Out of date cheques

Manxman_in_exile

Hope this is the right board.


I've got a couple of out of date cheques I want to pay in. The cheques are two years old and were valid for six months. It's entirely my fault they've not been dealt with (:o). They're from a train company as a delay repay refund and they only add up to £26 (!).


Because they're past the six months my bank won't accept them over the counter.


It has been suggested to me (elsewhere on MSE) that I should simply deposit them via one of the ATM machines at my bank that accept cheques for paying in. The suggestion is that once they've been paid in it's more likely that these two low value cheques will go under the radar and be accepted.


Has anyone got a view as to whether this is likely to work or whether it'll simply cause more problems?


The worst case I can see is that I get a "Return to drawer" letter from my bank?


(I have tried getting the cheques reissued - which may cost more than their value! - but I'm having difficulty explaining to the TOC that they still owe me the money under the passenger's charter even though the cheques have expired. On principle I'm happy to argue the toss with them, but I'm tired of keeping on finding the cheques on my desk. )

born_again

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

Is it true that cheques are only valid for six months?
No. A cheque is valid for as long as the debt between the two parties (i.e. the person writing the cheque and the person they give it to) exists. In other words, cheques don’t have an expiry date. However, it is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the person who has written the cheque, in case the payment has been made another way or the cheque has been lost or stolen. This six-month timeframe is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques older than six months would automatically be rejected as the only definite way to cancel a cheque is for the person who wrote it to request that a stop be placed on it. If you have a cheque that you want to pay in that is more than six months old, your best course of action is to not pay it in and instead obtain a replacement from the person who gave it to you. Where there is a dispute, a cheque remains legally valid in order to provide proof of the existence of a debt for a period of six years, which is the Statute of Limitations.

Manxman_in_exile

born_again wrote: »

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

Thanks. In this case the two cheques state that they are only valid for six months, and my bank (Santander) won't accept them over the counter for this reason.


If I pay them in via ATM, do you foresee any problems? (I don't want to end up with some sort of charge from Santander if they reject them. I'm still arguing with the TOC that they need to be reissued - and thanks for you reference which suggests they should - but I don't particularly want to end up being charged an admin fee for the reissue either. Problem of my own making, I know).

badger09

No idea whether it would work or not, but could you try paying them into a different account using a mobile app?

I don't think Santander offer this yet, but not a lot lost if it doesn't work

Manxman_in_exile

In a bizarre coincidence my wife has just this afternoon received a "Refer to drawer" letter from one of her banks. Ironically it's a cheque she herself drew on one bank to pay into an account at another bank. She'd left it undated - surprised they accepted it in the bank.

elsien

I did the ATM pay in for an out of date cheque on the suggestion of the bank teller. It did work, although it was only 9 months old, not two years.

Manxman_in_exile

elsien wrote: »

I did the ATM pay in for an out of date cheque on the suggestion of the bank teller. It did work, although it was only 9 months old, not two years.

Thanks. I'm going to try it next week. I suspect it'll only be a problem if the TOC have actually put a stop on the cheque. I suppose it depends how often they review unpresented cheques in their suspense accounts. I suspect that after a couple of years they will have been stopped. But ON PRINCIPLE I don't want to pay fee to have them reissued! Even if it is my own stupid, lazy fault...


BTW, I must have made up the bit about the cheques stating only valid for 6 months. That doesn't appear anywhere.

Mistral001

See your bank manager. Remember them. They actually do exist. But hold on to the cheque until the bank accepts it.

If you do not get satisfaction from the bank manager, then as stated above get a replacement from the sender of the cheque. They will probably want the old cheque back before sending you a new one.

As has been said, if the bank refuses to honour the out-of-date cheque and the sender refuses to send you a new on, then the sender will still owe you the money up until 6 years after the date of the cheque. If the sender holds out, you will probably have to go to court to get it your money.