Paying in cheques that are dated over 6 months ago

[Bozza]

Do banks always, as a matter of course, refuse cheques that are over 6 months old now?

A quick Google suggests it's an informal rule in place - does anyone know for certain.

It might save me a wasted trip to a bank today with a 6 month and 17 day old cheque!

 

[Weatherman]

Do banks always, as a matter of course, refuse cheques that are over 6 months old now?

A quick Google suggests it's an informal rule in place - does anyone know for certain.

It might save me a wasted trip to a bank today with a 6 month and 17 day old cheque!

Very unlikely it would be noticed when your'e paying in and if the cheque still ends up back at the issuing branch after going through the clearing system it wouldn't be checked as in the past as there's virtually no one in the branches these days to do it.

 

[Gwylan]

I paid in a cheque that was eight months old a couple of years back - it was with a bunch of other cheques and it just went through as normal

 

[Bold Seagull]

There is a brilliant Seinfeld episode called 'The Pledge Drive' that has Jerry cashing a load of his Aunts Birthday cheques he'd just stored in a drawer for years and years and was told it was rude not to bank a birthday cheque. The bank had since moved as she no longer used the account, and she was effectively bankrupted by Jerry paying all these cheques in. All very funny.

This clip doesn't feature much of the Aunt, but George getting paranoid is just brilliant as usual...

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

They always check mine at the bank and I never get them through if they are old, they ask me to get them reissued. Don.t know the legal position but I would imagine they have some Terms and Conditions to get them out of taking them.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I don't think it will be an issue. I've cashed cheques which have Miss on them (a frequent issue due to the spelling of my name) and one into my personal account which was payable to a business name which had closed some time ago. I flagged these up to the cashier though, maybe do the same.

 

[mothy]

Cheques don't go out of date. However a lot of businesses cancel them after 6 months. So should be fine

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Significantly more chance of being rumbled with a different 'year' being in play

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

They always check mine at the bank and I never get them through if they are old, they ask me to get them reissued. Don.t know the legal position but I would imagine they have some Terms and Conditions to get them out of taking them.

Why would the bank want to get out of taking them? It's not as if the bank keeps the money, it simply stays in the account of whoever wrote the cheque.

 

[Mackenzie]

I don't think it will be an issue. I've cashed cheques which have Miss on them (a frequent issue due to the spelling of my name) and one into my personal account which was payable to a business name which had closed some time ago. I flagged these up to the cashier though, maybe do the same.

Mr Piss?

 

[dazzer6666]

Years ago all cheques used to be checked at the branch - all cheques, all aspects (signature, date, words and figures etc) and were returned if anything was wrong. Over the years this checking has got less and less - only higher amounts etc etc. Unless your cheque is very high value or has something very obviously wrong (crossing out etc) it's unlikely to get noticed. The bank taking it in might notice, but you can ask them to put it through anyway - it's up to the paying bank whether they pay it.