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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cheque not cashed for 6 years

183 replies

EmmalinaC · 08/04/2022 18:04

Just had a call from someone my daughter went to primary school with. Didn't recognise the number as we weren't really friends. (My DD is now in year 11).

She was phoning to say she'd just found an envelope with a cheque in from me dated Feb 2016 for birthday cards (she was a Phoenix Cards trader) that she forgot to cash, and would I mind transferring the money now please...

So AIBU to say not my problem you've had it for SIX YEARS or do I owe her £28 given that I did receive the goods?

FWIW I have a joint account with DH and neither of us do a routine bank rec apart from for high value stuff so I had no idea it was never cashed.

Thoughts please! Smile

OP posts:
Doggirl · 08/04/2022 20:40

I feel a bit of sympathy, as that's exactly the kind of thing I would do/ have done (recently received a replacement cheque for a 16 year old Premium Bonds prize I'd forgotten I'd even been sent- I was 32 at the time I won it- just one of many things that make me suspect ADHD).

Also am a bit confused about the "at school with " someone who have been 9 or 10 at the time the cheque was written. I'm sure there are some future entrepreneurs that start that young - but surely we're talking spare lunch money in cash from the otherkids, not getting cheques' from their peers ' parents?

TheNameOfTheRoses · 08/04/2022 20:40

I’m at loss when people say the OP shouod pay again.

If the OP had paid cash and the woman had lost the cash, do you think she should pay again?

The OP HAS PAID for the cards. She gave that woman a cheque.

Whether she has cashed it or not, lost the cheque etc… is not the OP problem. Nit more than if she had paid cash and the woman had lost the money.

User76745333 · 08/04/2022 20:45

She hasn’t paid. No money left her account. Ok that wasn’t her fault but she has had the goods for free so far

yossell · 08/04/2022 20:46

@TheNameOfTheRoses

I’m at loss when people say the OP shouod pay again.

If the OP had paid cash and the woman had lost the cash, do you think she should pay again?

The OP HAS PAID for the cards. She gave that woman a cheque.

Whether she has cashed it or not, lost the cheque etc… is not the OP problem. Nit more than if she had paid cash and the woman had lost the money.

It's completely different from the woman losing the cash. The OP has lost no money, no money has exited her bank account, the amount is still there. She is not paying again.
TheNameOfTheRoses · 08/04/2022 20:49

But that is NOT the OP responsibility.
She PAID for the goods. Surely it’s not then up to her to check that the person has cashed the cheque etc… and generally ensure that the money has gone onto their account. The woman isn’t a child. She should have been responsible enough to put the cheque at the bank.

Plus, the OP might have had the money 6 years ago. But what is saying that she still ahs the cash now? Why should she expected to have it now?

CrazyTimes123 · 08/04/2022 20:51

I’d ignore all messages

You paid. She didn’t chase in a timely fashion.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 08/04/2022 20:51

It's completely different from the woman losing the cash. The OP has lost no money, no money has exited her bank account, the amount is still there. She is not paying again. You don't know that. OP doesn't know that. OP hasn't looked, might not be able to check. It isn't as cut and dried as many are making out!

yossell · 08/04/2022 20:51

She has not paid -- she has the money still. What don't you get about that?

Sure, it's not her responsibility to check the cheque. Maybe you want to argue that her error means she DOESN'T have to pay? But she has not paid out any money.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 08/04/2022 20:51

@yossell

She has not paid -- she has the money still. What don't you get about that?

Sure, it's not her responsibility to check the cheque. Maybe you want to argue that her error means she DOESN'T have to pay? But she has not paid out any money.

Again - NOBODY KNOWS AS OP HAS NOT CHECKED HER BANK!
TheNameOfTheRoses · 08/04/2022 20:52

The OP’s responsibility ended when she PAID and handed the cheque over the woman.

Imagine if companies were starting to do that and were coming to see people 6 years on saying that ‘well you had paid but we don’t know what we did with the payment so please can you pay again?’
I know I’ve had plenty of payments like this that never cleared. Even card payments. Never thought that one day, a company could come and ask me for that money

Svara · 08/04/2022 20:53

I'm confused if this is a teenager as well if she was at school with the OP's daughter? Or a staff member?

TheNameOfTheRoses · 08/04/2022 20:54

@yossell

She has not paid -- she has the money still. What don't you get about that?

Sure, it's not her responsibility to check the cheque. Maybe you want to argue that her error means she DOESN'T have to pay? But she has not paid out any money.

She HAS PAID because she gave the check, which the woman agrees with.

Would you say that if you pay for your shopping by cheque, then you have not paid for it until you have checked that the cheque has been cashed. Or would your invoice say PAID on it???

GingerFoxInAT0phat · 08/04/2022 20:55

I would be tempted to say ‘How w strange, I found the cards in the back of a drawer the other day, I’ll just send them back!’

But would probably end up paying it back and hate her forever.

YouTubeRabbitHole · 08/04/2022 20:57

@ButtockUp

Cheques aren't guaranteed over six months. It's her problem.
A cheque doesn’t expire after 6 months it’s just that most banks if they saw the date wouldn’t accept it. If it was paid in, unless you stop the cheque your bank would most likely honour it as you signed to pay them x amount.
RealBecca · 08/04/2022 21:04

Can you afford it?

I think she must be desperate because if you're financially comfortable you'd never put someone in the position she has put you in. Esp with recent costs of living.

I can pay £28 now, i cant guarantee I can in 6 years.

ifyouturnonthelight · 08/04/2022 21:05

Not the point but how many birthday cards did you get for £28?!

yossell · 08/04/2022 21:05

It's no good simply repeating 'she has paid.'

No money has left her bank account. No money has been transferred. The money is still with the OP and she can use it to buy goods. A cheque is not cash.

It's been pointed out several times that the banking system recognises this and acknowledges this. The sixth month deadline is entirely down to a formal agreement between banks to minimise the risk of fraud. It is not a lawful deadline for the expiry of the debt.

The money doesn't leave the account until the check is cashed. Legally, she has not paid for the goods.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 08/04/2022 21:10

You can repeat that all you like @yossell

But if OP has no idea if the cheque was paid or not how are you so sure?

  1. OP needs to check her account
  2. OP then needs to decide that, if indeed no money was paid, she wants to pay despite there being no real onus on her to do so.

And that's it!

PinkSyCo · 08/04/2022 21:13

If the woman has a child in High School, she’s hardly going to be a kid, is she @PinkSyCo**

OP said the call was from someone her year 11 DD went to school with in primary, so I’m guessing it’s a 15/16 year old. 🤷🏻‍♀️

longtompot · 08/04/2022 21:17

My gut was to say don't pay it. It was her fault she didn't pay it in. But on further research I found this

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.

From here www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/information-hub/faqs/cheques-and-cheque-clearing

TheNameOfTheRoses · 08/04/2022 21:17

It’s not different that to keeping repeating ‘but she hasn’t paid’ or ‘the money never kept her account ’ Grin

‘Legally she has not paid the goods’

Two things there,
we are not talking about 6 months but 6 YEARS.
If I go to a shop, buy something (whatever that is) or pay for a service (like a plumber), I give them a cheque. The invoice says PAID. It has been paid.
IF the cheque then can’t be cleared because there isnt enough funds, then yes legally the person hasn’t paid. That’s because the money was never there in the first place (fwiw it also means that the person who signed the cheque gets to pay something to the bank but SO DOES THE PERSON WHO TRIED TO CASH THE CHEQUE).
If the 6 months is only a formal agreement between the bank, then surely the woman can just explain that the bank and ask them to cash it?

I mean 6 years on ?!? That’s taking the piss (and clearly that woman never missed those £24 …. if she never realised until the sh found the cheque by chance….)

Blondeshavemorefun · 08/04/2022 21:20

@SamphirethePogoingStickerist

It's completely different from the woman losing the cash. The OP has lost no money, no money has exited her bank account, the amount is still there. She is not paying again. You don't know that. OP doesn't know that. OP hasn't looked, might not be able to check. It isn't as cut and dried as many are making out!
Course she can check her account

I always check payments and the odd check I entire I would notice if hadn’t been cashed

Op isn’t out of pocket

She has goods she hasn’t paid fir technically

She can ask for cheque back then send payment

surreygirl1987 · 08/04/2022 21:20

Oh how weird. I think it's really odd for her to call up after all this time. Is there any link between her and you / your daughter anymore? If not I'd probably just ignore. But if it could cause trouble for your daughter I might just pay... you shouldn't have to though!

ithinkitsadhd · 08/04/2022 21:20

I would pay. But I would just check with the bank first as online you can take a photo.

spongedog · 08/04/2022 21:22

@AdaColeman

Just as an aside, I wonder how she balanced her books with Phoenix Cards at the time, Did she write the amount off as damaged or lost stock perhaps. I think she's got a bit of a cheek to ask for it after all this time.
You were self-employed so nothing to do with Phoenix. I missed a couple of payments when I ran a similar business. It is easily done. Normally part-time self-employed whilst juggling home and kids. I found it much easier subsequently to be employed.