Time to clear a cheque

RJC

Hi,

I have a final payment due to me from the drawdown of a mortgage (for a house extension). The mortgage cheque was lodged in the account of my solicitor 5 working days ago (on a Thursday, today being a Wednesday) by my solicitor (bank issue to solicitor, usual scenario).

I phoned this morning to enquire about my cheque and was told that it takes 5 working days to clear a cheque and that the funds would be ready for me tomorrow.

I have never heard of '5 working days' before. 3 working days, yes. 5, no.

The issuing bank is BoI and the Solicitor's bank is AIB.

I strongly feel like I'm being kicked down the road.

With the other drawdowns (first and interim drawdowns) this '5 day clearing rule' didn't apply.

Can anybody shed any light on this?

Is this really a bank rule (5 days to clear a cheque)?

Or am I getting the run around?

Paulw

You might get a better answer in the Banking forum.

I believe it's 3 working days if it's the same bank (AIB to AIB or BOI to BOI), but 5 working days if it's interbank (BOI to AIB), etc.

Toots

Paulw is correct. Cheques drawn on and lodged through the same bank take 3 working days, all others take 5. In your case, 5 working days is correct. Your cheque should clear tomorrow.

mathepac

Sorry Toots*, but that statement is untrue. According to the IPSO website -

"Cheque FAQs

How long does it take to clear a cheque?

It normally takes three business days to clear a cheque if it is drawn and payable on a member bank of the Irish Paper Clearing Company Limited (IPCC). The cheque is lodged on Day One. It is exchanged with the bank on which it is drawn on Day Two. The customer on whose account the cheque is drawn is debited on Day Two or Three."

So as both BoI and AIB are ordinary (or full as distinct from associate) members of IPSO and IPCC, cheque clearance should take 3 days maximum (contrary to the rubbish you'll hear spouted in Banks and by the telephone support staff; banks don't clear cheques, IPCC / IPSO does that on their behalf)

Toots

Yes but you can still have a cheque stopped retrospectively up to two days after it's debited from your account, so it could still come back unpaid for up to 5 days after it's lodged.

pjmn

mathepac wrote: »

Sorry Toots*, but that statement is untrue. According to the IPSO website -

"Cheque FAQs

How long does it take to clear a cheque?

It normally takes three business days to clear a cheque if it is drawn and payable on a member bank of the Irish Paper Clearing Company Limited (IPCC). The cheque is lodged on Day One. It is exchanged with the bank on which it is drawn on Day Two. The customer on whose account the cheque is drawn is debited on Day Two or Three."

So as both BoI and AIB are ordinary (or full as distinct from associate) members of IPSO and IPCC, cheque clearance should take 3 days maximum (contrary to the rubbish you'll hear spouted in Banks and by the telephone support staff; banks don't clear cheques, IPCC / IPSO does that on their behalf)

... all that is true BUT - the paying bank have until the day after the cheque is presented on their customer to make a pay/unpay decision (that's Day 4) and on the basis that they unpay on Day 4, the payee won't get the cheque back until Day 5 (in the post) - hence why it takes 5 days to be sure a cheque has cleared.

BengaLover

I had cheque clear same day with AIB.

chris85

BengaLover wrote: »

I had cheque clear same day with AIB.

Some banks offer an instant clearing facility on some accounts from what i have heard, not very common.

kaiser sauze

BengaLover wrote: »

I had cheque clear same day with AIB.

Was the cheque drawn on an account in that very AIB branch? That sounds right, however, it would be a little unusual for a cheque to clear immediately across branches of the same bank, but certainly not impossible.

chris85 wrote: »

Some banks offer an instant clearing facility on some accounts from what i have heard, not very common.

It is quite normal to be able to immediately cash a cheque by going to counter of the branch from which is is drawn on.

I have never heard of an indiscriminate cheque clearing facility on any account. In my mind that would be reckless on the banks' part.

TheBouldMowgli

The rule of thumb in solicitors offices is
1 day same bank same branch
3 days same bank
5 days inter bank

hibernian56

Its just theft, plain and simple. The cheque is cleared, i.e. debited from the relevant account on day 2, so it is available at that stage to be credited to your account. Taking 5 days to give you your money is theft.

Bank of Ireland are the worst in my opinion, they will take 5 days AND rake up over limit / unpaid charges during that period. Everyone here should be looking at their accounts at least weekly for illegal charges. I spot one every month or so and get it reversed, again theft.

Thankfully I have read that the EU are in the process of legislating against these abuses, just like the way it stopped the Irish banks taking 2-3 days for an "instant" electronic transfer.

Have a look at this... http://tinyurl.com/37navtw

The UK sorted this out themselves in 2006, but then again we have very special Ministers for Finance and Financial Regulators looking after our interests. Our banks are staffed by some of the most arrogant wasters in the country.

THEFT