If you write a cheque to pay a bill and the recipient fails to lodge it before it expires, do you legally still owe the money?

[thebakeoffwasntasgoodthisyear]

Just that really - I paid a bill 5 months ago by cheque and it still hasn’t been lodged. It’s annoying, and while I’m not expecting to get off without paying, my question is - is it my responsibility to chase this up, or is it the recipient’s problem if they fail to lodge it on time (I think 6 months is the cut off)?

To clarify, I know for sure the cheque was received, and while I can obviously contact them to ask why it hasn’t been lodged, I’m just curious as to the legalities.

Yes it remains outstanding

I don't think you need to chase it up unless you'll lose out by it (eg deposit for something or a subscription ) but if its due, yes it's still due.

I've known someone, elderly with dementia, not open dividend cheque envelopes for years until we helped out and found hundreds of unopened envelopes. They'd all gone out of date but we wrote to request they be reissued and they were.

Thanks for the replies, I’m wishing there had just been the option to pay online rather than waiting forever for it to be lodged!

Yes, because you still owe the money.

I'm intrigued at businesses not having the option to pay online. I don't even know where my cheque book is - I'm sure I haven't used it for 5 years at least.

www.bclplaw.com/en-GB/insights/limitation-periods-for-breach-of-contract-claims-where-to-begin.html

They could chase you for the money for at least 6 years from when you were supposed to pay up.

They might struggle to show you’d failed to pay/breached the contract though if they repeatedly failed to process your payment.

I'm nearly 30 and have never been issued a cheque book! I'm curious at what/who might insist on a cheque?

Yes it’s the first time I’ve had to write a cheque for ages!

Yes, as someone else said, they can chase the payment for 6 years. It’s also not a given that the cheque will not be cashed after 6 months - it’s best practice, so the bank should return it to the payer with instructions to get a new cheque from you, but some do go through.

I'd get the cheque cancelled then re-issue

Just phone them and tell them to pay it in. Especially as you say you have no intention of trying to get away without playing.

*paying

I wonder why there isn’t an option to pay online. Everyone who has a bank account in this country can be paid online from here. The only reason I can think is that they don’t want to give out their bank details.

I’ve paid in a cheque that was 3 years old and it went through