ChatterBank3 mins ago
Abbey cheques
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by Kathyan. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Either way, I'd pay it in like a normal cheque, wait for the clearance process like a normal cheque and I'd tell the buyer to stop being a chancer.
At best, this is a bankers draft or counter cheque from Abbey in which case it is very unlikely to bounce but there's a small chance. Imagine if you had an Abbey account, got a similar cheque and lost it. You don't think there's anything the bank could do to stop someone else cashing that cheque after they've issued you a replacement??
Never send the goods until you have cleared funds in your account. Make this clear to the buyer, if she is genuine she will understand, if she's pulling a con she'll never send the cheque.
On the plus side if it's a counter cheque from a savings account then it won't bounce because it's value is debited from their account at the time it's printed.
tigerthecat - there's a difference between "available" (to spend) and "cleared".
From Abbey's own website
"Cheques can be returned unpaid by the bank of the individual who wrote the cheque, even after funds have been made available."
Once it's cleared, the money's yours and the above won't happen.
I think the consensus is that you should treat it as a normal cheque and send the goods after the best part of a week.