Repaying loan From $ to £

Susan1942

I loaned my brother some money last week to help him out
He now wants to repay that money to me He lives in the US
We are both unsure of the best way to do this He would not use online banking If he sends me a cheque what charges would apply
Any advice would be appreciated
Also I sent him a cheque back in January I had dated 6/1/2015 It was refused dur to the way the date was written so he held on to it. He paid it into his band last week but the cheque has been returned It would be I assume due to it being over 6 months Do you know what happens to the money now It was for £300 I am deducting this off the money he owes me The amount he is repaying me is £1000
Advice would be appreciated Sue

forgotmyname

Depends on how fussy you are at getting every last penny from it or not overcharging him.

If you dont want him to overpay work it out to $1.56 to the £1, If you dont want to be out of pocket then $1.6 to the £1?

If it were me i wouldnt be bothered about the pennies and just charge the $1.56 and pay any currency fees myself if needed.

If you gave him £300 for ghis birthday then its likely to be small change compared to that unless it was for a large sum.

Susan1942

Thanks no it was not a large amount It was £1400 which I paid with my card to pay for a holiday for him The £300 was for his 70 th Birthday more than I would usually give
I have told him to hold on to the extra £100 and just pay back the £1000 Now the money he was waiting on has been cleared hence he wants to repay me
I feel a bit mean taking the money back BUT I have got 5 Grandchildren
How much are the bank likely to charge me and will that £300 just go back into my account Sue

D_M_E

It's a shame he will not do an online transfer as that would be the cheapest way to give you the money.


If he sends you a cheque then I would allow up to 5% of its value in fees and charges to cash it and expect a bit of change out of that, and also expect to wait about 2 weeks for the money to be credited to your account.


If he is writing and posting a cheque to you, why not suggest instead he goes to his bank and ask them to do a transfer from his account to yours - all he needs from you is your IBAN and SWIFT codes for your account and the amount to transfer - tell him to make sure the teller knows its pounds sterling and not dollars being transferred


Edit - if the cheque for £300 was returned, then it has not been cashed and the money should still be in your account, but I seem to remember that a cheque can be presented for payment up to 6 years after the date written on it, but I don't know if this still applies.

robatwork

You could use a currency transfer like Transferwise. It's not quite as safe as direct but you will get a better rate, and I have used them several times without any problems.

Herzlos

Can you use paypal? It shouldn't cost anything (beyond the exchange rate) if he loads an account from a debit card and sends it as a gift. I've bought stuff from the US using it, but never the other way round.

Susan1942

I think all too complicated for him I will just let him send me a cheque I would be happy to so it online but he is a technophobe
I don't want him to send me anything until I am sure that the cheque he has been given clears
He has been owed this money for 3+ years Somehow I have my doubts
Thank you all for your responses
Sue

Susan1942

I spoke to my bank this am and the cheque I wrote to my brother had never gone through my bank account. Don't know if the physical check will be returned or not but I assume so Should I have asked them to stop it just in case
I got IBAN and SWIFT CODE from them which apparently he can take to his bank He would need my sort code and my account no as well Should I try to get my brother to use this method ? Advice would be appreciated

Susan1942

I see that you have already told me to do this but thought it might be too complicated for him I will speak to him now that I have the information I require Thanks for that Sue

D_M_E

All you need is the IBAN and SWIFT code, you don't need to supply your account number and sort code as well, but if they are also being asked for, then supply them as well.


If you can persuade him to do it this way, then it seems the best - but not cheapest - way to do it.


£300 cheque - as it's not been cashed, I would ask the bank to put a stop on it to prevent anyone else cashing it - this will cost anything up to £10 (depending on which bank) but losing £10 is a LOT cheaper than losing £300.

Susan1942

Thanks for the information I do appreciate I am waiting to make sure the cheque given to him clears before I ask him to anyone