Post dated cheque paid in early

jstvj

I was given a post dated cheque and by mistake it was paid in two days early (dated 28/3, paid in 26/3).

The payer is now livid because his account is overdrawn and he is being changed interest and presumably a penalty fee.

My first reaction to his abuse was that the Banks should not have accepted the cheque early and in any event the funds are not in my account and probably will not be for several days.

Do you think he is justified in complaining to his bank to obtain a refund of the charges incurred. I doubt if a complaint to my Bank would have any effect and when all is said done, it was my mistake in paying the cheque in early.

Paul_Herring

jstvj wrote: »

My first reaction to his abuse was that the Banks should not have accepted the cheque early and in any event the funds are not in my account and probably will not be for several days.

My first reaction was "why did you accept a post-dated cheque?" As Al pointed out, you cannot post-date cheques with the expectation that they cannot be cashed before then.

Do you think he is justified in complaining to his bank to obtain a refund of the charges incurred. I doubt if a complaint to my Bank would have any effect and when all is said done, it was my mistake in paying the cheque in early.

No he isn't justified - he shouldn't have post-dated it. And mistake or not, you were allowed to 'pay it in early.'

jstvj

Thank you very much for your replies. I didn,t it was against the rules to post date a cheque.

Anyway, apparently his Bank has told him precisley what you have said and that the responsibility lies with him. Thanks again for your time

natweststaffmember

If the cheque is paid in 2 days early into your account, then the date the cheque debited that person's account would have been on the date on the cheque unless they banked at the same branch as you and you paid it into your branch(for natwest that is a house cheque and technically is cleared overnight). The person who is annoyed at you has made a mistake in thinking that you would not pay it in. The bank should not have accepted it but if they did and because the date it would debit the recipients account, they would not have returned it to you.

PBA

The date written on a cheque is pretty much irrelevant in the banking system, nobody actually looks at it. I've got to say that the fault is really yours. If someone gave you a cheque but told you not to bank it before a certain day, but you went and banked it anyway, then you ought to be the one liable for any charges they incurred.

Paul_Herring

natweststaffmember wrote: »

The bank should not have accepted it

Why not? This would imply that it's perfectly legitimate to post-date cheques, when it's been clearly pointed out that it isn't.

[Deleted User]

I also think its the person that wrote the cheque who is to blaim, not the bank, nore the person the cheque is made out too.

As to post dating cheques being against the rules, when did this change ?
I worked for C&G only 2 years ago, and we had an official book where people could give us cheques to be paid in 2 days, 3 weeks, whenever it was stated, and every morning a cashier would go to that book and pay them in.
So I' just wondering when this changed ? (Don't work for them anymorE)

natweststaffmember

Paul, the reason is that it is a post dated cheque. When you work in a bank you can accept cheques dated, todays date and up to 6 calender months beforehand. If it is in the future then you have to refuse it.

MarkyMarkD

chr_is It's against the terms of the contract between the customer and their bank. But there's nothing to stop a third party, like C&G in your case, from taking them and saying they won't bank them until the date written on them.

It's a "victimless crime" and you won't get found out if the third party sticks to the agreement.

The problem is that, if the third party doesn't, the bank is perfectly allowed to clear the cheque because it shouldn't have been written post-dated.

I believe that what natweststaffmember is saying is that the counter staff should pick up the date issue when it's banked. I don't believe that they always will, though, and if they don't (as they didn't here) the bank will go through the clearing system because the dates don't routinely get checked on small value cheques.

And again, once it's cleared, you can't hold your own bank liable for clearing it because you shouldn't have post-dated it in the first place.

mister_bojangles

jstvj, Some respondents appear to have suggested that it is WRONG to issue post-dated cheques. I don't agree. People issue them; which is why some organisations (e.g. my children's school) insist that they will not accept post-dated cheques as they will present the cheques to banks quickly.

Come to think of it, issuing post-dated cheques is similar to direct debits, which are often post-dated, when the customer knows that the acct(s) will have sufficient funds.

It is my view that PBA is correct. YOur action caused that person to incur charges. You knew that the cheque is post-dated; which is why you began your piece with " I was given a post dated cheque and by mistake it was paid in two days early (dated 28/3, paid in 26/3)". Who do you think should pay for your MISTAKE?

noh

mister_bojangles wrote: »

jstvj, Some respondents appear to have suggested that it is WRONG to issue post-dated cheques. I don't agree. People issue them; which is why some organisations (e.g. my children's school) insist that they will not accept post-dated cheques as they will present the cheques to banks quickly.

Come to think of it, issuing post-dated cheques is similar to direct debits, which are often post-dated, when the customer knows that the acct(s) will have sufficient funds.

It is my view that PBA is correct. YOur action caused that person to incur charges. You knew that the cheque is post-dated; which is why you began your piece with " I was given a post dated cheque and by mistake it was paid in two days early (dated 28/3, paid in 26/3)". Who do you think should pay for your MISTAKE?

No its not wrong to issue post dated cheques what is wrong is the assumption that they cant be presented until the date written on them.
The issuer of the cheque is at fault because he wrote a cheque on an account with insufficient funds. Its his mistake, his account, and he is liable for the charges.
The difference between a post dated cheque and a DD is that a cheque is a negotiable instruement a DD is a mandate given to an organisation to remove a pre notified amount on a pre agreed date from your account.

Nigel