Cheques Clearing question

[CJ&theBOS]

If i pay for something by cheque does it go from my account immediately (ie within 24 hours) i had always thought it takes about 3 - 5 days (or longer)

 

But just recently i gave someone a cheque for money i owed them (they preferred cheque) but i didnt have the funds available on that day. (ie today)

I have funds available from thursday but not today.

 

But according to the bank (HBOS) it comes off my account straight away.

?? if it comes off my account straight away but doesnt go into the other person's account for up to 5 days then where is it????? In some financial blackhole?

 

thanks guys

[KAB]

Very good question! I have often wondered this myself, however I cant answer it. I am assuming it is the banks way of gaining more interest!!1

[CJ&theBOS]

ive paid for things before with cheque and the money didnt come off until 3 - 5 days later. hrmm.

 

However what might make a difference is that the person i paid the cheque to has a HBOS account as well so maybe that is why the money comes off straight away.

 

Ill ask this person if the money went into their account straight away.

[livelylad]

hi the banks just make money in interest, it goes into a suspense account. just another way to shaft us, however i have heard reports recently that this is all about to change in the near future and the 3-5 days will become a single clearing day.

[brecken]

I gave my son a cheque for £100 because I was going away and couldnt get to the bank that day to give him cash, anyway he paid the cheque into his account, ( we are both with the halifax, same branch ) the money came out of my account 2 days later, but didnt go into my sons account for another 8 days, as I say same bank, same branch, you work it out, cos I cant, its a **** take and really annoys me no end.

[shywazz]

cheques cheques cheques a safe way to send and receive money, as long as you can wait to get ur hands on the wad lol most banks take 3 to 10 working days, for cheques to clear, the bset i know, is the halifax, where a cheque takes three working days, i have two accounts with them, one account takes ten days for a clearance and the other takes just three to clear, as for the person whom gave me the cheques, it comes out of they account within 2 working days, so best to have the money ready and waiting before writing any cheques to anyone, as people can pay extra for fast clearance, at a fee of between £12.00 and £24.00, i'm lucky really as i do all my banking on line now, which shows me instantly of transactions. hope i,ve assisted in some way to your thread. thanks.

[shywazz]

cheques cheques cheques a safe way to send and receive money, as long as you can wait to get ur hands on the wad lol most banks take 3 to 10 working days, for cheques to clear, the bset i know, is the halifax, where a cheque takes three working days, i have two accounts with them, one account takes ten days for a clearance and the other takes just three to clear, as for the person whom gave me the cheques, it comes out of they account within 2 working days, so best to have the money ready and waiting before writing any cheques to anyone, as people can pay extra for fast clearance, at a fee of between £12.00 and £24.00, i'm lucky really as i do all my banking on line now, which shows me instantly of transactions. hope i,ve assisted in some way to your thread. thanks.

[CJ&theBOS]

ok i contacted the person who i gave the cheque to.....

 

they checked their account. The cheque has cleared and the money is in their account ON THE SAME DAY.

 

now according to their online statement it says it was a TRANSFER not a cheque!!! kinda weird eh???

 

is this normal? for a cheque to be credited and debited on the same day?

[Glenn UK]

FWIW there is a banking protocol for cleairng cheques, my personal view is that this is a throw back to the days before electronic transfer was as easy and flexible as it is, or should be, today.

 

I pay my salary cheque (ex Barclays) into my account (NatWest) it clears into my account in 1 or 2 days. I think some banks have establisehd a 'local' practice of clearing cheques which come from the same source regularly.

 

I think banks rely on their protocol to make vast sums of moeny whilst they have our money.

 

JMHO

 

GLenn

[PhantomReclaimer]

Generally, the way it works is that if the cheque is presented at the same branch that the accout is at then it should go out the same day. If it's another branch or bank then it takes 3 to 5 days to work it's way through the system.

 

If you pay a cheque in it's credited to your account straight away but is shown as an uncleared balance so you can't draw on it, usually for 5 working days or more. Three days after you presented it it will be debited from the other persons account but can take another 2 or 3 days or longer for the money to actually work it's way to your account and to show up as cleared funds. During this time of course the banks are getting the use of your money for free.

 

Totally scandelous in this day and age. There is no reason why a cheque presented at a bank cannot be cleared or rejected there and then, or at least by the next working day.

 

I don't know what that delay end up earning for the banks but 5%ish for 3 to 5 days on EVERY SINGLE penny of EVERY SINGLE cheque written must be a vast amount.

 

Actually, I think I'll run a little experimant between two of my accounts and see how long it takes to clear a cheque between them.

 

P.