231
votes
Accepted
Rent cheque was stolen from landlord - am I obligated to pay again?
Yes, absolutely! You are obligated to pay your rent, and you haven't done so yet. Since this was your landlord's issue and not your own, if your bank charges you a stop payment fee, it would be ...
- 47.1k
160
votes
Accepted
How do people know if there are sufficient funds available when accepting payment by check?
The bottom line is you don't.
Checks are rarely written for that amount, currently the average checking balance in the US today is around $6,000 or so. Traditionally, checks were written for much ...
- 75.7k
135
votes
Accepted
Insurance company sent me huge check instead of pharmacy. Now what?
The insurance company issued the check. I'd contact the insurance company to have the current check voided and a new one issued to the pharmacy.
- 48.9k
118
votes
I wrote a check with an unambiguous but casual written amount - why did the recipient's bank reject it for "invalid written amount"?
"thirty four ninety five" is not a number. How many currency did you want to pay? Thirty four? Ninety Five? Thirty four hundreds and ninety five cents? Maybe someone else added the "and ...
- 162k
106
votes
Accepted
Counterfeit checks were created for my account. How does this type of fraud work?
When this happens, your bank should give you your money back. Your bank will then recover the money from the bank that accepted the check, and that bank will then attempt to recover the money from ...
- 115k
104
votes
Rent cheque was stolen from landlord - am I obligated to pay again?
Your obligation wasn't to write a check...it was to pay your landlord. And you haven't actually paid until money has gone from you to the landlord. So you're still obligated to pay.
(You might not ...
- 3,211
92
votes
Accepted
Can I claim only part of the full amount of a check?
In a comment you said,
I'm not suggesting scratching anything. I don't know how banks talk to each other, but presumably my bank would just tell the other bank to please send over $800. And if they ...
- 17k
80
votes
Accepted
Are purchase orders obsolete, or do they have some benefit over credit cards?
A purchase order is just a document essentially equivalent to a seller facing invoice; where an invoice is the buyer facing piece of transaction documentation.
When you fill your cart at Amazon, your ...
- 48.9k
69
votes
Accidentally cashed a check twice
The best method would be to contact the check cashing place, and have them stop processing. Whether or not that's possible depends on the actual company you used. Talking to the company that you got ...
- 4,343
65
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
The norm for disposing of old checks is destroying them, if you really wanted a non-shredder option you could cut a significant portion off and just burn those, or dispose of larger pieces at separate ...
- 68.6k
64
votes
How can I deal with a legitimate check received that is made out to my deceased wife's name?
I'm sorry for your loss. In this case, you give it to her estate executor (if that is not you) who would then deposit the check in her account or in the account of her estate.
- 162k
62
votes
How do people know if there are sufficient funds available when accepting payment by check?
In the UK, in the 1980s, if you wrote a cheque to the seller of an item and didn't have the money in your account, the bank would bounce the cheque (and charge you a fee) but the seller would have ...
- 22.6k
60
votes
Will crossing out my ex-wife's name cause problems using my checks?
If it were me, I would get a new checking account at potentially a new bank, but certainly with a new account number.
As Nathan said, there is no need for you to cross her name off the check, but ...
- 75.7k
60
votes
Why would the Bank not withdraw all of the money for the check amount I wrote?
"NSF" means "Not Sufficient Funds".
You paid a $27 fee for writing a check for an amount that exceeded the available balance on your account. The check bounced.
You should inquire ...
- 162k
58
votes
My landlord claims I didn't pay rent even though I can prove I did - What can I do?
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say, based on the facts you presented, that the letter didn't come from your landlord, and someone else is trying to scam you!
Here's why:
As you pointed out, ...
- 47.1k
55
votes
In the US, is it normal to not include an electronic way to pay rent?
Is it normal that rent cannot be paid using electronic methods such as
a credit/debit card, or a bank transfer, or Paypal, or anything
electronic?
It's fairly common, especially with smaller ...
- 68.6k
54
votes
Accepted
What if I made receipt for cheque on client's demand and client asks me to return the cheque and pays in cash?
Return the check, and
take back the receipt (so the other guy can't come back later, present the receipt and demand money back) for the check payment.
Issue him a new receipt for cash.
Note on your ...
- 50.5k
52
votes
Accepted
Is it ok throw away my unused checks for one of my bank accounts?
Is it ok throw away my unused checks?
No. If you feel that you want to get rid of them. You should destroy them. Put them through a shredder. Burn them. But don't throw them away.
If they aren't ...
- 133k
50
votes
Destroying Checks Scam?
This is likely a setup for some standard type of fraud. For example, Advance Fee: "you'll need to pay us to cover the cost of a background check on you" or overpayment scam. Or they want bank details ...
- 1,930
48
votes
Accidentally cashed a check twice
This type of situation is all about initiative. If you contact them first, it looks like an honest error you caught. If they discover it and contact you first, then it looks like you tried to get ...
47
votes
How do people know if there are sufficient funds available when accepting payment by check?
It was also common to call the bank and ask if funds were available.
It was legitimate to call the number printed on the front of the check and say, "Hi, I have this check for $300 from Artem, ...
- 5,809
47
votes
Can I claim only part of the full amount of a check?
No this can't be done. You can either cash the cheque for the amount written or not cash it. Writing a different amount on your ATM deposit will be noticed and corrected, just like it would if you ...
- 32.4k
45
votes
How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?
Use them to make papier mache. Place them in a bucket of water, let them sit for a while, stirring/mashing occasionally, until they become a pulp. Then either discard the mess, or use it creatively: ...
- 11.2k
43
votes
Rent cheque was stolen from landlord - am I obligated to pay again?
Yes, you are still obligated to pay the rent.
I don't know Canadian law, but in the US, your obligation to pay a debt is generally relieved when control of the money passes to the other person.
In a ...
- 22k
43
votes
Accepted
Undated cheque was given by client but client asks me continually not to deposit it
The receipt is irrelevant. It only means that you acknowledge that you were given a check, not that the check was any good.
Since you have not yet started the work, I recommend that, if you have ...
- 115k
42
votes
Destroying Checks Scam?
My guess is that they will say "Oh no, you destroyed the check for $1000 that was in there that wasn't meant to be destroyed, now you have to pay us back that $1000".
However, honestly, it doesn't ...
- 22.6k
42
votes
I wrote a check with an unambiguous but casual written amount - why did the recipient's bank reject it for "invalid written amount"?
Suppose you write me a cheque for "thirty four ninety five" and fill in the numeric amount as $34.95. I could easily add "and 0/100" to the end of the written amount, connect your ...
40
votes
Can I deposit a check into my account if it is not signed on the right hand side?
Without a signature, there's not even a hint that your son meant to authorize the check. The possibilities for fraud are endless.
That's why it requires his signature. (I seriously doubt whether the ...
- 50.5k
39
votes
Made a mistake on check need help to fix
You really shouldn’t be crossing anything out on a check. Banks will generally not accept a check with words or numbers crossed out.
Instead, if you make a mistake writing a check you can void the ...
- 115k
39
votes
In the US, is it normal to not include an electronic way to pay rent?
Is it normal that rent cannot be paid using electronic methods such as a credit/debit card, or a bank transfer, or Paypal, or anything electronic?
It's highly dependent on the landlord/property ...
- 50.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible