Do you accept cheques for large value items?

patchwork_cat

Hi
Do you accept cheques for large value items. I know that there is a therotical risk of a cheque bouncing after it has supposedly cleared, but is the risk slight or a well known risk?
I have an unconfirmed buyer that I am not prepared to risk on she has tried to pay me 3 times with paypal and I have explained why not half a dozen times. She now wants to pay by cheque am I being naive or paranoid to worry about the risks with a cheque.

tentickles666

how long is a peice of string? lol a cheque could bounce whatever the value

ask the buyer to write their guarantee number and limit on the back like they do in shops but obviously you would never send the item until the cheque had cleared anyway

i assume if a cheque bounced you would have to try and claim that money back from the buyer no idea if ebay would help you with that.... prob not as they will want you t use paypal next time...

soolin

Despite having had problems with cheques I do still accept them for large value items. I am not really comfortable with them though and am always cautious about checking them thoroughly before paying them in (I had one returned after 5 weeks for words and numbers not matching) and then making sure they clear for funds before I ship. I know I can't be 100% safe against a true out and out fraudster, but then nothing apart from a bank transfer is completely safe and a cheque is as good as anything else.

FloFlo

Ask them to do a bank transfer, safe for you and they won't have towait for it to clear.

thatgirlsam

ive never heard of a cheque bouncing AFTER it has cleared? is that possible then??

drc

thatgirlsam wrote: »

ive never heard of a cheque bouncing AFTER it has cleared? is that possible then??

I was told by my bank that no cheque is 100% safe since even if a cheque clears it can bounce at a much later date. I normally ask for cash on collection for large items or if they are expensive but small, a cheque or uncrossed postal order and wait for the cheque to clear before sending off item. Never do Paypal for expensive items.

jarrod1

http://www.psni.police.uk/index/advice_centre.htm

have a butchers at criminal cash back scam on this page

Tea3

Hi, I would tell them to pay via bank transfer or postal order (crossed must go into a bank, uncrossed can be cashed at post office straight away). Cheques can be reversed even once cleared and can take upto a week to 'clear' anyway resulting in a dispatch delay. Bank Transfer/BACS is much more secure and quicker - just a note, if you accept bacs from overseas buyers you may incur charges from your bank.

soolin

thatgirlsam wrote: »

ive never heard of a cheque bouncing AFTER it has cleared? is that possible then??

At the moment there are two sorts of cleared. Cleared for funds is when you can draw against a cheque, usually 3 or 4 working days, however cleared for fraud doesn't happen for months. I had a cheque recalled after 5 weeks as it was written incorrectly, and another called back at almost 2 weeks as there was a problem with the issuing bank it was something to do with the account signatory signing from the wrong cheque book or something similar. In both cases the cheque had been acccepted through the normal clearing but only recalled when the payer realised there was a problem.

This was all due to change in November this year when both clearing dates were going to be set at 6-8 working days, but I understand that this change has been put back a little.