Sorry another on cheque clearing

trustworthy.

AIUI this is because it could turn out the cheque was stolen/forged etc. It could clear because funds are available in the account, but the fraud might only be noticed a month later when the account holder checks his statement.

There is no way you can get money back for a cheque you issued and has cleared, just because you've changed your mind.

Have you been hit by the overpayment scam? Where someone offers to buy something but "accidently" (or with some bullshit story) gives you a cheque for much more than the value of the item you ae buying and asks for the difference to be refunded after the cheque has cleared?

you ae buying --- should it be you are selling

Yup, sorry.

thats ok -- i wasnt being smart just clarifying it

Not the overpayment it is a cheque from a solicitor but one who seems to have something very dodgy going on. The payment, to us, was 14 weeks overdue on behalf of his client and that client is now 16/17 weeks on without getting their money.

There's been an update in the rules recently regarding how long you have to wait for a cheque to clear to be certain you can have the funds (6 days). Have a look at the APACS site below, you can get chapter and verse. I don't know if you having a business account will affect anything.

Sorry to answer my own question and for not having looked more carefully at my banks web site. Extract from it below which has made me feel happier!! Ken

Improvement to the cheque clearing process Whilst electronic banking is making cheques less popular, more than 5 million cheques are still used every day.

The UK banking industry has therefore made changes to the cheque clearing system to make it more understandable and provide greater certainty. These changes went live at the end of November 2007.

Setting a timetable for cheque clearing These improvements have introduced maximum time limits for cheque clearing, when interest is paid, and when customers can withdraw money from their accounts.

Certainty of payment - an entirely new feature - has also been introduced. For the first time, customers can be sure that after a maximum of seven working days after the date of credit on their statement, the money will be theirs.

Customers are protected from any loss if a valid cheque is returned unpaid and money cannot be reclaimed from their account after these seven days have elapsed. This is known as Certainty of Fate.