Cheque Express Clearance...

In message , Troll Hunter writes

Dont confuse 'paid' with cleared.

The cheque *should* be 'paid' the day after it was paid in but wont be cleared for three or four days. The bank will let you have the dosh against it though once they know it has been paid.

When did you pay it in and at what time?

It was on Friday (23rd Dec) afternoon about 2pm into my Halifax account.

The cheque was issued by the HSBC and the branch where the account is in the same town as my bank

Sending a cheque express is only to check whether it will be paid - you do not have access to the money any earlier than had it gone through the clearing cycle.

In message , Troll Hunter writes

OK< so you got it in time for that day.

HBOS will have posted it to HSBC so it *should* be in their post tomorrow, being the first working day but it might not be until Thursday.

Get your HBOS branch to ring HSBC tomorrow and ask them to see if the cheque has been received and if so, has it been paid. If it has been paid then HBOS should then let you have the money. Be aware that HBOS may charge you interest though (if you have less dosh in your account anyway) for the few days that will pass before HBOS get paid by HSBC.

In message , Eric Jones writes

Most banks will allow payees to draw against the funds though wont they? (Once the collecting bank has confirmed with the payee that the cheque has been paid)

After all they know the fate of the cheque for certain and its an easy few days interest earned!

Only if they score for an overdraft of the amount they want to cash as technically withdrawing the money would make them overdrawn (drawing against uncleared items).The only way to get same day and cleared value is to get the money 'chaps'ed to your account. Any cheques including bank drafts go through the clearing system.

In message , Eric Jones writes

Ah yes! Damned modern technology! Even so, as this is a 'safe' lend by the bank could not an authorised officer override the credit score?

But what about a 'Bankers Payment'? For local payments (and I think the OP said both collecting and drawee banks were in the same town) couldnt a BP be handed to the collecting bank? Do Bankers Payments not exist any more?

Not in the way that you mean. A cheque drawn on say a Barclays account could be paid in over the road to say a Nat West account but Nat West would no longer walk the cheque to Barclays. They would post it to the Central Nat West Express clearance section (wherever they may be based) and the cheque would be paid (or otherwise) through a paper Bank Giro Slip through the clearing systems.They would phone for fate in the normal way but funds would only be available at the end of the clearing cycle. Only cheque in excess of half a million are dealt with by Chaps.

In message , Eric Jones writes

But surely that is just a matter of a particular banks practice rather than a change in the law. AIUI the Bills of Exchange and Cheques Acts, and their amendments, whilst removing the need for a cheque to be physically presented to the drawee for payment have not removed one of the main attributes in the definition of a cheque as being 'payable on demand', (s73 Bills of Exchange Act 1882). Has this been repealed?

As it happens a short while ago I was chatting to my mate who is the manager of one of the local branches of a bank in the same group of one of the banks you mention above. He told me about a business client who had a cheque payable to him for which advice of fate (and cleared funds) was need quickly. My mate suggested a special presentation which was to be walked to the drawee involved (mere yards away) with the request for a Bankers Payment. The staff at the drawee had no understanding of the request at all, neither had their 'manager' (ahem) or the 'manager' (ahem) at the central 'remittance' room (my words) many miles away. Luckily my mate phoned his mate from the CIB who was the area manager for the drawee concerned and it was sorted, but I am not sure at this stage that a BP was issued, even though fate was eventually determined on presentation.

So, despite the operational requirement of Natwest (oops, I've let it slip), surely the rule of law overrides it when necessary?

As a separate question : Do 'Bankers' Payments' still exist? They were quite a different animal to drafts etc., and were as good as cash, but only between banks.

I do not question your obvious knowledge of the British banking system. I too remember many years ago having to go to various banks with cheques to ask for bankers payments and yes I'm sure that they were processed as cleared funds to customers' accounts. However today such a beast does not exist. Whether the Bills of Exchange Act has been amended or parts repealed I do not know.

In message , Eric Jones writes

Ah well, RIP to the Bankers Payment!

Thanks for the update!