Is it true that issuing banks wont honour a cheque after 6 months

themissingdigit

I just had a £7.50 cheque from royal mail (nat west) sent back to to me as its 3 days past 6 months. I've  not been to the branch since march because of covid. Anyway after making a complaint, they assure me it is not them rejecting it to be awkward, but rejecting it because it wont be paid by nat west. does that sound right? & if so why not put the expiration date on it or this cheque will expire in 6 months from this date.

eskbanker

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.

Wrights2k20

I used to work for Lloyds Banking Group and as a cashier it was our policy in the branch i worked in that unless stated otherwise on the cheque we would not accept a cheque dated 6 months or older.  If we did we quite often got it rejected and a big email telling off from our clearing house to check the dates more carefully

Armorica

As the Cheque & Credit extract states, it is common practice not to pay a cheque after six months. You should seek a replacement and pay it in a little quicker. Your bank may be one of those that allows cheques to be paid in via image/mobile deposit and so wouldn't need a branch visit. 
The original issuer may want to place a stop on the original cheque - but I imagine the hassle will end up costing them more than the value of the cheque itself...

themissingdigit

eskbanker said:

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.

i mentioned that to nationwide. & they said the 6 years part is definitely not true & the issuing bank wont pay out on it as a matter of fact & so therefore not worth presenting. i just wondered if that was true as when googling i could not find that side of things

Time4T_Accounts

As former head of finance for a law firm, it was quite common for clients not to cash cheques returning ‘small’ amounts of their money to them. Some banks were keener than others to apply the so-called  6 month rule.  I took the view that it caused less work in the long run to formally cancel such cheques, and try to engage with the clients some other way to get their money back to them. It was also not uncommon for the banks to ‘pay’ cheques that were older than 6 months even where they had been formally cancelled.

Armorica

themissingdigit said:

eskbanker said:

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.

i mentioned that to nationwide. & they said the 6 years part is definitely not true & the issuing bank wont pay out on it as a matter of fact & so therefore not worth presenting. i just wondered if that was true as when googling i could not find that side of things

Nationwide are wrong. But it sounds like you may not have been precise in how you mentioned and so they may not have understood the question being asked, hence an unclear answer. To be clear, it is unusual for banks to pay a cheque more than six months after issuance - custom and practice is to return as out of date. Some will nevertheless go through. 

The six year part is a matter of legal fact. It doesn't mean the cheque itself will be cleared and paid. But the fact a cheque was issued in the first place can be used as evidence that there is a legal debt owed for up to six years. Even if the money is then paid another way or through a new cheque. This would rarely come into practice - as the guidance suggests, it tends to be used in the context of disputes over whether money is owed in the first place. And your legal claim would be on the issuer of the cheque, not their bank.

I'm confident eskbanker and myself are likely to have more expertise in this area than frontline bank and building society staff.

eskbanker

themissingdigit said:

eskbanker said:

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.

i mentioned that to nationwide. & they said the 6 years part is definitely not true & the issuing bank wont pay out on it as a matter of fact & so therefore not worth presenting. i just wondered if that was true as when googling i could not find that side of things

Nationwide themselves state that:

In-line with industry best practice, cheques that are paid into or written from your account are usually honoured for up to 6 months. However, although they’re honoured for up to 6 months, they’re legally valid for up to 6 years.

My interpretation of this is that they're recognising that, technically, old cheques are legal, but that their policy is that they won't honour them beyond six months, in accordance with the above quote that this is at the discretion of individual banks, i.e. being legal doesn't mean any obligation on a bank to process them.  Not dissimilar to the futile debate about whether postage stamps are technically legal tender but that's very different from finding places that would actually accept them as payment....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77807864/#Comment_77807864

p00hsticks

I've just paid in a cheque issued by the DVLA for a road tax refund, and it clearly states on the front that 'HM Paymaster General will pay the amount shown if this payable order is presented within 6 Months'

(their bold)

wmb194

p00hsticks said:

I've just paid in a cheque issued by the DVLA for a road tax refund, and it clearly states on the front that 'HM Paymaster General will pay the amount shown if this payable order is presented within 6 Months'

(their bold)

That sounds like a warrant rather than a cheque. Warrants will state how long they are valid for.

[Deleted User]

p00hsticks said:

I've just paid in a cheque issued by the DVLA for a road tax refund, and it clearly states on the front that 'HM Paymaster General will pay the amount shown if this payable order is presented within 6 Months'

(their bold)

Very impressive paying in a cheque that is 83 years old (road tax was finally abolished in 1937)!