I have three clients that all have the same situation.
During the last 2 years each have drawn cheques to pay for goods from a supplier. Each month they appear on the bank reconcilliation, and are at least 18 months old.
In two cases the suppliers no longer exist, and in all cases the cheques are over 6 months old, so even if presented, would probably not be accepted.
I left it for a whole financial year just in case of any problems then just wrote it off as it was a small amount, if it's hundreds or thousands then i might want to leave it just in case.
Not quite the same, but I have a client who wrote out a cheque to a customer as a deposit refund and to cut a long story short it was arranged that they wouldn't cash it. It stayed on the bank rec for a good few months until this was arranged and then I wrote it off. However, the customer (which was a property management company) changed property manager and they cashed the cheque, which by this time was well over 6 months old. The bank however accepted it! I thought cheques expired after 6 months and would no longer be accepted?
Although they are not meant to accept chqs over 6 months old they can still pass through clearing so it is always worth getting it stopped at the bank.
"It is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the payer, on the basis that payment may already have been made by some other means or the cheque may have been lost or stolen. However, this is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques in excess of six months old would automatically be rejected the only certain way to cancel a cheque is to request that a stop be placed on it (although cheques backed by a Cheque Guarantee Card cannot be stopped). It is recommended that, if possible, customers in possession of cheques that are over six months old obtain a replacement. A cheque remains legally valid for six years."
Although they are not meant to accept chqs over 6 months old they can still pass through clearing so it is always worth getting it stopped at the bank.
Hal AFA FFTA
In the same way that cheques signed 'Mickey Mouse' may also pass through clearing unless of course they are for a significant amount.
The issue is that banks can't check every single cheque that is presented for payment and ensure it is correctly dated, correctly signed, with no blank fields etc. When I worked for one of the big banks we had a limit, every cheque over that amount would be found and checked by a person, but that was it.
