is it a criminal offence?

[little_star]

Moorcroft have stated in a recent letter which i want to know if its correct or not that ' knowingly issuing a cheque when there is insufficient funds to honour may constitute a criminal offence.' ????

 

although i sent them to cheques for the same amount and informed them i would have the 2nd one cancelled as this would have left me over paying

[harrassed senior]

Tricky, I know it used to be a criminal offence to write and issue a cheque when there are insufficient funds available but that was years ago, and I do believe that all that kind of thing has been de-criminalised and is now civil. Hopefully someone with a more difinitive answer will be along shortly.

[the_shadow]

haha I'd like to seem them try and obtain a prosecution for it....

 

Jeez.. in this day and age most people have overdrafts... if you go over the overdraft then the bank or rather a computer takes a choice on your credit risk level and how much they want to screw you for allowing you to go over that amount.

 

We all have written cheques that have taken us over our limit, are we all therefore commiting fraud :D

 

Just the usual scare tactics I'm afraid.

 

S.

[cerberusalert]

If you cancelled the cheque how can it be a criminal offence? You haven't obtained any 'goods or services' by deception from the lowlifes.

[little_star]

its the cheek of moorcroft to send me a template letter , telling me they will take this matter further - they misinterpreted the banks note 'refer to drawer' stating this means insufficient funds when it means to refer back to myself. and can you believe i actually paid 7pound for the cheque to be cancelled and recieve this threatening remark!

[Kraken1]

I believe that a cheque itself is a legally binding contract in its own right and the payment that it is seeking to make is irrelevant. Worth checking (chequing?!) though. Bills of Exchange Act 1882.

 

As for a criminal offence. I suppose if there were goods or a service involved it could constitute some sort of theft or fraud. Generally though I would think civil action is more likely.

 

Incidentally, a cheque does not need to be from a chequebook. It can be on anything, depending on the ts and cs of the bank.

 

I have heard various stories about cheques being written on unusual objects. Is this legal and, if so, what is the minimum information required on such a cheque? Would any reputable bank honour such a cheque? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk

 

Anyone fancy trying the cow with a DCA? Although I suspect that would cost a fair bit for the cow.

[cerberusalert]

There will only be a defence to your claim for a bounced cheque in two situations:

 

If the person issuing the cheque can prove that they received absolutely nothing from you in exchange for their payment, this may legally justify their stopping the cheque. If, however, they obtained even very deficient goods or services from you, this removes this defence from them and you will still get judgment against them.

 

The only other defence they can raise is where the contract with you was illegal or you obtained the cheque from them in a fraudulent way.

 

Welcome to Easy Lawyers

[fuzzybobble]

I wouldn't worry too much about Moorcroft and their daft letters and pointless threats.

 

They live in a world of template letters and never carry out any of the threats they contain anyway.

 

I've had 6 outings with them over the last 2 years and have a full set of every letter that appears on CAG. All 6 times I got rid of them without a problem.

 

If you want to see how many people on CAG they have taken to court, then search for them using the forum search option. I've not managed to find a single case where Moorcroft have taken anyone to court. Lots of threats of it, and letters headed "Pre Court Division" But I've not come across a single case where they have filed a court claim.

 

Their letters are all bluff, empty threats, and lies, and should be treated as such.

[little_star]

good to hear, i think i will write a letter of complaint, cos all they do is write these template letters and completly ignore what i have to say time and time again, and after reading up on the oft guidelines theres about 7 i can complain about and hopefully this will shut them up, all payments have been made

[Darwin]

it may seem like an odd question but was the cheque post dated ?

[spamheed]

Moorcroft have stated in a recent letter which i want to know if its correct or not that ' knowingly issuing a cheque when there is insufficient funds to honour may constitute a criminal offence.' ????

 

although i sent them to cheques for the same amount and informed them i would have the 2nd one cancelled as this would have left me over paying

 

 

If a cheque is written which you realise (after the fact) cannot be covered, withdraw the cheque and send a replacement which will be honoured, unless you gained clear advantage from the initial cheque, caused them financial loss then this could very easilly be explained away as an innocent mistake which was rectified at the earliest opportunity.

 

I used to regularly do this, send a cheque from the wrong account, cancel it, then send another from the correct account. As long as you communicate the mistake to them effectively, their accusations are groundless*.

 

*unless they can catagorically prove that this is a regular tactic used by yourself to extend your credit - even then it's not illegal - more unscrupulous