Currently a bank can still return a cheque unpaid even after the clearing cycle is complete and it is included on your statement as part of the cleared balance. If the cheque is returned unpaid, the value of it will be debited from your account even if you have withdrawn the money in the meantime.
I think this is something that everyone should read and inwardly digest. Basically, it is saying that the customer carries the can - not the Bank. We may grouse about it; we may complain about it; we may think it is totally unfair; but we should all be fully aware of it at all times.
The effects can be really serious, particularly in countries like France where one can not normally arrange an automatic overdraft. In France, a potential overdraft situation has to be rectified by the customer within a fairly short period. Failing that the customer will be reported to the Bank of France and the customer can be banned from having a Bank Account of any sort for a year or two, but still has to rectify the situation.
Cheque transactions between French Banks are dealt with in a matter of days but that is not necessarily the case with international transactions which can take substantially longer.
I accept French and foreign cheques in respect of rental payments and process them through my French Bank. I would not be in an overdraft situation even if one of them did bounce.
I would never accept payment in any form which involved me in receiving an amount over and above the rent and obliging me to forward the balance to anyone else. I wouldn’t even accept it in cash – it wouldn’t be a scam but it would probably be money laundering. It’s such a blatant attempt at a scam that I don’t understand why anyone would fall into the trap – surely it is so obviously a scam, even to a blind man on a dark night.
Fluffy
