HMRC Rebate Cheque Out Of Date

[BillHicksRIP]

Found a rebate cheque from Apr 2015 that I'd forgotten about. It says on the cheque it must be presented within 6 months but wondering if it's worth trying to bank it still? It's <£50 so not the end of the world if I have to forget about it.

[northernladuk]

A cheque is valid for as long as the debt between the two parties (i.e. the person writing the cheque and the person they give it to) exists. In other words, cheques don’t have an expiry date. However, it is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the person who has written the cheque, in case the payment has been made another way or the cheque has been lost or stolen. This six-month timeframe is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques older than six months would automatically be rejected as the only definite way to cancel a cheque is for the person who wrote it to request that a stop be placed on it. If you have a cheque that you want to pay in that is more than six months old, your best course of action is to not pay it in and instead obtain a replacement from the person who gave it to you. Where there is a dispute, a cheque remains legally valid in order to provide proof of the existence of a debt for a period of six years, which is the Statute of Limitations.

[northernladuk]

That said different banks have different rules about manually checking dates though. If they don't bother checking for a cheque for say, over £100 there is a chance it will go through If you don't want to bother trying to get a new one issued you might as well give it a go banking it. Up to you I guess.

[Pondlife]

There's probably a pretty simple way to find out I should think.

[Old Greg]

There's probably a pretty simple way to find out I should think.

If the OP sends:

• 20 cheques for £50 with a date 1/07/2016
• 20 cheques for £50 with a date 1/01/2016
• 20 cheques for £500 with a date 1/07/2016
• 20 cheques for £500 with a date 1/01/2016

to Oude Joris Max 120 Dutch Antilles Trading Corporation, then we have a decent test.

[Darren at Fox-Bartfield]

HMRC Refund

Found a rebate cheque from Apr 2015 that I'd forgotten about. It says on the cheque it must be presented within 6 months but wondering if it's worth trying to bank it still? It's <£50 so not the end of the world if I have to forget about it.

You could send it back to them and ask to pay directly into your bank account, would save a trip to the bank.

[FrontEnder]

If your bank has a postal service for cheques, they're much less likely to be checked for dates.