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Original poster

Strange Money transaction

30 replies

Broomsticksandbedknobs · 21/04/2021 14:44

I wonder if this has happened to anyone else.
My husband sent his sister a cheque for her share in their mothers inheritance.
It came out of his account early hours of Tuesday morning then it reappeared at 4pm saying the cheque had been rejected.
Can anyone shed any light on this as I have tried to find out what's happened but nothing is relevant.
I cannot understand why it would be taken out and then put back in.
Thanks

OP posts:
MotherOfGodWeeFella · 21/04/2021 14:46

Ask the bank? What have they said that isn't relevant? I wonder if it's been flagged as a fraudulent transaction.

BarbaraofSeville · 21/04/2021 14:52

Is it for a large amount? Seen as potential money laundering by one of their banks?

Was it correctly addressed, eg does your SIL use more than one name (eg her married name and/or birth name)?

Or do they both have the same/similar name, eg your DH is Andrew Smith and SIL is Angela Smith?

Can your DH send the money using faster payments? Although that might also trigger security cheques if a large amount.

Anything from either bank to explain? However, I once had an issue with a cheque (was one I received from a fixed term savings account that I paid into my current account, in the days before this sort of thing was just done electronically) and it wasn't until I noticed the cheque never cleared a few weeks later that I had to go to the bank to find out what had happened, they didn't inform me they didn't like the cheque I paid in due to it being 'suspicious'.

Does SIL know anything?

Original poster
Broomsticksandbedknobs · 21/04/2021 15:41

Yes it's for a fairly large amount.
We have asked for a photo of the cheque to see if anything is wrong with it but that's going to take 3 to 4 days before it arrives.
Unfortunately SIL and H are not on friendly terms as she wants it paying into her son's bank account as she's on benefits and I don't think she wants to declare it but my husband is not doing that so she's not a happy bunny.

OP posts:
Butwhhhyyyyyyy · 21/04/2021 15:44

In that case do you think she may have rejected the cheque as she doesn't want it in her account?

Original poster
Broomsticksandbedknobs · 21/04/2021 15:48

Yes Butwh.
That's what we were thinking but could she do that when the money has been taken out of his account?

OP posts:
NeverDropYourMoonCup · 21/04/2021 15:49

@Broomsticksandbedknobs

Yes it's for a fairly large amount. We have asked for a photo of the cheque to see if anything is wrong with it but that's going to take 3 to 4 days before it arrives. Unfortunately SIL and H are not on friendly terms as she wants it paying into her son's bank account as she's on benefits and I don't think she wants to declare it but my husband is not doing that so she's not a happy bunny.
Maybe she tried to alter the payee, then?
Original poster
Broomsticksandbedknobs · 21/04/2021 15:52

Possibly she could but like I say we won't find out until the cheque comes back.
Can you put a cheque in and then cancel it, I don't understand how the banking system works, but there again I don't do anything fraudulent 😊

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 21/04/2021 15:54

Maybe she tried to alter the cheque and it was spotted during manual inspection? Most are processed by machine and only larger cheques are seen by human eyes.

The banking process might set off as normal and it only gets rejected if there's a problem?

But I think they've changed how they do cheques over the past few years and I haven't actually received or written one in forever, so I might be out of touch.

BrieAndChilli · 21/04/2021 15:55

sounds like she altered the cheque to make it payable into her sons account to get around the benefits savings cap and the bank have noticed and flagged it as suspicious.

BarbaraofSeville · 21/04/2021 15:59

Anything useful here?

www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/cheque-users/consumers/how-cheques-clear-%E2%80%93-advice-consumers

Maybe if she did pay the cheque into her DS account, that set off a security trigger?

After all, receipt of a large amount by a child will be unusual and possibly indication of money laundering, benefit or tax fraud etc?

Elieza · 21/04/2021 16:08

She’s maybe not changed the name but just tried to pay it into his account and it’s been noticed that the cheque is to her not him so it’s been declined.

If you are the executors you can’t change the name. It has to go to those it’s intended for. Naw luck if that subsequently gives her problems. That’s unfortunate.

Original poster
Broomsticksandbedknobs · 21/04/2021 16:10

The sons is in his forties.
She could have tampered with it or tried to put it in her son's account.
Maybe it's because of the high amount that's raised suspicion.
I was thinking she had put it in and then cancelled it if you can do that.
I was surprised she put it in so quickly as I would have thought she would wait until the 3/6 months is up to cash it before it is out of date.
That's also another reason why it doesn't make sense.

OP posts:
foxyroxyyy · 21/04/2021 16:10

Why not just pay her the money in the way she has requested it and mind your own business? She'll probably get caught anyway, get off your mighty high horse 🙄

MotherOfGodWeeFella · 21/04/2021 16:10

How old is her son? It sounds as though she may have altered the cheque and it's been spotted.

She sounds delightful - if she has a large sum of money in the bank why does she think she is entitled to benefits as well.

dementedpixie · 21/04/2021 16:12

@foxyroxyyy

Why not just pay her the money in the way she has requested it and mind your own business? She'll probably get caught anyway, get off your mighty high horse 🙄
You cant do that. You have to go by what's specified in the will
MotherOfGodWeeFella · 21/04/2021 16:12

@foxyroxyyy

Why not just pay her the money in the way she has requested it and mind your own business? She'll probably get caught anyway, get off your mighty high horse 🙄
Because as an executor you have to carry out the wishes of the deceased person. Paying the money to someone else would be fraudulent. Very tempting to just do a bank transfer instead though I'm guessing she would give her bank account details, hence the cheque.
MotherOfGodWeeFella · 21/04/2021 16:13

Wouldn't

MotherOfGodWeeFella · 21/04/2021 16:14

If she's paying it in she's not cashing it - that's something different.

dementedpixie · 21/04/2021 16:14

Was the cheque signed properly, did the amount in figures match the amount in words, are there sufficient funds in the account it was drawn against?

These are all things that would get a cheque rejected. Although maybe they tried to pay it into the wrong account as well

NotAQueef · 21/04/2021 16:15

is there a reject code - if so you can google what it means and it might help? I know with FPS if rejected you get a reason code which shows against the returned transaction, but not sure if the same with cheque payments.

Original poster
Broomsticksandbedknobs · 21/04/2021 16:15

H has already sought legal advice and been told that he can be a accessory if she gets caught defrauding the benefits system so that's why he won't pay into someone else's account and why should he, benefits are for people who need it not for people who have inherited a lot of money.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 21/04/2021 16:17

@Broomsticksandbedknobs

Possibly she could but like I say we won't find out until the cheque comes back. Can you put a cheque in and then cancel it, I don't understand how the banking system works, but there again I don't do anything fraudulent 😊
The bank has returned the cheque unpaid for some reason. Its not the payee that's done it
cherry2727 · 21/04/2021 16:17

I don't understand how the banking system works, but there again I don't do anything fraudulent 😊

You don't have to commit fraud in order to have an insight into how the banking system works !Hmm

BarbaraofSeville · 21/04/2021 16:19

@dementedpixie

Was the cheque signed properly, did the amount in figures match the amount in words, are there sufficient funds in the account it was drawn against?

These are all things that would get a cheque rejected. Although maybe they tried to pay it into the wrong account as well

That's true, after all the speculation about the SIL committing benefit fraud, there could be a simple mistake on the cheque.
TokyoSushi · 21/04/2021 16:26

Sounds like a nightmare, hope you get it sorted OP!