Cheques

[Bazile]

How long are cheques valid , from the date annotated thereon - if it does not state '' to be presented within xxxx months''

[Jackdaw33]

I believe six months

[237SJ]

I have always been under the impression that they are valid for 6 months

[Peter Pedant]

// A cheque is valid for as long as the debt between the two parties (i.e. issuer and payee) exists.//

I am not sure if this is correct - suppose there is a debt and a cheque is made out and then the next day the debt is also paid by cash - the cheque still remains valid

I thought it was 6 months - BUT suppose a bank honours a cheque at 6 m 2 weeks - are you allowed to claim your money back on the grounds it shouldnt have ?
I think the answer is no

if you dont want a cheque to he paid - you should cancel it with a note and take it to any branch - you should never say o I issued it with a view to cancelling it later ( Fraud )

and that is about it

there are few bankers on AB perhaps they will chip in their two penny worth

[mazie]

Peter, I do believe you are getting your B's and your W's mixed up ;o)

[Peter Pedant]

wazz off mazie
yeah I did think of that when I wrote it

I regret at uni ( erk fifty years ago ) the young gentlemen would often scale a building and add a 'w' to the Anchor Inn pub sign

o and I used to taunt the then chairman of Anchor Housing

[mazie]

And was that your local Peter? ;o) (only jokingx)

[ubasses]

A cheque is legal for 6 years, most Banks consider them stale after 6 months and reserve the right not to pay it. However a cheque can still be paid after that time.

[twix123]

Although a cheque is normally regarded as 'stale' by a bank 6 months after issuance, legally it is valid any time until presentation, as per Section 74 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882.

"Presentment of cheque for payment.

Subject to the provisions of this Act—

(1)Where a cheque is not presented for payment within a reasonable time of its issue, and the drawer or the person on whose account it is drawn had the right at the time of such presentment as between him and the banker to have the cheque paid and suffers actual damage through the delay, he is discharged to the extent of such damage, that is to say, to the extent to which such drawer or person is a creditor of such banker to a larger amount than he would have been had such cheque been paid.

(2)In determining what is a reasonable time regard shall be had to the nature of the instrument, the usage of trade and of bankers, and the facts of the particular case.

(3)The holder of such cheque as to which such drawer or person is discharged shall be a creditor, in lieu of such drawer or person, of such banker to the extent of such discharge, and entitled to recover the amount from him."

When I used to audit the clearing process 30 odd years ago, cheques over 6 months old would be marked 'Refer to Drawer, Please Represent', giving time for the cheque to be re-dated or cancelled and replaced. I must admit that I do not know what happens nowadays regarding manual cheque clearing.

[Old_Geezer]

I find it a pain that such a short time is common practice. On a few occasions when I have found I've filed away a dividend cheque instead of cashing it and the bank returns it as being 'out of date' the issuing company seems to take great delight in grabbing a load of it as a reissue fee. Need not happen if banks honoured the original cheque as they should.

But shows my lack of knowledge as I always thought the default period was a year. Disgusted to read it's not even that.

[Peter Pedant]

twix
many thanks - I knew s/o wd have chapter and verse

I was having a bad day and presented a cheque for payment after the time in the name of Solomon Grundy for £1.58 and it was paid. I think when the mistake was discovered they just looked at the amount and thought sad it

My eureka moment was in 1970 in a house share when the depositor told me as a co-tenant - "I asked for the deposit back and the landlord said the cheque has not been presented and take it from me it will be ripped up this very evening."
So I cancelled it by letter to the bank anyway ( said he )
and dang-me if a week before six months was up
the bank wrote to me and asked me if I wanted the cancelled cheque to be honoured.....

Good huh ? Presumably the landlord had done that on a regular basis
and pocketed the fifty quid if the student didnt notice

as you can see I have not relied on the six month rule for the last fifty years

[gingejbee]

Six months? Six years?
I've not written/received a cheque for well over six years!

[Jackdaw33]

The last time I drew a cheque for cash was in 1988.