Eliza Doolittle
Well-Known Member
Hi, I have just found out today that a client had given me a cheque for £99.00 & it has bounced! Can anyone recommend how I should approach this with her please?? Thanks
Bounced Cheque!!
- Thread starter Eliza Doolittle
- Start date
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Emily-Louise
Well-Known Member
Is the client booked in again? If so can you bring it up in conversation at the appointment or before the appointment if you ring to confirm it. If you do not feel confident in doing this why not draw up an invoice and send it to her recorded delivery requesting the balance she owes you within a certain period of delivery of the letter. I would ask for cash from her rather than another cheque so the same thing doesnt happen again.
Hope this helps!
Emily
Hope this helps!
Emily
kylieb
Well-Known Member
Sorry but I don't believe in treading carefully around her. She's had her treatment and you have no payment. I would give her a call and ask her for another form of payment as her cheque did not clear x
Give her a call, I'm sure she wouldn't have done it on purpose! In future if you do take a cheque remember to ask for the clients debit card that the cheque is linked to. On the back of the cheque write the sixteen digit number from the front and the valid from and to dates, and also pop on the cheque guanrantee limit (this will be a hologram on the back). With this information on the cheque the bank will honour it (assuming it is within the guarantee limit) also this applies if someone tries to cancel a cheque on you! hope this helps for the future 
Eliza Doolittle
Well-Known Member
Thanks Guys. I phoned her tonight & left a message, so hope she gets in touch! Thanks also for that advice re. writing the banking info on the back of the cheque- Im afraid I dont do that....but definately will now!!
She will know within a couple of days as her bank will let her know about the cheque and the charges they will levy on her for not having sufficient funds in her account. This may just be an accident but if you haven't managed to contact her within the next couple of days then you need to send her an invoice via recorded delivery stating a payment time and that you will take further action.
With a bit of luck this will be a mistake and she will be mortified.
This should be a lesson to everyone who does not complete the back of cheques properly. We can all be too trusting sometimes!
With a bit of luck this will be a mistake and she will be mortified.
This should be a lesson to everyone who does not complete the back of cheques properly. We can all be too trusting sometimes!
Eliza Doolittle
Well-Known Member
Thanks Shedunlop. Yes, you are correct...too trusting! I have certainly learnt a lesson from that & will take those details from now on. Still havent heard from her, so may have to go down the route of the recorded letter. Thanks for your thoughts.
xxhaylzxx
Well-Known Member
Surely she wouldnt have done it on purpose but some people think they can get away with everything so you never know. If you have her telephone and address im sure it was an accident as she knows you know where she lives. I would ring her again and if theres no answer recorded delivery of an invoice should do. If you owe people money they would be pestering you for it so you must not just let it go £99 is alot of money for your hard work and its rightfully yours!. Good luck hope it gets sorted out. xx
TheBack&Beyond
Well-Known Member
Yes - best wishes for getting Your Cash back. I may have said it already on here, but I sincerely believe in tangible payment in any form for business services. I'll accept baked beans if they're the right exchange rate and cover the cost of converting the beans into cash!
I rather feel though that the cheque should be retired PDQ! If you've got a cheque guarantee card - then you've generally got a Debit card these days. Yeah - I know the headline price for card processing isn't cheap - but consider building the cost into your prices. People who come to you because you're cheap generally aren't the most loyal reliable sources of income anyway (or will always bring cash so you can discount the 20p processing fee!).
My lasting thought is that I've never got the time to fill in the paying in slip for a cheque - nor drive to the bank and stand in the queue to pay them in. Paying yourself £10 an hour - if it takes you an hour a week - plus a parking ticket (£1.50?) to process cheques then you've easily covered the cost of a terminal. £46 a month? - you can afford a GPRS box! (and no standing in a bank queue either)
Thanks to you dear Cheque - but its time you were gone!
Jason.
I rather feel though that the cheque should be retired PDQ! If you've got a cheque guarantee card - then you've generally got a Debit card these days. Yeah - I know the headline price for card processing isn't cheap - but consider building the cost into your prices. People who come to you because you're cheap generally aren't the most loyal reliable sources of income anyway (or will always bring cash so you can discount the 20p processing fee!).
My lasting thought is that I've never got the time to fill in the paying in slip for a cheque - nor drive to the bank and stand in the queue to pay them in. Paying yourself £10 an hour - if it takes you an hour a week - plus a parking ticket (£1.50?) to process cheques then you've easily covered the cost of a terminal. £46 a month? - you can afford a GPRS box! (and no standing in a bank queue either)
Thanks to you dear Cheque - but its time you were gone!
Jason.
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I had a client who bounced 2 or 3 cheques on me as it was a joint account, and it transpired that she didn't know what her husband was taking out of the account because they were going through a marriage breakdown . . .
I phoned her politely and let her know, requesting a replacement cheque plus bank charges, which was fine until it happened again. Then I insisted on a building society cheque. She was apologetic and nice about the situation each time it happened. Very strange, but at least I ended up not being out of pocket.
All I could conclude was that because of her domestic situation she was just getting herself in a muddle.
You must definitely pursue this, it is your money, and she may well be very embarassed and want to put it right as soon as possible. Speak to her personally before sending invoices etc, you don't want to make mountains out of molehills if at all possible.
Good luck x
I phoned her politely and let her know, requesting a replacement cheque plus bank charges, which was fine until it happened again. Then I insisted on a building society cheque. She was apologetic and nice about the situation each time it happened. Very strange, but at least I ended up not being out of pocket.
All I could conclude was that because of her domestic situation she was just getting herself in a muddle.
You must definitely pursue this, it is your money, and she may well be very embarassed and want to put it right as soon as possible. Speak to her personally before sending invoices etc, you don't want to make mountains out of molehills if at all possible.
Good luck x
Many banks are now phasing out the cheque guarantee element of a card, some new cards will not have this feature, because of the popularity of chip and pin. I had a letter from my bank about it just recently.
Eliza Doolittle
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone- spoke to the Girl yesterday & she apologised & said she must have used an old cheque book, but would post a new cheque out asap! I must admit, I was surprised when it happened, but I also had a little doubt in my head I have certainly learned from that experience & will fill out the back of the cheque from now on! Thanks!
I have certainly learned from that experience & will fill out the back of the cheque from now on! Thanks!
Cheques are to be discontinued from next year according to my business manager at Natwest so this will be a thing of the past. I have just had a card machine put in and I find it so useful. I have upped my prices just a little to cover the charges and the money goes into my account with 2-3 days, fab!
gemsie1983
Well-Known Member
I've just had bounced cheque off a client I paid it in last Sat and it bounced this Thursday. It said unpd chq on my statement so does this mean it has been cancelled or bounced?
Not looking forward to this one!
Not looking forward to this one!
smooth
Well-Known Member
Even with cheque card guarantee numbers on the back it doesn't mean they will clear though. This has happened to me so I have stopped taking cheques, it has been said, they have a card so I'll take card payment instead.
If this ever happens, you should contact the client asap, if they don't call you back then you should write to them stating that unfortunately their cheque has been returned unpaid and as a result the cost of the treatment they had £xx is now outstanding and needs to be paid within 7 days. Then give them the options of paying by card payment over the phone, cash or bank transfer (if that is acceptable to you).
I have also heard they are stopping cheques but that might just be nationwide not taking cheques and not issuing cheque books either.
If this ever happens, you should contact the client asap, if they don't call you back then you should write to them stating that unfortunately their cheque has been returned unpaid and as a result the cost of the treatment they had £xx is now outstanding and needs to be paid within 7 days. Then give them the options of paying by card payment over the phone, cash or bank transfer (if that is acceptable to you).
I have also heard they are stopping cheques but that might just be nationwide not taking cheques and not issuing cheque books either.
Lynne Baker
Lynne The Skin!
Cheques are to be discontinued from next year according to my business manager at Natwest so this will be a thing of the past. I have just had a card machine put in and I find it so useful. I have upped my prices just a little to cover the charges and the money goes into my account with 2-3 days, fab!
According to this and many other sources cheques aren't going to be phased out until 2018, so we've a while yet!
I've told my clients that I'm stopping accepting them on Jan 1st 2011. They're such a pain in the bum, with all the form filling and faffing that accompanies them!
Cheques to be phased out, so 'sign here' while you still can | Money | The Observer
Kim Lawless
Grande Dame of the Brazilian Wax for Men and Women
You approach it like this....
"Hello Sue (or whatever). Your cheque has bounced, so could you drop by today to pay your bill in cash please' Thanks. Bye.'
Note to self: NEVER take a cheque for more than the value of the guarantee card.
VHunter
Well-Known Member
I just don't take cheques. Too much risk and I can't be bothered with the headache.
jacquelineanna
Well-Known Member
This happened to me once and it was a client I knew quite well. I didn't wish to embarrass her so I re-submitted the cheque and it cleared. A few weeks later this lady asked me if there had been any bother with a cheque of hers previously - I said yes that it had been returned and I had paid it in again and it cleared. She apologised and all was well.
Kim Lawless
Grande Dame of the Brazilian Wax for Men and Women
By the way! I recently found two cheques in an old diary from two years ago for £75 each. I called the bank to make sure that the six month rule still stood and I was really surprised when they told me to pay them in as all cheques are scanned along the bottom nowadays and the date is ignored. Sure enough they cleared.
