Tracing a cheque and recepient

Goldiegirl

You can ask for a copy of the cheque (the might be a fee). Make sure you ask for a copy of the back and front of the cheque, as, on the back there is processing information printed on the back which often shows the sorting code and account number that the cheque was paid into.

From the limited information made available by the OP, it appears that a close family member has fraudulently written out a cheque and paid it into their account.

If it's that close a family member, it'd be fairly easy to find their bank statements and check the sort code and account number on the statements...if it matched, you have your culprit.

But if you didn't write out this cheque anyway, I wouldn't bother with all this cloak and dagger stuff - I'd just report a fraudulent transaction on my account and let the bank ( and the police) deal with it

InsideInsurance

Up until a few years ago it was possible to ask for a copy of a cheque to be produced. On the reverse of it there is additional information that was added as it went through the clearing process including ultimately the sort code and account number of where it was paid into.

Now that its possible to "pay in a cheque" by digital photo (at least with Barclays) I dont know what the equivalent is and if it impacts all cheques or just those using the new tech.

Who is the owner of that account number/ sort code will be much more difficult to trace unless it happens to be a large company who publish it

brokennotbent

OK thank you all. Don't know if it would be Barclays or not, and yes it is/was a close family member, how you think I can check their bank statements I don't know. The person in question has "disappeared" and, I know they're in a desperate situation, so angry/worried etc etc.

molerat

If you believe that you did not write that cheque just report it to your bank as stolen. That is the only way you stand any chance of getting your money back.You either report it and let them suffer the consequences or forget about it.

brokennotbent

molerat, I understand where you're coming from but, given I have background story that you don't, hence trying to " think out loud the scenarios" here, I don't want to open a can of s***y worms without a rough idea where it might end xx

Candyapple

brokennotbent wrote: »

OK thank you all. Don't know if it would be Barclays or not, and yes it is/was a close family member, how you think I can check their bank statements I don't know. The person in question has "disappeared" and, I know they're in a desperate situation, so angry/worried etc etc.

How long ago was it cashed?

Was it for a large sum? If yes, is it an amount of money you can write off?

From your posts I am guessing that this person is at risk of harming themselves(?) and you don’t want to make the situation worse by involving police etc. and pushing them over the edge.

brokennotbent

Candyapple, as I said its complicated which is why I'm both angry and worried. It was a large sum for me and I don't want to get the police involved but I do want to find them.

agrinnall

Have you actually asked Santander what they can provide you with? If they can't give you an image of the cheque then perhaps a Subject Access Request (see Obtaining a copy of your information) would give you transaction information that would at least identify the account it was paid into, which might give you some leverage to recovering it from the guilty person.

brokennotbent

Ok again this is "complicated" and despite the financial loss, it's the personal loss that's impossible to put a price on. So "leverage to recover from the guilty person" is less of concern than just tracking down the guilty person without having the police, fraud squad etc involved.

xylophone

A close family member stole a cheque from your chequebook, made it out to himself, cashed it and has now disappeared?
No other family member or friend knows his whereabouts?