Paying in cheque made out to someone else!

You aren't suposed to be allowed to do this - so two options spring to mind. Firstly he opens a deposit account at a building society with a few quid cash and then deposits the cheque. Not too difficult a process. Secondly you add him to your account in some way and then pay it in. You could always revoke his access to your account later.

Not officially. But sometimes I have written my name above the wrong name on the check, crossed out the original and initialled it as the drawer, since there is no fraud intended I do not feel guilty about this and have never had a problem, although it is probably not legal.

mrcheerful

Thanks. Time was I could call up my bank and ask a human being what to do. Now I get a machine followed by options, delays, then someone on Mars :-) (If I'm lucky).

"dave" wrote

Is the cheque crossed "Account Payee" ?

Most are as a matter of course. Does it mean anything? No, otherwise all those cheque cashing shops simply could not operate.

I understand, probably from one of JB's missives from ages ago, that the payee can *insist* that the collecting bank attempt to collect even though the cheque contains technical irregularities such as having the wrong date or wrong payee or being signed by "Mickey Mouse". Provided the drawee notices nothing wrong with it, which they won't unless it's for an unusually large amount or the account is overdrawn, it should go through OK.

Where does he find the utility bills, not including mobile phone bills, required to prove his identity to the bank?

Just give it a go.

Go to your bank, fill out the paying in slip and pay in the cheque.

It worked for me a couple of years ago. I accidentaly paid in a cheque meant for someone else into my account by mistake. No one noticed and the money appeared in my account.

In the past year all three of my children opened accounts - and none of them had utility bills. The bank (HBOS) used a copy of their passport (identity) and my details (proof of address), to open an account in their names. The banks aren't required to see utility bills - it just forms a part of their screening process.

If the OP's Son is in his twenties or older a bank may require more.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

If I remember it correctly, the law changed on this matter in the mid-nineties. Previously, there was no statute on "account payee" and it was unenforceable; but it was then that statute was passed giving specific meaning to those words. JB, can you confirm?

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

Only 9/10 this time RR, you are right about insisting that the collecting bank collect a cheque that appears to be technically irregular on the face of it, but you cant insist where the problem is the 'wrong payee' because to collect such a cheque, and the cheque were paid, would leave the collecting bank open to a claim for conversion from the real payee (if such a person exists).

The Cheques Act 1992 amended the Cheques Act 1957 and the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 so that in the case of a cheque bearing the restrictive crossing 'a/c payee' with or without the word 'only', a collecting banker could no longer rely on the protection previously afforded to him by s80 of the BoE 1882 which thereby prevents the cheque becoming transferable and thereby only becomes valid between the parties to the cheque. Therefore this prevents the bank attaining the unassailable position of 'holder in due course' with regard to it having rights against all other parties to the cheque (which would include the third party paying it in).

Cheque cashing agencies indemnify the bank against them incurring such claims for conversion.

In message , Rob writes

Did the real payee lose out?

No, it was for my girlfriend. She gave me the cheque to pay into her account. Set off half asleep early on saturday morning and paid it into my account instead. We have completely different names and bank accounts in different banks. The bank never queried it. Naturaly we had a laugh about it and I gave her the money.

Banks don't seem to perform even the most basic of security checks, such as lookng at the signature or name. Back in the 80's someone stole some cheques from my cheque book and wrote them out to himself attempting to forge my signature. It didn't even come close. The bank still transferred the money into his account though.

They do check the signatures on some cheques, but only for a tiny proportion of the total number they process. I believe only cheques above a certain value are checked.

Chris

But you could indemnify the bank against such a claim, which would be the obvious thing to do in the typical scenario where you are laun^H^H^H^H processing a cheque for a friend or relative.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

But if you *are* a money laun^H^H^H^H processor, do you think the bank would accept your indemnity?

Why not? All it means is that if JB gives me a cheque payable to you, and I ask my bank to put it into my account, and the bank says "but what if Tim sues us for conversion", I just tell them not to worry, and if he does then I'll give him the money.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

But isn't it a bit late, if you've cleaned-out the a/c and left the country? The bank might not believe that you'd still be there, or at least "there with the money left", when I got around to sueing them for conversion...

Yes, it would be, but my bank knows me and trusts me. Actually, if it really were worried, it wouldn't let me clean out the account until it was satisfied you'd had your dosh.