I've recently been sent a cheque paid in US Dollars (My first online poker winnings)
My bank - Woolwich refused to cash it or pay it into my account.
It's actually drawn on Barclays bank, so I asked my local branch for help, they said there was nothing I could do.
So can anyone tell me just how I go about cashing this cheque?
Thanks in advance
Mat
Why aren't you okay with PayPal? I've found them to be very useful in these sorts of situations, however they can be a little expensive for currency conversions.
Have you read their Ts & Cs? Basically, as long as there isnt a problem, its OK, but if there is a problem, the rule is, you are screwed. [Thats probably on page 14 sub para 2 clause B]
Sure every organisation has problems but
Listen to this :-)
That's fantastic!
Because they aren't a proper bank, and aren't regulated by anyone. If your money disappears, and there are many reports of this happening, there isn't anything you can do about it.
I especially like the "'well you said 'this call may be recorded' "
(a) try another branch (b) try another branch (c) ring up and ask their head office (d) Open an account elsewhere.
I noticed this statement was printed on one of the emails I received from PayPal -
PayPal (Europe) Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom as an electronic money institution.
Does this not mean they're regulated in the UK?
Sect. 6 of the User Agreement:
Please be aware that your account balance represents an unsecured debt of PayPal (Europe) Ltd. to you, is at risk in the event of PayPal (Europe) Ltd's insolvency and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or any other public or private insurance scheme.
Apparently only full clearing banks can cash foreign cheques - according to yesterdays cashier anyhow.
Went back into the branch this morning, with a bit more time to spare, I was in my lunchbreak yesterday, and asked to see the manager to make a complaint, amazingly forms appeared from below desks, my cheque was accepted and will be cashed within 10 to 28 days for a £7.50 fee.
I am seriously considering dumping them now, but the idea of rearranging both our salaries, about a dozen direct debits, child beneift and child tax credit payments, which all go through our woolwich accounts just fills me with dread, I just know there will be screw-ups on the way.
Mat
"Jonathan Bryce" wrote
... as you'd expect ...
"Jonathan Bryce" wrote
... also as you'd expect ...
"Jonathan Bryce" wrote
This one is a little unexpected considering that the FSCS say "We pay compensation if an authorised firm is unable to pay claims against it" and PayPal (Europe) Ltd *is* authorised - Reference No 226056, as from
13/2/2004.But let's say (for the sake of argument) that PayPal *isn't* covered by the FSCS - how is this any worse to a businessperson than their suppliers also not being covered by FSCS (if they pay for supplies in advance) or than their customers not being covered by FSCS (if they have chargebacks on their credit card) ?
It should all be done for you, the 'new' bank will do it (with your permission of course). I moved my business account from Cater Allen to Abbey about a year ago and all the direct debits, etc. were moved with little hassle. You will need to do a certain amount of the changeouver yourself though, the system isn't perfect.
You can always keep your old account open; so there's an overlap until you're satisfied that everything has been transferred correctly.
And why is it that when I sent My girlfriend a 250 cheque from my Natwest Account to her in Canada she was allowed to draw the cash within the hour. All for 10 canadian dollars.
You could try these people
HTH LL
Because they were taking the risk that (a) the cheque might not be good plus that (b) in the meantime she'd remove all her money from the account and do a bunk. A pretty low risk in most circumstances I imagine. Barclays will clear cheques below 1,000 now, based on the same sort of reasoning (as I understand, I dont work for them). I once had an occasion where a foreign cheque did bounce about 4 weeks after cashing it and 3 weeks after the money was apparently available to me.
And Woolwich, as part of Barclays bank is ...?
Who knows....someone at Woolwich, attempting to set up a mortgage for me, once told me that they were unable, "due to the data protection act*", to ask Barclays what my financial status was (who I banked with at the time) and wanted printed bank statements instead (..again... as they had just lost them). Barclays did own Woolwich at that point. I ended up staying with Barclays.
Most banks will charge a fair bit to cash a foreign currency cheque. Sometimes arounf £7.50 per cheque !
What I did was open a US Dollar currency account with Natwest (whihc is free) and then I can just pay money into this. They do charge a small amount for every cheque you pay in but its not much.
Then, I can transfer from my US Dollar to Sterling account whenever I want and it doesnt cost much in fees.
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