We always post-date our rent check for the 5th - the day that it’s actually due - even though we always make sure that they have the check by the first or second. It’s never a problem; they hold it, then a few days after the fifth it appears on our bank statement as having been cashed.
We do this because of where our paydays fall, which are generally after the first of the month but before the fifth due to employer weirdness.
This month, instead of holding the check until the fifth, they cashed it the 2nd, and it posted today, overdrawing my account.
What are my rights in this situation between me and the landlord? Was it illegal of them to deposit the check before the fifth, or is post-dating merely a suggestion with no legal basis?
You haven’t got a leg to stand on. The date on the check is merely for reference (except to the extent that a personal check is not valid after typically 6 months from the issue date) and neither the bank nor the payee has any legal obligation to honor it. If you write a check and pass it, you are responsible for there being sufficient funds in the account to cover it at the time it is issued regardless of when the check is dated for.
The bank is under no obligation to hold a post-dated check. With everything being so automated these days, I’d be amazed if anyone looked at the date field of the check. The post-dated check is an anachronism.
Not only that, but accepting a post-dated check is a bad practice.
For instance–someone owes me $100. for an item he takes with him. He writes me a post-dated check, saying he’ll put the money in his account when he gets home in two days. But, he’s tragically killed in a car crash on the way home. They close out his bank account, and I’m SOL.
Balls. I guess all the other times, they weren’t holding the check until the fifth as much as they were just waiting to deposit all of the checks at once. The one time I didn’t actually have the money in the account when I sent the check is the one time that they decide to hop to it.
Now you may have some legal recourse, if you can demonstrate that you and your landlord had what amounted to a contractual agreement to hold checks until the postdate. But, is that really worth the relatively small amount of money it cost you in OD fees?
If this is the first time this has happened and you aren’t in the habit of bouncing checks, your best bet is to contact your bank’s customer service department and explain the situation and ask them if they will reverse the fees this time. Most banks are willing to give you a courtesy refund if your banking record is otherwise clean (and sometimes, even if it’s not entirely pristine).
Based purely on anecdotal evidence, many times if it’s your first OD offense, if you ask the bank, o’pretty pretty please they will reverse the charges. This pre-opposea your record with the bank is super clean and this is the very first time you’ve done this.
I will note I have only been told this by persuasive women. I don’t know how a man would fare in this bid for sympathy.
My bank’s official policy is to reverse one NSF per year (12 months). In some circumstances, they’ll forgive a second one, too. My brother in law has worked at several banks that had similar policies as well.
For the future, have you considered using a bill paying service? I use my bank’s internet bill-pay service and it’s great. I tell the computer when the money needs to be in the recipient’s account. They make sure it happens and actually debit my account on that day. So, if my rent were due on the fifth, I could set it up to pay on the fifth of each month. The bank will actually send the money a few days ahead of the fifth to get the ball rolling, but my account won’t get hit until the due date. It is wonderful. My mortgage gets paid on time every month without my ever having to so much as lick a stamp. I hardly ever write checks, now.
I’m near as ugly as they come, and I’ve gotten the waiver 3 times in 10 years.
As long as it’s once a year or less, they seem to do it reflexively as a matter of customer retention.
Regardless of what others said, you had an agreement with your landlord, if he is going to carry on like that then you would be wise to change your method of payment.
Personally I suspect that it was just a clerical error, and that he will be highly embarrassed.
Did you actually specify to the landlord that you were post-dating the check, and ask him to hold it? Or were you depending on the fact that he would notice the date was in the future and not cash it until then?
This piece of information will make a big difference in whether or not you can approach the landlord about it.
You’re better off being late paying someone money than you are writing a check you don’t have the money in the bank for. You end up with additional problems because bouncing a check is a criminal offense, with penelties involved. You also have to pay the fees, the original sum, and the person is pissed with you. Never give a check to somebody that is post dated, because they will cash it and you will be liable for the mess.
Never agree to an electronic funds transfer with a bill collector, because they will try to get every cent from the account and if they say they will wait until a certain day to get the amount, they won’t and they will prosecute you under laws they can’t if you are just unable to pay.
I’m not a lawyer but I believe a contract requires offer, acceptance and some consideration. The landloard gets no consideration for holding you check until a later date while you get the advantage of having “paid” your rent on time without actually having done so. It’s a one-sided deal and valid contracts are two-sided.
In other words, you’d have to notify the bank when you write the post-dated check to keep the bank from honoring the check prior to the date on the check.
