Cheque Clearing

Yes, if it is from the solicitor's client account, you should be safe. Solicitors have to follow very strict rules about how they operate the client account, and most of them comply with them.

I can't see a solicitor writing you a cheque and then stopping it.

Not on his client account anyway. The Law Society has very strict rules on the conduct of solicitors' client accounts. He would only write it upon receiving irrevocable instructions from his client and also upon receipt of cleared funds.

Solicitors can be struck for breaching the rules.

John Pointon Accountant, Tax Consultant "In business to grow your business"

Thanks for your replies and from which I take comfort and will now buy a turkey for Xmas dinner and keep the tin of Spam for another day!!!!

Phil

Think I'd rather have the SPAM.

Who do you bank with? cheques normally take 4 working days to clear and only go through the post system if you specially present them. Are you sure that the cheque isn't in fact already cleared?

It will probably go through if it was written by a solicitor (they are supposed to be honest you know!) but the worst case is that it bounces and you don't get the money but you do get the returned cheque which is fairly solid evidence of the debt. In the worst case you will still be better off than you were before.

Worrying wont help.

____

I'm with NatWest. Before I banked last Tuesday, and when I spoke to them face to face, it was in branch (my own branch) at the enquiry counter not through a call centre. And the man seemed to be experienced. Since my first post I have learnt the person who owes me does owe a lot of people so if this cheque goes through OK I will be one of the few lucky ones.

The other part to my tale is the cheque is only part payment and when it 'is' cleared I am issuing paperwork to take to small claims court as there will still be 1500 outstanding. On thislatter amount I am not hopeful but for the sake of a few forms and a small payment a risk worth taking.

Phil

That's all irrelevant. The cheque was not drawn on your crook's account, it was drawn on the solicitor's account. The solicitor would have been a fool to issue a cheque before the crook's cheque had cleared into his account. If the cheque bounces, you sue the solicitor, not the crook, and you'll win even if the crook is penniless. You'll only lose if the solicitor is penniless.

Don't be misled by the words "client account" on the solicitor's cheque. They only serve to make it easier to distinguish funds which belong to the solicitor from those which belong to his clients. If the solicitor should go into personal debt and bankruptcy, the client funds cannot be seized by creditors, because they're not his.

The solicitor is a large multi office set up. I am cynical as they did say some weeks ago they had authority to pay me in full. Then a couple of weeks on they said their client (who owes me the money) had given newer instructions which were to pay a figures 1500 short of the due amount. I have since suggested to the solcitor inlvoved (by phone) that they did previously assure me they were paying in full and was it something the Law Socitey may take up for me. I thought if a solcitor gave that reassramce they were not able to take controdictory new instructions from their clients. All this time they had sufficient cleared funds in their client account as I specifically asked this question at the outset.

Phil

You don't worry in an attempt to help matters!

You should have encouraged them to do so at the time.

That's fair enough. They have to comply with their client's instructions.

Saying they have authority isn't the same thing as assuring they'll act on it. If the authority is revoked before they act, that's too bad.

They are at all times bound to comply with their clients' instructions unless they would thereby be acting unlawfully.

In that case the cheque will not bounce. Once they've written and given you their cheque, they have as good as handed you cash.

As this is the frist time this has happened to me I will learn whatever lessons I can. But it seems to me that it is impossible to design this eventually out of the system. I have taken my solicitors advice and even he admits it would have been very hard to have seen this coming. Does this mean credit checks etc on everyone I deal with knowing if I tried many would be very offended.

Phil

instructions.

controdictory

Only do credit checks on people who ask you for credit. If they are offended then don't do a credit check and dont extend them credit.

In message , Phil writes

The solicitor acts on instructions from his client. If, one day, the client says that he will be giving instructions to settle the full amount, and the solicitor advises you of this, he is acting in good faith. If, prior to paying you, the client issues further instructions, as they did, the solicitor is obliged to act on the instruction - he has done nothing wrong.

It sounds to me as if you have got lucky with a substantial payment from a solicitors clients account. The balance sounds at risk, but worth a go, even if only for the satisfaction of having a CCJ against him. You can then decide whether to throw more money at collecting it.

In message , Phil writes

Unfortunately, this is business, and we all have to take the risks that you are taking. You could, as you suggest, offend everyone by credit checking them like the banks do.

On the other hand, I think we all have to build some bad debts into the business.