I accepted a personal check from a renter and then I held it for three weeks before depositing it. The check bounced and the person emailed me to notify me of alternate payment (which was good) saying it wouldn’t have bounced if I had been more prompt in depositing it. That made me angry. I wouldn’t normally hold a check that long, but I did and I don’t consider it my fault that they didn’t keep funds available for three weeks. I know I am right from a legal standpoint- but ethically- is 3 weeks too long? Was that rude?
Is it rude to hold someone’s personal check for 3 weeks before cashing/depositing it?
I accepted a personal check from a renter and then I held it for three weeks before depositing it. The check bounced and the person emailed me to notify me of alternate payment (which was good) saying it wouldn’t have bounced if I had been more prompt in depositing it. That made me angry. I wouldn’t normally hold a check that long, but I did and I don’t consider it my fault that they didn’t keep funds available for three weeks. I know I am right from a legal standpoint- but ethically- is 3 weeks too long? Was that rude?
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August 20th, 2010 at 1:30 am
I say there is nothing ethically wrong at all. It is 100% their duty to BALANCE THEIR CHECKING ACCOUNT. They should know your check hadn’t cleared. If you’d done it after the 6 months, and the bank still cashed it, the bank would owe them the overdraft.
I say: don’t feel bad. If they had an interest bearing account, you probably generated a couple cents for them by not cashing it!
August 21st, 2010 at 2:14 am
No. They should manage their finances better.
August 21st, 2010 at 9:22 am
maybe not rude, perhaps inconsiderate. a vast majority of people live paycheck to paycheck. 3 weeks is a long time if you are in a tight financial situation and they probably just had to use their money. if i was the guy who wrote the check i would be upset. also, why did you hold it so long? did you procrastinate..let it slide for a while, didn’t need the money right away? I mean, how hard is it to cash a check? And besides, you want the person to keep renting so why foster an inconvient situation like that for the both of you? I can bet that person hates paying rent, probably worked their **** off to make the rent money. Probably paid you on time too, then they find themselves trying to not spend their rent money while you hold their check for 3 weeks. Seems like you weren’t too considerate..in my opinion. Keep the renter happy by cashing their checks quickly, then they will happily pay you on time and not sneakily damage your property.
August 21st, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Yes, you can cash that check at your own convenience cause a responsible person would write off that check they wrote out to you. And balance out what they have left in their account.
August 25th, 2010 at 1:32 am
hey, once they give it to you, it’s yours do whatever you want with it.
August 25th, 2010 at 4:19 am
Yes, it’s rude. You don’t know what their finances are like, how they manage bills, what their income is, when they get paid, what other checks they’re waiting to clear, etc.
If you had had my check for three weeks and it bounced, I would be calling your supervisor or whomever is above you. I balance my checkbook very well and always make sure I have reasonable funds available. However, I, like many others plan for the funds to be available in the few days to a week after the check is paid to the right person. Extra bills, groceries, miscellaneous items, etc, all cause my account to drop after a few weeks until the next paycheck appears. What I do with my money and when is none of your business.
If you are not a responsible enough landlord to deposit a check right away, it’s on you, not the renter. When we make a payment by check, we plan accordingly and generally anticipate said check to clear with in 7-10 days, not three weeks.
Use some common sense and courtesy next time will you?
August 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
I would expect the check to have cleared my account in days, not wks. Be practical, unless you like swimming upstream.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Very rude. I would have done the same thing. They probably compare their paid bills with their bank statements to make sure the check was received and not stolen and cashed by a thief. I have had mail stolen and checks altered to a larger ammount and cashed. Fortunately by being diligent, the bank took care of it. They paid out several thousand dollars.
Today, the checks are cleared within hours of being deposited. You can see your banking activity to the hour if you have an internet account. By doing as you did, you defeated this person of all these benefits. The law needs to be changed to stop inconsiderate, rude people like you from enableing identity theft and bank fraud.
August 29th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I don’t understand how anyone can consider that rude or inconsiderate.
When you write a check that amount should be removed from your balance immediately no matter when the check clears the bank. You do not have that money any longer once you have handed the check over.
To use the excuse that you don’t know what their financial situation is makes no sense. If they wrote the check to pay the rent they know that money is not available to them, no matter what their financial situation is. Now if they accidently bounced a check that is different but to say you had no right to hold the check is just ridiculous.
My groomer is notorious for not cashing my checks sometimes for weeks. If it was a big bother I just pay her cash and don’t worry about it.