Abbey cheques

[Kathyan]

I have sold something on e-bay and the buyer is paying with an Abbey cheque, which she says cannot bounce and cannot be stopped. She has asked me to send the goods as soon as I receive the cheque, but I am unsure about this. What should I do?

[acorn]

I belong to Abbey and so does the lady i work for and i can assure you that their 'normal' cheques can be stopped and bounced as she has done this 4 times to me. Ask what type of cheque it is, or give Abbey a ring.

[themas]

It could be a bankers draft (i.e. Abbey is the bank issuing it). Theoretically this is safe BUT I've known cases where bankers drafts are forgeries. In one case it was paid in to the sellers account, he was told by the bank later it had been cleared but was then told a few days later on that it was forged. So be very careful!

[PatriciaH]

Wait till it has cleared for your own safety :)

[kazza12345]

just because she has asked for this dosent mean you should grant her wish - i would always say if its something say under 10 pounds i would send it anyway without waiting for clearance. You could cover yourself in future by stating in the auction that you will only accept paypal, or that you will wait untill any cheques have cleared before sending the item

[dzug]

This could be a cheque withdrawal from an Abbey savings account. In theory it can't be stopped (that's what they tell the person who is doing the withdrawal) but if she reports it stolen I reckon they would at least try, without accepting any responsibility if they are too late/mess it up.

[Hgrove]

I agree with other replies, in theory a building society cheque cannot be stopped, but what if she has stolen it? Best to wait till it has cleared.

[Kathyan]

My gut instinct told me that I should wait for clearance, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't being unreasonable. I do state in my auctions that goods will not be sent until cheques clear, I don't accept Paypal! Thanks for your replies!

[Buenchico]

If you take the cheque into any branch of Abbey, they'll be able to tell you whether it's a valid counter cheque. If it is, then there's no reason to delay sending the goods.

Chris

[kazza12345]

well then you have no reason to do as she asks - she entered into a contract with you under her own volition, fully knowing, or having an opportunity to read your terms and conditions

[dzug]

I've thought of another case where such a cheque could be stopped - if it's one of a batch stolen from the Abbey (ie it doesn't come from the ladies' account at all) they'll have no hesitation in stopping it.

[stevie21]

If you want to go to the trouble of taking it to an Abbey branch then you could ask them if it is a valid cheque. They may refuse to tell you on the strength of the Data Protection Act. On 08706000125 option 3, they may or may not confirm that it's a valid cheque also.

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??

[Hgrove]

I remember a number of years ago I read in the papers that a couple sold their car and the buyer offered an Abbey National cheque. They rang the Abbey and were told an Abbey National cheque was as good as cash. They handed over the car. It turned out the cheque came from a stolen batch, so it was not honoured by the Abbey.

[xrayspecs]

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]

Its also not effective just to phone up a few days later and ask if its cleared - the money needs to be in your account. I read a Guardian article which exposed this scam. Make sure the money is yours - not just cleared - there is a difference.

[dancecaller]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/3709908.stm

look at this one too

[stevie21]

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.