confirms that if a cheque is paid in Monday, it should start earning interest on Wednesday, be able to withdraw on Friday and be sure it won't bounce by the following Wednesday.

I can't see anything about higher amounts delaying the process.

Would be grateful for any comments.

Thanks

innovate

£4.2K won't take any longer to clear than £500 or £9.7K.

matttye

innovate wrote: »

£4.2K won't take any longer to clear than £500 or £9.7K.

I thought that when she said it but thought she must know what she's talking about... guess she was talking out of her rear end.

Thanks!

reclusive46

Actually there is such a thing as extended clearing. Sometimes a bank will want to wait a bit longer for the funds to be available.

innovate

Never heard of that but I am very happy to learn. Have you got a link for the extended clearing, reclusive46?

matttye

reclusive46 wrote: »

Actually there is such a thing as extended clearing. Sometimes a bank will want to wait a bit longer for the funds to be available.

Any idea about the criteria and how much longer it can take?

It's annoying because I had the option of a cheque or paying £30 for them to transfer it using a faster payment and I'm supposed to be using the money on Friday. :mad:

Will just have to put it back if it hasn't cleared by then.

reclusive46

innovate wrote: »

Never heard of that but I am very happy to learn. Have you got a link for the extended clearing, reclusive46?

It seems to be mainly be a Santander thing. I've had a look but can't really find a huge amount about it. If you google Santander extended clearing you'll see a lot of people complaining about it.

henm2

Cheque clearance across the UK banking industry for all UK cheques follows the 2 4 6 rule as per the link below
http://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/resources/faqs/2-4-6_cheque_clearing_timescales/

After 2 days you earn interest (if your account pays credit interest)
After 4 days usually can withdraw cash
After 6 days cheque counts as definitely being paid except for cases of fraud.

BMN

matttye wrote: »

Any idea about the criteria and how much longer it can take?

It's annoying because I had the option of a cheque or paying £30 for them to transfer it using a faster payment and I'm supposed to be using the money on Friday. :mad:

Will just have to put it back if it hasn't cleared by then.

You *probably* won't have anything to worry about.

The criteria would be for large amounts. It's a way of managing risk, i.e. to stop people from depositing a high value cheque, withdrawing all the funds when the amount becomes available after 4 days and then just clearing off when the cheques bounces.

Archi_Bald

reclusive46 wrote: »

It seems to be mainly be a Santander thing. I've had a look but can't really find a huge amount about it. If you google Santander extended clearing you'll see a lot of people complaining about it.

That sounds like a bunch of not very well informed people having vents?

dktreesea

matttye wrote: »

Any idea about the criteria and how much longer it can take?

It's annoying because I had the option of a cheque or paying £30 for them to transfer it using a faster payment and I'm supposed to be using the money on Friday. :mad:

Will just have to put it back if it hasn't cleared by then.

Am I missing something were? When I want money out of my isa, I just do it over the automated service, over the phone, as a transfer - and it's free. Why would Santander want to charge you £30?