How can I make the cheque for my bank account closing balance usable by someone else?

Question

When closing my UK bank account and moving abroad, I got a cheque from my building society that states

Pay MR F M ANAPHORY ***********

The Sum of (Not exceeding ten thousand pounds unless countersigned)

TEN POUNDS 38

For and on behalf of X Building Society

[ACCOUNT PAYEE ONLY]

I would like to give this cheque to someone else to pay into their account. The cheque states “Account Payee Only”, but obviously I don't have a UK account any more, and I'm not in the UK to open one.

Is there any way I can send it to someone in the UK, so that they can use it to get the £10.38 into their account?

Answer 1

According to the people responsible for the cheque and credit clearing system, no:

https://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/information-hub/faqs/crossed-cheques

Is there any situation where a crossed cheque can be paid into the account of someone other than the named payee or recipient?

Not for a cheque crossed ‘A/C Payee Only’ or ‘A/C Payee’. The Cheques Act 1992 and Section 81 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 give statutory power to the ‘A/C Payee Only’ or ‘A/C Payee’ crossing when it is used. The legislation means that a cheque which bears the ‘A/C Payee Only’ crossing can only be paid into an account in the name of the person who has received the cheque (i.e. the payee) exactly as it appears on the cheque.

I think your best option is to contact the building society and ask if there's any other alternative for receiving your money. For example, if they would do a bank transfer instead, then you could use a money transfer service like Revolut or Transferwise, who both offer UK accounts in your name, to receive the money and then transfer it on.

But for £10 it's going to be difficult to find anything worthwhile, particularly now that the cheque has already been issued and would need to be cancelled.