Clearing a cheque quickly

[emsiewill]

Dh is working away at the moment, and we're owed around £2000 in expenses - this has all gone on his credit card, and it is now "maxed out". With end-of-the month syndrome, we don't have any ready cash to pay out for his hotel bills etc for this week. Have just received a cheque for £850 from the company (gee, thanks), and would like to get the money ASAP, rather than 3 weeks next Thursday, as it seems to be if you pay in a cheque.
Does anyone know if it is possible to get a cheque cleared quickly? I've vaguely heard of paying a fee to get it cleared quicker (through my own bank I mean, not a cheque cashing place), but my bank's website is worse than useless in providing information. How much does it cost? How quickly do they clear it? I'm with Abbey National - anyone else done this with them?
Thanks in advance.

We enquired about this when we received a large sum in a cheque a few years ago. We were with HSBC (then Midland) who told us that there was no such thing as express clearance. There was some sort of service that you could pay for, but it still didn't mean that you could spend the money any quicker. If you spend 'unavailable' or 'uncleared' funds you will be charged overdraft rates. Be aware that these funds will not be available to you until the cheque has been processed even though they appear on your balance from the day they are paid in. My advice would be to arrange a sufficient overdraft with your bank to cover the amount you will need to spend before the cheque clears and then you will only pay a small interest charge rather than fees per transaction for an unauthorised O/D. If you explain the reason for this your bank should be sympathetic, you could even arrange a fixed period for the amount to be in operation if necessary.

Forgot to say that banks normally clear a cheque within 3 working days, if paid in at your own branch but building societies can take 10 working days. I don't know where Abbey National falls as they are an ex BS with very BS ways (DH fell out with them about their less than helpful procedures). Good luck.

emsiewill - I'm with Barclays and, despite current bad feelings towards them, in the past when I have been in similar situations, I have just called them and asked for O/D to cover this type of thing. It has never been a problem at all.

A-hem, our overdraft is already rather large - in fact Tinker, I could really sympathise with your plight on the other thread. Still, I suppose it may be worth a try, as they will be able to see that the cheque is there.
Thanks for speedy responses.

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if pushed try a branch of 'cheque changers' or whatever is your local equivalent. Look in the Yellow Pages. These companies need id - you'll have to ask what - and it may take a few days to check this out. However you can then get instant cash for your cheque. You just walk in, present your cheque and they will give you the cash.

You will have to pay though - I think the last time I used this service (a few years ago) it was about twenty five pounds. You will probably get a discounted rate for cashing your first cheque as you are a new customer.

Worth considering if time is of the essence. The cost of cashing the cheque is less than the bank charges you might get for being overdrawn.

HTH

emieswill - about 10 years ago, my father used to take the cheque directly to the bank from which it was made out. They would then do their processing and send it to his bank, cutting a day off the clearing time. If your bank takes 3 weeks to clear a cheque, I'd change banks. I really sympathise with this, having also suffered in the past from employers who aren't in any hurry to repay expenses.