Hi everybody!
I’ve just got a quick query. I just sold a personal computer privately and payment for it was made with a Bank Cheque (St George to be exact). I was told that Bank Cheques were relatively safe as the person would need to ‘pay for the cheque’ (i.e. have the funds in their account) for the cheque to be issued by the bank. I’m just a bit worried now as the amount was quite a lot. Is there any way the person who gave me the cheque can cancel it? The cheque is made out to me and my name is printed on it. I was also wondering, if I have a CBA bank account, is there a way of depositing the cheque into my account so that the funds clear immediately? I’ve been told by a reliable source that this can be done however I’d be charged a small fee for it. I just wanted to verify all this to put my mind at ease and get a good night’s rest.. I’ve had too much bad luck lately and I’m finding it harder to trust people (which I really hate) [guilty] Thanks in advance for any replies.Cheers
gday
i dont know for sure but im pretty certain that you need sufficient funds in the account. and no, you cant cancel it once you have purchased it. dont stress about it, give the bank a call in the morning and let us know.
good luck
youll be fine
millsyYou have to have paid the money to get a bank cheque. Not just have the money in your account, but you actually take the money out of your account to pay for the bank cheque up front.
You shouldn’t have a problem, however, if you are feeling really uneasy, you can pay for an overnight clearance instead of waiting 3 to 7 days depending upon where it’s drawn etc. You can also get a “same day” clearance but that costs quite a bit as you’re up for the courier charge between your bank an the bank it was drawn on. Overnight clearance is about the cheapest way for a quick clearance if you don’t wnat to wait the normal number of days.
Good Luck
PKOnce upon a time, in far away land…. a bank cheque was regarded as being as good as cash, if not better.[biggrin]
You could accept them without any fear and when you deposited them into your account, they were regarded as being “clear funds” – like cash.
Today, however, it’s a different story. Deposit a bank cheque and your bank will regard it just like any other cheque – uncleared and with a chance it could bounce! [angry2]
Bank cheques CAN be stopped by the purchaser of the bank cheque BUT the issuing bank will not do this lightly, they will need some hard core reason to put a stop on it – they dont want to undermine the value of a bank cheque by having lots of them out there with stops on them!
Which seems quite odd given that when you deposit one, they think there’s still some risk to it! [confused2]
The good news is this…. go to any property settlement house and you’ll see hundreds of property sales effected each day on the strength of handing over bank cheques as payment. [biggrin]
If you dont want the bank cheque, then ask the buyer to deposit CASH / CLEAR FUNDS directly into your bank account… if you feel comfortable with giving out your details. But tell them it MUST appear on your account as CLEAR FUNDS. You can then release the goods the following day. [biggrin]
Long answer but hope it helps!
Score – big grins 3, Confused 1, angry 1 Big Grins WIN
Thanks once again for the helpful advice everybody
It puts my mind at ease a bit.. but I was just thinking after looking at the cheque that anybody could have just forged one and printed it out as there were no water marks or any unique ways of identifying the cheque and it’s legitimacy.. ahh well I’ve banked it so it should all be good Thanks again.
Hi NEWGEN!
CASH is KING!
If someone does not have the cash then they need time.. and TIME is MONEY so if they want time they need to pay more.
I do NOT consider bank cheques as good as cash. They are not legal tender and you are at the mercy of the banks discretion if there should be any dramas. And remember the GOLDEN rule…
“Whoever has the money makes the rules”… So as the bank already has your money they can string you along for as long as they like…
Case 1.
A customer walked into a bank in a small country town in NSW and exchanged cash for a bank cheque. He left and after a short while returned to the same teller who had previously served him. He explained that he had lost the first cheque and she agreed to give him a replacment. (He had not lost the first cheque and now had two!)He then went to the airport and paid an aircraft mechanic for performing major work on his plane. Over several weeks of work the mechanic was owed maybe $50,000 (I don’t remember the figures) for labour and parts. The mechanic was happy as he had a bank cheque and the man flew home interstate in his plane.
It was not until a few days later that the mechanic was informed by the bank that they were not going to honour the bank cheque he had presented as it was no longer valid – it had been cancelled when the teller issued the second cheque.
So let me asked you this – Was the bank teller the one who made the error in issung a new bank cheque? And also who wore the consequences of the tellers mistake? The banks are a law unto themselves… This would never have happened if cash was used as payment.
I am not sure how this ended up as the police could not question the plane owner as he lived interstate and they were awaiting extradition papers.
Case 2.
A parcel was stolen from a couriers van in Collins st Melbourne… It was a locked bag containing blank bank cheques (I think there were a hundred or so) The theives printed onto the cheques the amount they wanted and went shopping. One victim – a landscape gardener – sold a bobcat for about $15,000 and then went to the bank only to be told by the bank that it was his bad luck and the bank cheque had been stolen and a such would not be honoured.Did this landscape gardner do anything wrong? Is it reasonable that the bank use an ordinary courier to transport bank cheques, but armoured cars for cash? Obviously they do not consider these as equal commodities.
Well the journalist covering this story interveiwed the chief of the Australian Banks Association and he stated right there on national television that bank cheques are not legal tender and the banks are not obliged to honour them. period.
As John pointed out bank cheques are used at settlment all the time and I think that having contracts involved reduces the risks… but having said that my brother was presented at settlment with bank cheques that had both his names spelt incorrectly on them (Hands up who thinksMichael is a hard name to spell?)… He told the banker to go back and bring him correct cheques (which is what he had paid cheque direction costs for anyway) or else the settlement wold not continue. Funnily enough the banker scrambled up the street and fixed it.
Do you think the bank would let you walk out with their money if mortgage documents had your name spelt incorrectly – I am certain there is no way they would let this happen!
Sorry this post is so long but the banks attitude to customers infuriates me…
A favourite method of mine is direct debit via interent banking when people come to buy stuff from me they can pay there and then and we both have a receipt number.
Another overlooked technique is TT (telegraphic transfer) it costs about $25-$40 and is instantly available in your account. ie does not go via the clearing house.
This is a good option instead of paying $20 for a bank cheque which may not be worth the money it is printed on.
Sorry it is so long but I think people should know this stuff.
Cheers,
GregNEWBIE,
If you live in Western Sydney and sold the computer through the Trading Post, I’d be extremely nervous until the cheque was cleared. There’s a certain male dropping these cheques all over the place and he loves electrical items and cars. Good luck.
Oh no….. I swear if I get ripped off it’s the last straw
I dunno how much bad luck I can take.Now for some more confusion…..
Grreg, what happens if you receive counterfeit notes in the wad of cash?
Well, it’s the last man left holding ’em loses.
If you take fake notes to a bank or police or whoever and present them, they confescate them and you dont get any refund!
So even cash can be a risk.
And yes, there are quite a few fake $50’s going around at the moment.
So now we know the risk of cheques, bank cheques and cash.
T/T’s or direct deposit might be the go?
But hang on, I’ve been warned not to give out my bank account details.
I guess it’s like a lot of things in life… if you think too much about it, it gets awefully hard.
ps as for the rip offs with the bank cheques, well it’s clearly a matter of fraud and eventually you might be able to get something back… especially if the prosecutor shows the bank was slack… but it would be a long, long wait ( just like in a bank queue! ) until you saw anything if at all.
Hi everybody..
I’ve spoken to St. George investigations.. the cheque was fraudulent. $2,000 down the drain.. now my mortgage will be in arrears. I’m sick in the gut..I can barely talk/type right now.. I’m so upset.. I can’t believe some people.
Well.. I hope this info helps someone out there:
Be VERY careful of St. George bank cheques.. actually… don’t accept any until further notice. There are fraudulent cheques being used by LOW LIFE SCUMS who are targeting electrical goods and other goods of value advertised in the trading post. If someone hands you a St. George bank cheque and the cheque number is 148966.. do your best to get the police onto the person.. or if you’re a big person.. thump the crim one for me. My girlfriend’s in tears.. and now I have to leave work to go to the police station to report this, with a very minimal chance of seeing any of the money or my laptop again.. strike three for me [glum2]
Newgen
Shit, that’s bad luck. Can you remember any details of how the person contacted you. eg is their phone number left in your mobile phone? The type of car used etc, You could give that info to the Police (they are unlikely to do anything for ths amount though).
Terryw
Discover Home Loans
North Sydney
[email protected]Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Hi everybody.
My girlfriend and I have reported everything to the police. This guy’s been doing the rounds because the constable we spoke to told us that there had been quite a few incidents like this involving the person fitting the same description. All I can do now is wait until I get a call if the police need more info. The driver’s license he had was fake.. I got his mobile number but the police don’t think there’s much they can do with it.. [angry2] I had a bad feeling on the night so we followed the guy out when he left so we could take down his car rego number but he just walked around the corner so we just thought that he’d caught the bus or something as he was late in arriving..Good news is..(if you can call it that) that I’ve contacted my bank and I’ve been given an extension to make this month’s home loan repayment. Another expensive lesson learnt (not that I did anything wrong
). I’ll keep everyone informed if there are any updates on the matter.I was wondering if it was possible to maybe put a sticky somehwhere in the forum just as a warning to the forum members? I’d hate for anyone else to go through what we have..
Cheers
NEWGEN,
Bad luck – but you’ve learn a valuable lesson….
You CAN trust your instincts – they are spot on!
In future you’ll be able to pick this type of issue straight off.
Cheers,
Aceyducey
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.– Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut
NEWGEN,
So Sorry to hear of yor troubles…..
Just a thought…. If you have his mobile, maybe you should ring him up, saying you forgot to give him a CD/CASE/CABLE/DRIVE for the laptop, and can you meet him to give it to him ???
IF he goes for it, simply advise the cops, and, hopefully you get to catch the guy…..
Just a thought….. He doesn’t know YOU know the cheque is fake….. you could simply tell him, you have been busy and are going to bank next week…..
Just a crazy thought…. but… maybe…. worth a try ??/ who knows…..
anyway…. I wish you some GOOD LUCK from now on… you deserve some….
Chin up…..
Hi NEWGEN! Sorry to hear about your loss… it is a terrible thing to have happen… Thanks for starting this great thread though – hopefully you will help someone else avoid the same thing…
Hi Manofaction – the advantage of cash is that most of us would be able to detect counterfeit notes (if we stopped and looked at it) as we deal with cash on a daily basis. Unfortunatley bank cheques are a far less familiar to most of so anything that looks like it could be a bank cheque could maybe be passed off as real.
I totally agree there is a lot of counterfeit money going around out there… So we all have to be careful!
My friend is the branch manager of a foreign currencies branch for one of the big banks… As this is their only foriegn currency branch in the state all international notes exchanged at all suburban branches come back to him.. He writes of about $4000 a day in counterfeits – simply because suburban tellers, like anyone, do not deal with these daily and can not easily tell a good fake from a geniune note.
Pelicaninvestments – I like your idea and it is definately worth a try… these heartless people are pretty slick though – it is so lucative it is probably not a one off event and I doubt you could easily trick them. In my brothers case (see https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forum/topic/11962.html?SearchTerms=ebay) they had bought (stole?) a series of pre-paid phone cards (incidently with consecutive numbers) and just used a different one for each victim and then threw it out… He tripped himself up when he rang my brother on a consecutive number to the one he rang on eariler and then introduced himself to my brother as my brother – so he was stealing the identity too!
A great thread and hopefully this will save someone from else from being burned!
Anybody else got some war stories?
Are you thinking BIG enough?
Hi all,
I used to work in a bank (don’t hold it against me!). The one thing they used to drum into our heads all the time is that there is :”only one wat to do banking, and that is the Banks way!”. WHich is code for if you stuff up and you can show you followed procedure then they’ll back you up, if not …. you, the teller, are on your own!
Having said that, though, we were required to do daily/weekly and monthly training on every service our Bank provided and you weren’t allowed to do that function if you didn’t do the training before hand. No Buts. I know it doesn’t help you right now, but not all bankers are cold heartles fish. Don’t forget the lesson! I do hope your luck picks up (the good kind any way!)Cheers
C@34
Newgen,
I don’t imagine contents insurance covers this sort of thing, but have you rang them to check, just in case. Also have you rung St George bank and expalined what has happened and checked with them if they have any insurance on which you can make a claim?
Just thoughts, no promises, but owrth checking out.
Regards
PKCalvin, I re-read the first line of your post and that St. George commercial popped into my head haha (family barbeque.. “I’m a banker” *silence* “I work for St. George” *sighs of relief from the crowd*) lol.
PK, I have thought about that but then I thought the chances of it being covered would be very very low. St. George didn’t give me any info about recovering the costs.. they just said it was in the Police’s hands. I received a letter from my bank telling me the cheque was fraudulent.. I think they’re gonna send it back to me so I can use it as evidence (?).
Cheers
I dunno how much bad luck I can take.
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