Cheque lost in post , social welfare say they cant cancel it , is this true ?

teddyhead

Hello , my sister is having a problem with getting her unemployment allowance, advice would be appreciated. The story is , after seven months, she was told her claim came through and that approximatley four thousand euro was 'in the post' . Having waited a week , she decided to inquire into the delay. She was told that said cheque had been sent and there was nothing they could do until it expired (in two weeks). It cannot be cancelled and resent. My question is , is this the proper procedure ?
Seems senseless to me that large amounts can disappear for weeks on end , yet the people in the office are not interested in its whereabouts.
Should she contact the gards independently of the social welfare people?
Isnt it normal to cancel cheques immediately when you suspect something fishy ?

mp22

She should enquire in her local post office.

teddyhead

Thats first on the list for tomorrow. It seems to be lost however , so at the end of the day she will have to deal with the welfare people about it. I just find it highly unusual that they refuse to cancel a large cheque when they know it has not reached its intended recipient.
Seems negligent to me.A stalling tactic perhaps? I cant think of another business where a few grand can go astray and nobody gives hoot about it.

tony81

mp22 wrote: »

She should enquire in her local post office.

No organisation in the country would allow a lost/stolen cheque worth thousands to go missing like this and do nothing

Also cheques take 6 months to expire! Fair enough if they're just telling you to wait 2 weeks before requesting a stop.

Anyway here's your answer:
http://www.ipso.ie/section/BusinessCentreChequesFrequentlyAskedQuestions

Can cheques be stopped?
A stop can be placed on a cheque provided it has not already been paid. The bank should be contacted with details of the particular cheque, i.e. the date of issue, cheque number, the amount and the payee.

teddyhead

Thanks Tony81. Much appreciated.To be honest she is too polite for her own good and they are walking all over her because of it.

Sue Ellen

Get her to go to the local office and complete an indemity form for lost/ destroyed cheques. This will prompt the accounts dept to put a stop on the cheque. If it has already been cashed the fraud section will look into it. If it has not been cashed a new cheque can be issued and a stop placed on the old cheque. Acquiring the details of whether the cheque was cashed can take a few days.

wellieboot

As suggested already, check the Post Office. Payments expiring generally refers to PO payments (electronic) rather than cheques.

teddyhead

wellieboot wrote: »

As suggested already, check the Post Office. Payments expiring generally refers to PO payments (electronic) rather than cheques.

Yes they are being quite cryptic with this two weeks expiry nonsense.She has had to deal with a lot of evasion and messing in the last few months.Its worth a look in her designated post office to be sure but she has letters clearly stating the arrears would be paid by cheque. Also I didnt think the post office would handle such a lump sum but it makes sense to eliminate that possibility.
Anyway , thanks for all the advice folks ,she has a few avenues to follow up tomorrow and hopefully will have it sorted sooner rather than later.

Tow

Then be Warrents and not Cheques, different rules apply.

wellieboot

Well, any sign?