Cashing a cheque

TetraSonic55

Is it possible to cash a cheque without owning a bank account? I got the cheque from a friend and would like to cash it. It's from permanent TSB. Is it possible I can do it?

Spocker

It depends on if the cheque is crossed or not

Homer

What kind of friend gives another friend a cheque in 2017

Mrs OBumble

Homer wrote: »

What kind of friend gives another friend a cheque in 2017

One who has a friend who doesn't have a bank account that you can direct deposit into!

cml387

In fairness, it was possible years ago to give a gift cheque to a friend.
Being a physical thing it could be given like a card.
It's not really the same thing to just say "I've deposited 100 euro in your current account (trust me on this)".

P. Breathnach

If the cheque is not crossed the bank on which it is drawn has a legal obligation to exchange cash for it. The bank on which it is drawn is not regarded as Permanent TSB as a whole, but the branch where the drawer's account is held.

[I am making some assumptions about the cheque being properly drawn up, there being funds in the drawer's account, drawer being alive and sane, stuff like that.]

TetraSonic55

P. Breathnach wrote: »

If the cheque is not crossed the bank on which it is drawn has a legal obligation to exchange cash for it. The bank on which it is drawn is not regarded as Permanent TSB as a whole, but the branch where the drawer's account is held.

[I am making some assumptions about the cheque being properly drawn up, there being funds in the drawer's account, drawer being alive and sane, stuff like that.]

I talked to P TSB about this and they say they can't cash it.

P. Breathnach

It's not that they can't cash it; it's that they won't cash it.

Let's bring it down to basics: suppose I have money in PTSB, and issue a written instruction to them to give you a certain amount of it, then they are obliged to follow my instruction (provided that I have written the instruction in proper form). That is what a cheque is.

A cheque is defined in S.73 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 (which needs to be read in conjunction with S.3 if you are to make sense of it). At the core of the definition is that the cheque is payable on demand.

The bank is in clear breach of its legal obligations if it dishonours a cheque. Whether you have the energy to pursue the matter is down to you. [I would go after the bank, but that's because I get riled up by that sort of cavalier disregard for my rights, and I'm not under pressure, so I can afford to be a crusader.]

If you are more interested in getting your hands on the money than on fighting for proper treatment, you might use the cheque to make a purchase. If a trader knows you, he or she might accept the cheque and lodge it to the business account.

TetraSonic55

P. Breathnach wrote: »

It's not that they can't cash it; it's that they won't cash it.

Let's bring it down to basics: suppose I have money in PTSB, and issue a written instruction to them to give you a certain amount of it, then they are obliged to follow my instruction (provided that I have written the instruction in proper form). That is what a cheque is.

A cheque is defined in S.73 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 (which needs to be read in conjunction with S.3 if you are to make sense of it). At the core of the definition is that the cheque is payable on demand.

The bank is in clear breach of its legal obligations if it dishonours a cheque. Whether you have the energy to pursue the matter is down to you. [I would go after the bank, but that's because I get riled up by that sort of cavalier disregard for my rights, and I'm not under pressure, so I can afford to be a crusader.]

If you are more interested in getting your hands on the money than on fighting for proper treatment, you might use the cheque to make a purchase. If a trader knows you, he or she might accept the cheque and lodge it to the business account.

Thanks for the info!

P. Breathnach

Going into old-man-reminiscing mode:

I find it hard to come to terms with how unfamiliar many people are with cheques today. When I was younger, they were the most usual form of making medium or large payments. There was a time when we didn't have ATMs or Debit Cards, and only a smallish minority had Credit Cards.

If you hold a cheque made out to you, and want to use it to make a purchase, you have to endorse it. This is done by signing it on the back and handing it over to the trader. Don't sign it in advance, because if it is then lost or stolen, it can cause you a great deal of bother.

Some traders are happy to accept large cheques and give you change (providing that they know and trust you). They actually prefer to have cheques in the till than large amounts of cash, because they can be traced if they are stolen.

Okon

[Sarcasm mode on]

Cash a cheque? That means going in to a bank branch and dealing with an actual cashier. No sir, we are having none of that.

[Sarcasm mode off]

I get the feeling that cheques, branches and dealing with real people are all things of the past in modern day Irish banking.

P. Breathnach

Okon wrote: »

...
I get the feeling that cheques, branches and dealing with real people are all things of the past in modern day Irish banking.

Indeed. And along with that, they are attempting to ditch compliance with the law.

Staff serving at the counter generally don't know basic banking law and rules.

The J Stands for Jay

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Going into old-man-reminiscing mode:

I find it hard to come to terms with how unfamiliar many people are with cheques today. When I was younger, they were the most usual form of making medium or large payments. There was a time when we didn't have ATMs or Debit Cards, and only a smallish minority had Credit Cards.

If you hold a cheque made out to you, and want to use it to make a purchase, you have to endorse it. This is done by signing it on the back and handing it over to the trader. Don't sign it in advance, because if it is then lost or stolen, it can cause you a great deal of bother.

Some traders are happy to accept large cheques and give you change (providing that they know and trust you). They actually prefer to have cheques in the till than large amounts of cash, because they can be traced if they are stolen.

Of course, none of this applies to a crossed cheque.

P. Breathnach

McGaggs wrote: »

Of course, none of this applies to a crossed cheque.

It actually does apply to most crossed cheques.

The effect of a crossing is that a cheque should be lodged to an account. This is not usually restricted to an account in the drawee's name, so the cheque can be lodged to another person's account once it has been endorsed.

[This issue crops up in forums like this when a person who does not have a bank account receives a crossed cheque and wants to know how to deal with it.]

The J Stands for Jay

P. Breathnach wrote: »

It actually does apply to most crossed cheques.

The effect of a crossing is that a cheque should be lodged to an account. This is not usually restricted to an account in the drawee's name, so the cheque can be lodged to another person's account once it has been endorsed.

[This issue crops up in forums like this when a person who does not have a bank account receives a crossed cheque and wants to know how to deal with it.]

I keep forgetting that it's possible to cross a cheque without writing "a/c payee only" between the lines, like so many businesses do.

JeffKenna

TetraSonic55 wrote: »

Is it possible to cash a cheque without owning a bank account? I got the cheque from a friend and would like to cash it. It's from permanent TSB. Is it possible I can do it?

OP stop trying to dodge tax.