let’s say i give you a check ( or cheque ) of, say, US$1000.
now you end up losing it for some reason, or maybe your dog ate it up, or it fell into your camp-fire or something…
can you ask me to re-issue the check ? Should i ? what is the legal stand-point on such an issue ?
my arguement is that the money rightly belongs to you and you haven’t yet cashed it, but the counter arguement is that it was an instrument of legal tender and you lost it so too bad.
what are your views ? and what are the law’s views ?
and instead of hearing “it depends on the state where the check was issued”, let’s assume this is international trade and i signed the check in mali,africa and delivered it to you in s.f., california.
Usually you just write a new check (cheque). If you suspect fraud, tell the bank to issue a stop payment on the original. Most will not charge a fee if the check never surfaces.
A check is not legal tender, but merely a method of transferring funds. After all, you can’t take the check to the store, pick up a six pack, and tell the cashier “Here’s a check for a $1,000; just give me the change.”
As to the payee’s legal recourse, that’s a bit tricky. I think he’d have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the check is gone, but that he never received funds. I’m not sure how he’d do that.
the fight against ignorance continues thanks to brave warriors such as Guy Propski :)…
let’s say we ask the bank and the bank says the cheque was not cashed and then i put a stop payment on the presumed lost cheque and choose whether or not to issue the new cheque…
Unless you were under some form of duress when you first offered the check, in which case you’re in the clear both morally and legally IMO, what makes you think the transaction has been completed?
You need to re-write the check[sup]*[/sup].
*I’d add the caveat to the payee, if it was determined to be their fault that the first check was lost, that I’ll deduct from the initial amount any amount that the bank charged me, or time and inconvenience that I’m directly out as a result of re-issuing that check… all within reason, of course.
The example just came to me. I seem to remember from one of my finance courses that checks aren’t classified as legal tender. Then again, as Cecil has pointed out, if you could find someone who’d be willing to swap this check for a product, that would be a legal exchange.
IANAL, but this would be the standard procedure (seeing as I have to go through it today…a payment for an assignment I did got lost.)
Place a stop order on the check. This, obviously, will prevent anyone from cashing it in the future, should it mysteriously show up.
Write new check.
Pretty straightforward.
As for legal implications, I would assume that if I enter into an agreement for payment with another party, I would have legal recourse until I actually cash the check, no? I mean, my client can’t screw me out of $2000 in the above case just because the check got lost in the mail? It’s not my fault, it’s not theirs. I haven’t actually gotten paid. It’s not the same as if I was handed $2000 and then lost it. Even if I were issued a check and lost it, I should still have a right for it to be reissued. At the most, I suppose, they can charge me for a stop-check and reissue fee, but as far as I know, it’s not legal tender.
I don’t know the legal terms for all this, but it seems rather logical for it to work this way.
On the other hand, if I give say, Bob, a check for $100, just as a gift, he loses it, and then wants me to reissue, and I change my mind, thinking he’s an irresponsible idiot, I believe I can change my mind and not give him the $100. If it’s a gift, we weren’t in any form of contract (to my knowledge) and I can exercise my discretion, no?
