cheques

[clarebear86]

i paid for some clothes by cheque in January at river island it came to �70, the money has never come out of my account and the cheque has never shown up as been cashed on my bank statement, i have made sure that there has been �70 in my account every month since January just incase. I was just wondering if there was a certain amount of time you had to cash the cheque?? or do i jusy have 2 wait until they decide to cash it.

it was the first time i paid by cheque so im a bit unsure about how they work.

thanks clare x

[dzug]

I think it's 6 months but it may vary by bank. Given that they don't check the date that closely most of the time I'd give it at least that.

River Island may have lost the cheque - they could still find it. I'm sure they sure not deliberately holding on to it.

It may have been debitted to someone else's account in error. If they are the sort that never check their statement it may never get spotted.

You still legally owe River Island the money - though if they don't have your address there's not much they can do about it.

[CheekyChops]

Cheques are out of date after 6 months although it depends on whether it is spotted when it is paid in.

As has been said, you do still owe them the money but they would have to get another cheque from you and to do this they can write to you via you bank requesting another but they still won't actually have your address.

[kempie]

A cheque is legally valid for 6 years. However it is common practice for banks to reject a cheque over 6 months old as a security measure.

This text from the APACS (Association for Payment Clearing Services) website;

"It is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the payer, on the basis that payment may already have been made by some other means or the cheque may have been lost or stolen . However, this is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques in excess of 6 months old would automatically be rejected � the only certain way to cancel a cheque is to request that a stop be placed on it (although cheques backed by a cheque guarantee card cannot be stopped). It is recommended that, if possible, customers in possession of cheques that are over 6 months old obtain a replacement."