Can you accidentally deposit a cheque into the wrong current account?

Astronought

A friend of mine is wary of receiving a cheque for a large amount as they are worried that the money could go astray if somehow when depositing the cheque at their local bank or building society that their account code or sort code is incorrectly entered onto the deposit slip or that these values are erroneously entered by the counter staff and not spotted.

Consequently they would prefer to receive the money via a series of online banking transfers (obviously they'd want a test payment to be done first and then they'd confirm that the payment had been received, before the full payment started to be paid). Note that they don't mind the fact that because of transfer limits that it would take several days for the full amount to arrive. However my friend is finding resistance to their request.

I'm pretty sure that a cheque should got through a series of checks to ensure it doesn't just get added to an account with a different name from what is on the cheque, but I did wonder what would happen if by some chance it did go to the wrong person.

Would the bank be liable because it was paid into an account with a different name, or would my friend be liable because they entered the details incorrectly or didn't spot that the counter staff had typed the wrong details in.

Nebulous2

What constitutes a large amount? 

Who is resisting their request? 

I may not have been in receipt of such large sums as your friend - the biggest sums I've had have been directly transferred to my bank account by my solicitor. 

However - I can't remember the last time I've used a paying in slip.

Any cheques I've paid in, in the last 30 years or so, I've given my debit card to the cashier, entered my pin and received a receipt. That way means I can't write the wrong details for anything, it is all encoded on my card. 

grumbler

Astronought said:

Would the bank be liable because it was paid into an account with a different name, or would my friend be liable because they entered the details incorrectly or didn't spot that the counter staff had typed the wrong details in.

The one who entered the details incorrectly will be liable. You don't have to check what details the counter staff typed, but I think no error is possible if you present your debit card and the computer reads and prints the details.

Astronought

Nebulous2 said:

What constitutes a large amount? 

It's got more than a few zeroes on it.

Nebulous2 said:
Who is resisting their request? 

Their ex-partner who they are not on great terms with.

Nebulous2 said:

I may not have been in receipt of such large sums as your friend - the biggest sums I've had have been directly transferred to my bank account by my solicitor. 

My friend would be quite happy for that to happen, but the money is not coming from a solicitor.

Nebulous2 said:

However - I can't remember the last time I've used a paying in slip.

Any cheques I've paid in, in the last 30 years or so, I've given my debit card to the cashier, entered my pin and received a receipt. That way means I can't write the wrong details for anything, it is all encoded on my card. 

I've not had to pay many cheques in, but I've always filled in a deposit slip and from talking to my friend that's what they've always done and hence why they are concerned. Do all banks and building societies allow you to use a debit card?

grumbler said:

Astronought said:

Would the bank be liable because it was paid into an account with a different name, or would my friend be liable because they entered the details incorrectly or didn't spot that the counter staff had typed the wrong details in.

The one who entered the details incorrectly will be liable. You don't have to check what details the counter staff typed, but I think no error is possible if you present your debit card and the computer reads and prints the details.

As above, I wasn't aware that using a debit card was a common option at banks and building societies.

badmemory

The banks & PO seem to prefer the use of the debit card & it makes errors of the sort you are worried about much less likely.  Perhaps if you gave the bak concerned we may be able to set your mind at rest.

MDMD

Which bank are they paying into? The only one that uses paying in slips is HSBC but I even then you can request preprinted ones. Or change to a bank that uses the debit card approach ( all LBG brands, NatWest, Nationwide off the top f my head)

xylophone

CHAPS payment?

XzavierWalnut

I recently paid 2 cheques into a Halifax account, and the cashier showed me how to pay cheques in using the banks app, so no need to even go into the bank in future.

northwalesd

XzavierWalnut said:

I recently paid 2 cheques into a Halifax account, and the cashier showed me how to pay cheques in using the banks app, so no need to even go into the bank in future.

If the sum has 'more than a few zeroes', even Halifax's generous £5000 cheque limit is unlikely to cut it.

p00hsticks

XzavierWalnut said:

I recently paid 2 cheques into a Halifax account, and the cashier showed me how to pay cheques in using the banks app, so no need to even go into the bank in future.

Those apps have an upper limit though (I think First Direct's is £1000) so are not going to be suitable for the OP in this instance.
 
The other thing for them to be aware of which I've recently experienced from the opposite side, is that, having issued a cheque for a large (five-figure) amount, the issuing bank may well contact the issuer when they receive the presented cheque asking them to confirm it is legitimate. In my case I was given a window of a few hours to respond to a text to confirm that I had indeed written the cheque and because I failed to pick up the text in time, the cheque was not honoured and I ended up dong a bank transfer to the recipient. 

wmb194

I wouldn't worry about it. Banks and BS' have been doing this for a great many decades and they're very good at it. With Lloyds you can choose to use a paying in slip or card when making the deposit. 

If you're anxious I'd insist on giving it to a cashier and watch them process it rather than putting it in a machine or a hole in the wall. With Lloyds, if you then look at your account in internet banking you'll see the cheque in the 'pending' section.