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AIBU?

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Original poster

To expect bank to refund fees?

41 replies

StickItUpYaJumpa · 23/01/2019 13:19

I wrote a cheque 6 years ago. The person has now decided to cash it and it has taken me into an unauthorised overdraft. I got charged for that and get charged for every day I'm in it. I'm going to struggle to pay it off until pay day and then I'll be left short for that month.

The bank have told me, it's up to them whether they cash it. Although they give 6 months as a guide, they can honour the cheque at any time.

They are being extremely unhelpful and are saying the only possible solutions arw to either get a formal overdraft but the type of account I have doesn't allow overdrafts, hence the high fees or to credit my account although

OP posts:
Original poster
StickItUpYaJumpa · 23/01/2019 13:21

Pressed too soon...

I don't have the money to pay into the account.

I plan to complain because 6 years is unreasonable I think. But am I being unreasonable to exoect them to refund the charges?

OP posts:
PlainSpeakingStraightTalking · 23/01/2019 13:22

Bills of Exchange Act 1882

www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/information-hub/law-relating-cheques

Is it true that cheques are only valid for six months?

No. A cheque is valid for as long as the debt between the two parties (i.e. the person writing the cheque and the person they give it to) exists. In other words, cheques don’t have an expiry date. However, it is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the person who has written the cheque, in case the payment has been made another way or the cheque has been lost or stolen. This six-month timeframe is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques older than six months would automatically be rejected as the only definite way to cancel a cheque is for the person who wrote it to request that a stop be placed on it. If you have a cheque that you want to pay in that is more than six months old, your best course of action is to not pay it in and instead obtain a replacement from the person who gave it to you. Where there is a dispute, a cheque remains legally valid in order to provide proof of the existence of a debt for a period of six years, which is the Statute of Limitations.

ZeroFuchsGiven · 23/01/2019 13:23

Its whoever cashed the cheque you want to be pissed off with, its not the banks fault.

Original poster
StickItUpYaJumpa · 23/01/2019 13:26

It wasn't for a debt though.

Yes I am v cross at the person who cashed it without telling me.

OP posts:
Quartz2208 · 23/01/2019 13:27

Yes why has it taken 6 years

PlainSpeakingStraightTalking · 23/01/2019 13:28

'debt' is the word for owing money

Original poster
StickItUpYaJumpa · 23/01/2019 13:29

Well, actually I'm not sure whether the bank shpuld gave honoured the cheque any way because it was for a lot more than my actual balance on an account that doesn't allow overdrafts.

BTW my finances were a complete mess at the time I wrote the cheque so although I shpuld have known it hadn't been cashed at the time, I didn't.

OP posts:
PlainSpeakingStraightTalking · 23/01/2019 13:30

TBH, afteer 6 months you should have presumed the cheque was lost, cancelled it and issued another one (or not, as the case may be) but you should have cancelled it.

DoJo · 23/01/2019 13:32

'debt' is the word for owing money

I can't work out if I've misunderstood your post or if you're being super patronising, but in case it's the former, the OP says that there is no debt.

ZeroFuchsGiven · 23/01/2019 13:40

But there is a debt. Until the cheque is cashed the op still owes the money.

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 23/01/2019 13:41

It's a rotten situation but they've cashed it and now you need to pay the fee.

There is no way you'll get the back to wipe them because as far as they're concerned, it's a valid cheque and has been cashed accordingly. It's unfair on you yes, but really, I can't see how you can avoid it.

A lot of people assume cheques are no longer valid after 6 months. I thought this until I took an old one in that I found in an old money box when moving out of my parents!

AGHHHH · 23/01/2019 13:43

Who cashes a personal cheque after 6 years without checking first? Bizarre.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 23/01/2019 13:50

Who cashed it? I'd be interested to know why they took so long. I actually think the bank shouldn't have accepted such an old cheque and think the least they could do is cover your charges.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 23/01/2019 13:52

Was it issued over 6 years ago or slightly less than 6 years ago?

Valkyries · 23/01/2019 13:52

The person cashing it could have altered the year - a 2013 could easily be changed to 2018

tillytrotter1 · 23/01/2019 14:08

Why do people expect banks to roll over everytime something doesn't go their way? The cheque existed, you knew it existed, you knew it hadn't been presented, all of these yet you did nothing! Not the bank's fault at all!

AGHHHH · 23/01/2019 14:12

@tillytrotter1 OP has clarified they didn't know it hadn't been cashed, as their finances were a mess. Not the bank's fault either, mind you.

BeanTownNancy · 23/01/2019 14:24

I'd expect the person who cashed it to give me the money back until I actually had the funds to cover it. CF.

Ucangourownwoo · 23/01/2019 14:27

What's the back story?

icantthinkofanotherone · 23/01/2019 14:33

The bank shouldn't have accepted a cheque that took you into an unauthorised overdraft, they should have returned it "Refer to Drawer, Please Represent" and informed you.

That's what we used to do when I worked in a bank anyway.

DoJo · 23/01/2019 14:49

But there is a debt. Until the cheque is cashed the op still owes the money.

But she says she doesn't owe money - it could have been a gift, or even a loan to someone, so why assume there is a debt?

ZeroFuchsGiven · 23/01/2019 14:53

But she says she doesn't owe money - it could have been a gift, or even a loan to someone, so why assume there is a debt?

It is still a debt! as soon as the cheque was written she then owes that amount and still owes it until the cheque has been cashed.

dementedpixie · 23/01/2019 14:56

The cheque itself is regarded as the debt as they have written it out to someone to give them money. Who did you give the cheque to? Did you put your cheque guarantee number on the back? (You used to be able to guarantee a cheque in the past by putting the number on it, you can't now)

Waveysnail · 23/01/2019 14:57

Open another account with planned overdraft that had lower fees. Draw money and put into other account

katsucurry · 23/01/2019 14:58

@dojo a "debt" is created when a cheque is written. Debt refers to an amount of money owed to another party. In this case by writing the cheque they "owe" the money. Whether it is a gift/loan etc. is irrelevant the word debt means a sum of money that the person owes the other party. By signing that cheque they have agreed to that.

Writing the cheque creates a debt that you sign to say you will pay.

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