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Have I Made A Mistake By Accepting This Personal Check?

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confusedok

Junior Member
Oklahoma:

I split apart from a guy I was investing with. I have just under $8,000 invested with him.

Yesterday he gave me a personal check for $6,000 as a partial refund of my capital.

I noticed he'd dated the check 05.19.23 (he gave me the check on 05.18.23). I didn't want to accept a post-dated check, so I had him strike through the incorrect date, write the correct date above it and sign the correction.

I took the check straight to his bank and asked the teller if there were funds in the account to cover it. She told me she couldn't tell me, but suggested I call the guy who'd written the check. I did so and handed the phone to the teller.

From the teller's side of the conversation I overheard, he'd deposited a personal check for more that $6,000 from someone two days before and had misunderstood the bank's policy on when the funds would be available (05.24.23).

If I wait to run the check through, am I losing any legal ground here ?
 


quincy

Senior Member
Oklahoma:

I split apart from a guy I was investing with. I have just under $8,000 invested with him.

Yesterday he gave me a personal check for $6,000 as a partial refund of my capital.

I noticed he'd dated the check 05.19.23 (he gave me the check on 05.18.23). I didn't want to accept a post-dated check, so I had him strike through the incorrect date, write the correct date above it and sign the correction.

I took the check straight to his bank and asked the teller if there were funds in the account to cover it. She told me she couldn't tell me, but suggested I call the guy who'd written the check. I did so and handed the phone to the teller.

From the teller's side of the conversation I overheard, he'd deposited a personal check for more that $6,000 from someone two days before and had misunderstood the bank's policy on when the funds would be available (05.24.23).

If I wait to run the check through, am I losing any legal ground here ?
Losing legal ground for what? You can deposit the check today (the 19th) or wait to deposit it on the 24th.
 

confusedok

Junior Member
I used to manage a business and dealt with checks a lot. I know if you accept a post-dated check you lose the ability to collect on it. I'm worried if accepting the check knowing funds aren't available might have the same effect.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I used to manage a business and dealt with checks a lot. I know if you accept a post-dated check you lose the ability to collect on it. I'm worried if accepting the check knowing funds aren't available might have the same effect.
You don’t lose the ability to collect on a post dated check. You would lose the ability to collect on a check if there is no money in the checking account when it is deposited. But then you would just ask to have the check reissued.

I take it that you don’t trust the fellow with whom you were investing?
 

confusedok

Junior Member
You don’t lose the ability to collect on a post dated check. You would lose the ability to collect on a check if there is no money in the checking account when it is deposited. But then you would just ask to have the check reissued.

I take it that you don’t trust the fellow with whom you were investing?
No, he's extremely shady.

It's been nearly 40 years, but I used to have to go to court on bad checks. In 1980s South Carolina, at least, if the judge found out we'd accepted a post-dated check, he'd throw the case out.

Under Oklahoma law, writing a hot check for over 2K is a felony with up to 10 years imprisonment. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything to make the OK judge throw me out of court the way the old judge back home in South Carolina used to.

From a bad experience I've had with a contractor, I already know by accepting the $6,000 of the $8,000 I'm owed and agreeing to accept payment of the remaining $2,000 at a later date I'm turning that 2 grand into a loan and a civil matter, but if I get the 6 grand back, even if I never see the additional 2K I'm making a 14% return on what I've had invested for the past year.

I figured I'd better get it while I can, this guy's a narcissist who's rapidly escalating and it won't be long before he rationalizes his way into keeping my moolah!
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Go back to his bank tomorrow. Don't ask if there are funds. Just ask the teller to cash the check. If the teller says no, you'll know that funds aren't available.

Then go back Monday. Don't ask if there are funds. Just ask the teller to cash the check. If the teller says no, you'll know that funds aren't available.

Then go back Tuesday. Don't ask if there are funds. Just ask the teller to cash the check. If the teller says no, you'll know that funds aren't available.

Keep going back every day and do the same thing until you walk out of there with cash.

The reason I say keep doing it every day is because there may eventually be new deposits with enough money to cover the check even though he may be wanting to use the funds for something else.

Once you have cash, you can work on the other $2000.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I used to manage a business and dealt with checks a lot. I know if you accept a post-dated check you lose the ability to collect on it. I'm worried if accepting the check knowing funds aren't available might have the same effect.
You didn't accept a post-dated check. You accepted a check with the correct date (he corrected it).
You don't "know" if the funds are available, so your question is moot.
 

confusedok

Junior Member
Go back to his bank tomorrow. Don't ask if there are funds. Just ask the teller to cash the check. If the teller says no, you'll know that funds aren't available.

Then go back Monday. Don't ask if there are funds. Just ask the teller to cash the check. If the teller says no, you'll know that funds aren't available.

Then go back Tuesday. Don't ask if there are funds. Just ask the teller to cash the check. If the teller says no, you'll know that funds aren't available.

Keep going back every day and do the same thing until you walk out of there with cash.

The reason I say keep doing it every day is because there may eventually be new deposits with enough money to cover the check even though he may be wanting to use the funds for something else.

Once you have cash, you can work on the other $2000.

Strange. I used to do the opposite, for the same reason.

When I was running a business that took a lot of checks many years ago, a bank would stamp a bad check "Insufficient Funds" each time you presented it and it bounced. After two stampings, they wouldn't cash it, even if there were funds.

When a check came back, it already had one stamp on it. I'd call the customer and most of the time they'd make arrangements to take care of it and do so. When they didn't, I knew I only had one more attempt to cash it, so each morning and each afternoon I'd call the bank on each bad check I was holding and ask if there were funds available. When there were, I'd run over to the banks and cash the checks. It was just a lot simpler and less time consuming than going through the court process.

As you said, people knew they'd written a bad check and weren't expecting it to be run through again. They'd often deposit funds to cover something else and I'd swoop in and get the money for the bad check they'd written me.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Strange. I used to do the opposite, for the same reason.

When I was running a business that took a lot of checks many years ago, a bank would stamp a bad check "Insufficient Funds" each time you presented it and it bounced. After two stampings, they wouldn't cash it, even if there were funds.

When a check came back, it already had one stamp on it. I'd call the customer and most of the time they'd make arrangements to take care of it and do so. When they didn't, I knew I only had one more attempt to cash it, so each morning and each afternoon I'd call the bank on each bad check I was holding and ask if there were funds available. When there were, I'd run over to the banks and cash the checks. It was just a lot simpler and less time consuming than going through the court process.

As you said, people knew they'd written a bad check and weren't expecting it to be run through again. They'd often deposit funds to cover something else and I'd swoop in and get the money for the bad check they'd written me.
So you know the process. Good. Just follow it like you did with your business.

And keep good track of the location of the guy you formerly invested with, in case you have to sue him.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Strange. I used to do the opposite, for the same reason.

When I was running a business that took a lot of checks many years ago, a bank would stamp a bad check "Insufficient Funds" each time you presented it and it bounced. After two stampings, they wouldn't cash it, even if there were funds.

When a check came back, it already had one stamp on it. I'd call the customer and most of the time they'd make arrangements to take care of it and do so. When they didn't, I knew I only had one more attempt to cash it, so each morning and each afternoon I'd call the bank on each bad check I was holding and ask if there were funds available. When there were, I'd run over to the banks and cash the checks. It was just a lot simpler and less time consuming than going through the court process.

As you said, people knew they'd written a bad check and weren't expecting it to be run through again. They'd often deposit funds to cover something else and I'd swoop in and get the money for the bad check they'd written me.
The difference is that you would not be DEPOSITING the check in your account. You would be presenting the check at the bank it was drawn on and asking them to cash it.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
The difference is that you would not be DEPOSITING the check in your account. You would be presenting the check at the bank it was drawn on and asking them to cash it.
Doing that would avoid bounced check fees at the OP's bank. However, some banks charge a fee to those cashing a check of one their customers at the teller window. That fee is likely less than incurring multiple bounced check charges, but it's something to be aware of. Not all banks do that, but there some that do.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Given the amount of the check ($6,000) and the concerns that the OP appears to have, I believe the amount charged would be negligible.
 

confusedok

Junior Member
OK, so it didn't go entirely smoothly, but I got the check cashed and safely deposited in my account.

Now on to the 2 grand he still owes me.

Thanks all for the help and advice.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What were the actual terms of the investment? Were you guaranteed to receive the full amount back?
 

quincy

Senior Member
OK, so it didn't go entirely smoothly, but I got the check cashed and safely deposited in my account.

Now on to the 2 grand he still owes me.

Thanks all for the help and advice.
Thank you for the update, confusedok. That the check cleared and you now have the $6000 safely in your own account is positive news.

I wish you good luck collecting the remaining amount owed.
 

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