cheques

[goddwitch]

how long is a cheque vaild for /???

[themas]

6 months

[Ethel]

Six years.

How long are cheques valid for?

Banks will usually reject cheques that are more than six months old but, in fact, it's at their discretion. They can choose to cash it if they want to so don't assume that if you wrote a cheque to someone over six months ago that you're off the hook from paying it! Cheques actually remain legally valid for six years - yes, I did say six years - and the only way to cancel a cheque is to ask for a 'stop' to be placed on it. However, cheques backed by a cheque guarantee card cannot be stopped.


http://www.fool.co.uk/news/your-money/current- accounts/2006/07/20/your-essential-banking-gui de.aspx

[Stevie13]

A cheque is valid for 6 months from the date written on the cheque.
Cheques unwritten have no expiry.

[Postdog]

I'd trust Ethel. She doesn't know it all, but she knows a lot more than most.

[terambulan]

I beg to differ....I've found cheques are only valid for 3months thru my bank, Nat West....After which time they request me to have cheques updated.

[moomintroll1]

Ethel is quite correct, as usual.

This is copied straight from the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company's website, who operate the cheque clearing system:

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 six 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 six months old obtain a replacement. In cases of disputes a cheque remains legally valid to use to prove a debt for six years.

In answer to goddwitch's question, you will find in practice that the bank will probably require you to obtain a replacement cheque if you attempt to pay one in which is dated over six months ago. This timescale is at the discretion of the bank, though, and it appears from terambulan's experience that NatWest are working on a three-month validity period.

[Tichfield]

Putting a "STOP" on a cheque does not mean that it won't get paid.

I sent a cheque to pay a credit card bill and it did not get credited to the card account. I queried it with the card company and was told it had not arrived.

So I wrote to my bank putting a stop on that cheque and sent the card company another one. The bank confirmed in writing that the cheques was stopped.

Eight months later the original cheque was credited to my card account and debited to my bank account.

I complained to the bank and demanded to know why they had paid a cheque that they has confirmed would be stopped. They told me that the stop only lasts for six months, because a cheque older than that would not be paid anyway.

But they had paid it.

So I demanded the money back and after some more correspondence they did recredit my bank account with the �800n odd involved.

Next the bank Asked me to reimburse them because they had paid the money to my credit card account. I told them if they wanted their money back they should get it from the card company.

They never did that. Net result �800+ of free money for me!

[terambulan]

Our questionable cheque (under �100) did have CC details on reverse; was produced 3 times by the bank and still not met.

I wrote to client c/o their own bank with no response. Their bank would not settle without client's express written authority......alternative was Court......!

[Ethel]

Terambulan - you must have some sort of block on your account , perhaps you've had a 'dodgy' transaction.

3 months limit on cheques is not their standard terms.