Should I remind tradesman to cash my cheque?

Chunks

Another vote for following up with the tradesperson. He may have lost the cheque (and forgotton about it). In the shoes of the tradesperson, I would be grateful for the reminder.

If the cheque isn't cashed within six months of the date of issuance your bank will return it unpaid should it be presented after this time. You would still owe the money unless the debt becomes statute barred but let's not go there!

For £69, especially as the job was done well......

Jurassic_spark_2

As a self employed Electrician. I would be over the moon if you reminded me. He, like me is probably mad busy. If you did remind me, i'm sure that if you needed any further jobs doing. We could sort out (Mates rates). Or if it was only a very small job. A freebe. Which i have done in the recent past, and been give a lovely bottle of wine as a thankyou gesture. It's nice to be nice. You tend to have more friends and live a happier life.

jl_max_l41_p24

Two months to not cash a cheque for £69 is not necessarily a long time. It may be the tradesman is waiting for a couple of other people to pay him before he takes time out to visit a bank in working hours and pay in multiple cheques at once. Some people don't pay very quickly and you can find yourself waiting several months to get payment. In fact some customers make a point of waiting at least 30 days before they even think of making payment, then it has to be processed and come in the post by second class mail so two months to receive payment and then process it can be "normal".


If a tradesman is working in whole days for someone you have to remember that it will most likely, take a couple of hours to journey to a bank, queue up for absolutely ages to pay in and then return to his job. People complain when workmen disappear for hours on end for seemingly no good reason but visiting a bank is one of those occasions.




The other thing with business banking is that in the main, every payment into the account will attract a half of one percent charge with a minimum of 75p in some cases. With small value cheques it makes sense to group these together to cut down on overall bank charges. It also costs a similar amount to pay in cash so makes no difference banking wise whether payment is in cash or by cheque. You also pay a similar fee to withdraw both cash and cheques as business banking is not free in most cases.

elizabethhull

[QUOTE=Jurassic_spark;67398109_It's_nice_to_be_nice._You_tend_to_have_more_friends_and_live_a_happier_life.[/QUOTE]

If only more people thought this way......................

shropshirelady

Before retiring, I had a small business. I paid cheques in via the Post office and, on a couple of occasions, cheques didn't go into my bank account for weeks so must have been stuck in a drawer, or somewhere similar, either at the post office or the bank, for that time.

I'd have appreciated getting a 'phone call so that I could have chased up the bank.

Ebenezer_Screwj

Surely you expect to pay for the work done? I would remind him to present the cheque for payment, if he fails to do so in time, it is his loss.

Physicsfiend

Give him a quick call - you were pleased with his work - you may want to use him again.

It is the RIGHT thing to do - I bet he will appreciate it!
Be kind! and you will feel better.

If he doesn't deposit the cheque - then at least your conscience is clear.

Pmatt

I find it quite shocking that so many people are saying "its his problem not yours". If you are satisfied that he has provided you with good service please take the trouble to remind him to present the cheque to show that you value his time and effort. A small businessman has to do his work then go home and start processing his accounts and provide quotes to others. He will also be charged quite heftily by his bank to process a cheque and will have to take time out of the day to get to his bank. Why not offer him the option of a credit transfer into his account instead? He may appreciate that you are making things easier for him and he may be available if you need to use him again.

debbiesmum

What is happening to people these days - is honesty a thing of the past????

You have had work done, you were happy with the sum charged, at the very least you can phone the guy to bring to his attention that the cheque hasn't been cashed.

I have actually just made a similar phone call to someone I paid by cheque to alert him that it hadn't been cashed. and it was submitted the next day.

So few people use cheques these days, it's easy to see why it has been overlooked.

Pennylane

jayyar66 wrote: »

Given that so many people have problems finding good tradesmen they can trust, I'm completely shocked at the "it's his problem" attitude of some of the previous posters. As a self employed tradesman, I take great pride in the good working relationships that I have with all my customers, relationships that I have taken great care to nurture over the years. Please don't forget that in order to achieve this kind of working relationship, it is incumbent on both parties to make an effort.

I agree with this completely and am disappointed that so many people on here feel "it's his problem".

My DH is self employed and it works the other way too. Just before Xmas an elderly customer paid him for a job approx £100 but paid him in £20 notes instead of tenners! He went to sign her invoice as paid, counted the money and pointed it out to her and returned the extra money. This is not the first time this has happened either.

He's always busy and often in a mad rush trying to keep his customers happy and sometimes he has left an expensive tool or a torch in the house and remembered by the time he gets to next job which might be 20 miles away. Only very few customers have ever rung to tell him he left it behind.