Unpaid Cheque Statement

[Mark Wild]

I just recieved an unpaid cheque statement from my bank along with the original cheque which is stamped " Not signed in accordance with mandate ". I understand that means the cheque signature isn't (in the eyes of the bank) a match for the one they have. The cheque has haunted me for a while now as it never seemed to clear, however the bank kept assuring me they had it and it would clear in the next few days, in those few days I've worked the gig and now this unpaid cheque statement arrives.

I only have a mobile number and email, both of which I've tried to contact the client through, to no avail (yet). My question is, will the client have been notified the cheque has bounced due to a dodgy signature? Surely the bank don't just let me know? I'm not sure what to do now, I do have thier address but knocking on thier door for the money will be my last resort, any pointers guys?

Thanks in advance guys,

Mark

[Booche]

Polite ;) voicemail maybe explaining the situation ( if not already done ) how long ago was it that you last tryed ringing etc if it becomes over 5 days id maybe send a letter then if still no responce either knock or small claims court but im sure and hope for you that it doesnt come to the latter option mate

Hope its sorted for you soon mate :)

[soundtracker]

" Not signed in accordance with mandate "

This usually means that, for instance, on a joint account, Both signatures are required , or in the case of a business or club account that more than one signature is required.

[Mark Wild]

" Not signed in accordance with mandate "

This usually means that, for instance, on a joint account, Both signatures are required , or in the case of a business or club account that more than one signature is required.

I initially thought that boss but it's just in his name and its a credit card cheque. I have a sneaky suspicion that she has tried to forge his signature.

[Booche]

To ensure cheques are only paid against valid signatures, the Bank has stringent controls in place which, on occasion, result in the return of cheques unpaid where there appear to be discrepancies between the signature on the cheque and that provided on the Mandate. In these cases they are returned with the reason “not signed in accordance with the Mandate”.

Whilst this reflects an issue of a ‘technical’ nature with the cheque rather than a lack of funds being available, we appreciate that cheques returned, for any reason, may cause embarrassment. That is why we actively seek ways of contacting customers to confirm the validity of the cheque prior to returning it.

P.S. From a bank site not me lol
P.P.S have you tried to cash the cheque more then once as some banks will charge the customer a fee for the cheque bounceing

[rob1963]

I just recieved an unpaid cheque statement from my bank along with the original cheque which is stamped " Not signed in accordance with mandate ". I understand that means the cheque signature isn't (in the eyes of the bank) a match for the one they have.

Hi Mark,

Just to clarify this, "Not signed in accordance with mandate" does NOT mean the signature in not exactly the same as they one they have on record. The signature(s) the the cheque is/are likely to be a perfect match to the one(s) on the bank's records.

The mandate will have a list of authorised signatories, specimens of their signatures & instructions as to who can sign cheques. This will be something like "Any two authorised signatories", "Any three authorised signatories", "Director and one other authorised signatory" "Any one signatory up to £500 and any two signatories over £500" etc etc.

Therefore, your "Not signed in accordance with mandate" answer is most likely to mean that one or more of the wrong people have signed the cheque or not enough people have signed it (only one when it needs two, etc).

Having cleared that up, I'd carry on trying their mobile & leave a polite voicemail message in the meantime.

[Mark Wild]

Hi Mark,

Just to clarify this, "Not signed in accordance with mandate" does NOT mean the signature in not exactly the same as they one they have on record. The signature(s) the the cheque is/are likely to be a perfect match to the one(s) on the bank's records.

The mandate will have a list of authorised signatories, specimens of their signatures & instructions as to who can sign cheques. This will be something like "Any two authorised signatories", "Any three authorised signatories", "Director and one other authorised signatory" "Any one signatory up to £500 and any two signatories over £500" etc etc.

Therefore, your "Not signed in accordance with mandate" answer is most likely to mean that one or more of the wrong people have signed the cheque or not enough people have signed it (only one when it needs two, etc).

Having cleared that up, I'd carry on trying their mobile & leave a polite voicemail message in the meantime.

Will the fact it's a credit card cheque makes a difference Rob?

[rob1963]

Will the fact it's a credit card cheque makes a difference Rob?

Not as far aware Mark, although to be honest I'm not 100% certain of that.

As credit card cheques relate to credit cards rather than normal bank accounts, they might have different rules, regulations etc.

Might be worth a call to the bank/credit card company for clarification.

:)

[soundtracker]

Hi Mark,

Just to clarify this, "Not signed in accordance with mandate" does NOT mean the signature in not exactly the same as they one they have on record. The signature(s) the the cheque is/are likely to be a perfect match to the one(s) on the bank's records.

The mandate will have a list of authorised signatories, specimens of their signatures & instructions as to who can sign cheques. This will be something like "Any two authorised signatories", "Any three authorised signatories", "Director and one other authorised signatory" "Any one signatory up to £500 and any two signatories over £500" etc etc.

Therefore, your "Not signed in accordance with mandate" answer is most likely to mean that one or more of the wrong people have signed the cheque or not enough people have signed it (only one when it needs two, etc).

Having cleared that up, I'd carry on trying their mobile & leave a polite voicemail message in the meantime.

Yup, that's what I said

[Mark Wild]

Yup, that's what I said

Indeed it is, I'm on it, thanks guys.

[soundtracker]

To ensure cheques are only paid against valid signatures, the Bank has stringent controls in place which, on occasion, result in the return of cheques unpaid where there appear to be discrepancies between the signature on the cheque and that provided on the Mandate. In these cases they are returned with the reason “not signed in accordance with the Mandate”.

Whilst this reflects an issue of a ‘technical’ nature with the cheque rather than a lack of funds being available, we appreciate that cheques returned, for any reason, may cause embarrassment. That is why we actively seek ways of contacting customers to confirm the validity of the cheque prior to returning it.

P.S. From a bank site not me lol
P.P.S have you tried to cash the cheque more then once as some banks will charge the customer a fee for the cheque bounceing

Whilst this was once true, the majority of cheques don't even get looked at unless they are over a certain amount. When I was a boy banker we checked all cheques to make sure that the words and figures agreed, that they were correctly dated, and signed in accordance with the mandate, a totally boring way to spend a morning!! However this is a very expensive use of man hours, so eventually it was changed to just checking cheques over £5000 (I think..its been a while!)

[rob1963]

When I was a boy banker we checked all cheques to make sure that the words and figures agreed, that they were correctly dated, and signed in accordance with the mandate, a totally boring way to spend a morning!!

I remember those days well. Back in the early eighties we also had to tick each cheque off against a listing that was sent down with the cheques each day.


However this is a very expensive use of man hours, so eventually it was changed to just checking cheques over £5000 (I think..its been a while!)

When I left five years ago, I think the limit with my particular bank was £1,000...although it's quite likely to have increased since then.

[Booche]

No worries guys like i say it was just something i found so no idea how old it is or how true it is to this date

Cheers Dave :)

[Mark Wild]

Just to tie this one up and thank you for your help guys, much appreciated.

Hi Mark

I am soooo sorry, we got a letter from our credit card company the day we were leaving on honeymoon. They have very kindly given us a shiny new account with all the spending we have been doing for the wedding. What they didn\'t say was that the account number and cheques had all changed.

I popped another cheque in the post to you at the airport.

Again, I am really sorry, we don\'t normally have cheques bounce on us.

I hope you have a great christmas.

[andyw]

a happy ending at xmas, thats good:)

[Penfold42]

Result.....although....let us know when the cheque clears...;)

[NKR]

I had a cheque I gave to my builder returned for the same reason.

Turned out the stupid bank still had my wifes maiden name as her bank signature and she signed the cheque. We had been married three years, but as she had not written a cheque over the check level it had never come to light. It only came up when she signed a cheque for over £500.

May be an innocent mistake, so keep trying to get hold of them.

Edit - should have finished reading the post. Innocent mistake as expected. Good result.

[rob1963]

Glad to hear this seems to be sorted, Mark.

:thumbsup: