Cheque received - Do not know the sender. Keep cash?

[PWA]

I have received a cheque this morning for a few thousand.
I am in England.
I do not know the sender, and confirmed this by looking up their company online.
They addressed it to me, and my full address was neatly written out.

Can I cash this cheque?
Shall I bank it and then not touch it, ready to pay back if chased?

Thanks for your help.

[redcrx]

you know the money isnt due to you, you had to google the company so you cant even claim you didnt realise an overpayment.

[fredpuli47]

Knowing that your not entitled to the money you intend to pay the cheque into your own account and if nobody notices, keep the proceeds ? At what point will you regard the money as yours ?
Somebody will ask (a prosecutor, maybe) why you did not simply destroy the cheque.Then you cause no loss to the company that issued it and no possible gain to yourself.Why don't you do that ?

[Iggle Piggle]

The cheque will expire in 6 months, but until then if you do cash it, technically it will be theft as you are appropriating the money as yours.
If the company was organised, they would have included a note or a compliments slip, instead you need to contact them and ask them directly what is going on.

[Skyline D]

The cheque will NOT expire in six months per se, though either the recipient's own bank or the issuing bank may have a policy to void it at that point anyway. That's their own choice though. Cheques are valid for six years in theory.

I don't see the big problem here. It's another of those occasional "is it alright if I keep money I know isn't mine?" questions that crop up from time to time from people who really just want some other people to tell them it is even though they know themselves it isn't.

Either the money is yours or it isn't. If you have no idea why they've sent you money, phone them up and ask them. If it's an error it'll be corrected at that point. If it isn't you can relax and cash your cheque. Otherwise it's up to you, if as you suspect it isn't due to you and you cash it anyway that's on your own consicience and any consequences when they do relaise you shouldn't have got it are on your own head. They WILL be entitled to refund if it was an error.

Me, I'd ask them why they sent it and sort it out.

[welshlibranr]

sounds very dodgy to me! If you can't account for this cash as being yours, then it probably isn't yours! I'd find out where it came from before I did anything with it!..................Hope it is yours! but I doubt it! You could be getting into something you will regret, so be careful............

[darcydark]

Stick it in your bank accout, if someone wants to give you money, don1t argue, you didn`t ask for it, Good luck to you.

[Mr Veritas]

This sounds like a variation on the old "Nigerian"scam to me.
You pay the cheque into your account,it is (pending) cleared,which makes you assume you have the funds in your account.
The person/company who sent you the cheque writes/phone or emails to say the cheque had been sent in error,and can you repay them by cheque or bank transfer.
You being honest do so.
You then find that the cheque you paid in has been cancelled/recalled.
You loose the money,they gain it.
This may not be the case, as you say it is a reputable company,but it pays to be very wary these days!

[aggiela]

Oh now PWA come on. Are you aware of the company owing you money? By the very fact that u posted your question I'd say no. Do you have so much money flying about that you wouldn't notice whe you were due thousands back? NO? Then, don't be an eejit and bin the cheque and forget about it. seriously......you are obviously not the intended recipient of this cheque and as a local government worker I can tell you no matter whos mistake it was, they will trace the cash back to you(as the have your full address etc) and will claim it back year end or before.

[PWA]

Update:

The cheque was put in yesterday by myself.
This is all linked with a company in Bromley called Retail Rapport Ltd

The cheque was fraudulent, and went unpaid.

My bank have put a black mark on my account for trying to cash a fraudulent cheque.

I went to the police and they said if nothing had been taken etc then, they will take no further action against anybody.

The scam was to take a cut of the cheque, then take out cash when it had cleared, post it to the scammers. Then the cheque would bounce and I would be left with the debt. Luckily it didn't get that far.

It related to a UK Mystery shopper thing I agreed to ages ago, only because they were a company on Bromley High Street and not in Nigeria.

Lesson Learnt.

[cherrychapstick]

glad you got it sorted and very glad it didn't go to far ,you have now learned your lesson and hope next time (there won't be a next time)

[Nosha123]

Wow.. what a story!!! I would never have imagined that result PWA... Glad you didnt get scammed!

I guess the old adage applies.. if something seems too good to be true.. it probably it!

Be careful out there!

[redcrx]

a harsh lesson to learn

[Famous5]

Is this not theft by finding

[Famous5]

Isn't this theft by finding?

Talk to Citizens Advice Bureau

[FrankGalvin]

These scams are so successful because they appeal to the greedy. As a result, I don't feel a great deal of sympathy for these so-called 'victims'. Our guy knew he wasn't entitled to gain and has been very fortunate to avoid being a victim of his own greed and dishonesty.