Someone just cashed a cheque I wrote seven years on

octopusinkink

Hi all,


Just logged in to my banking app to pay rent and noticed a chunk came out of my account today which was from a cheque, which immediately freaked me out as I haven't written a cheque in years. I called the fraud team at the bank who are saying it was cashed by a guy I used to share a house with in uni and is dated 2010, and that they wouldn't be doing anything for me as it's up to me to get the money back in the civil courts.
We did used to pay each other with cheques for household bills, but as far as I was aware we were all settled up when we left the house (in fact I had to chase him for months for leftover electric bills but I did eventually get it). Now I feel like the bank should actually give me the money back since approving a cheque more than six years old seems like a mistake on their part. Am I in the right? I'm willing to bet he doesn't have any records of what that money was for and just found it in some old papers, so I'm tempted to reactivate my Facebook account just to demand he pays me back via Paypal or something.

agrinnall

The bank have made an error in accepting a cheque that old, and a formal complaint may result in a few quid goodwill payment, but I doubt if they are going to repay you, and I doubt even more if the payee will return the money as you were quite happy to pay it to him 7 years ago - in fact, you've had a 7 year interest free loan from him, maybe you should write to thank him.

worried_jim

Give him a call and see what he says.

[Deleted User]

octopusinkink wrote: »

Am I in the right?

No. It seems cheques don't have an expiry date.

http://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/information-hub/faqs/cheques-and-cheque-clearing

Kernel_Sanders

I expect the payee changed the 0 to a 6 in the date. How much was it for? There's a good chance this cheque has been found by someone else, who might have managed to open a bank a/c in the payee's name. Then, having a payment taken that you thought you'd got away with will be the least of your worries.

octopusinkink

I just found out he did the same thing to another housemate who also got spooked and had a long talk with his anti-fraud team this morning, so now I'm positive it was this guy and he just had them lying around in a folder somewhere. Pretty annoying behavior but he was always quite odd.

qsk

Did you sign the cheque? If so, you admitted you owe him the money. He might forget to collect the debt then but it is not unreasonable to collect it now.
If you did not sign the cheque, it is fraud.

badger09

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

I expect the payee changed the 0 to a 6 in the date. How much was it for? There's a good chance this cheque has been found by someone else, who might have managed to open a bank a/c in your name. Then, having a payment taken that you thought you'd got away with will be the least of your worries.

I think changing the 0 to a 6 is a possible explanation, but how on earth would opening an account in OP's name help?

OP wrote the cheque, he/she was the payer, not the payee:cool:

mt99

that link does indeed say that cheques have a normal expiry date of 6 months but that can be extended at the discretion of the bank. however it also says the statute of limitations means a debt cannot be paid after 6 years as I understand it so maybe if it was 7 years ago then that cheque is no longer presentablr as the debt does not exist. In any case no matter what the circumstances 7 years is still a ridiculously long time ago for the cheque to be allowed by the bank and in my opinion the bank is at fault

[Deleted User]

mt99 wrote: »

it also says the statute of limitations means a debt cannot be paid after 6 years

A debt CAN be paid after 6 years. It's just enforcing it which is the issue.

However, that problem goes away if he already has your payment.

jonesMUFCforever

OP you don't state what the amount of the cheque was but it would seem to me that you owed him the money (or why would you write him a cheque?) so if you did not want the bank to honour it it would have been up to you to place a stop on the cheque.
Only cheques over £1000 are checked for anything these days.