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Home >> Checks/Money Orders >> Checks You Wrote
Bank Cashes Check One Year Old! Huh!
I just discovered that a check for $378, dated 1/31/2009, was paid by my bank on 1/15/2010. Isn't there a time limit for checks?
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 Actually, no, there used to be a provision in the niform Commercial Code that made a check stale after six months. However, that provision was modified many years ago to accommodate the reality of modern automated check processing, in which dates are rarely noticed.
In effect, the Uniform Commercial Code now permits, but does not require, a bank to refuse payment of a check that's over six months old. A bank is also permitted to pay such a check if it does so in good faith. If the bank is unaware of the date on the check, as is the case most of the time, paying it would be in good faith, unless it knows the customer intends that it not be paid, as would be the case if the customer had issued a stop payment order on it.
It's not wise to assume that a check won't be paid just because it's over six months old. If you don't want such a check paid, place a stop payment order on it. Of course, you should weigh the cost of the stop order against the amount and age of the check to decide whether the cost of the stop is worth it.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 2/04/10
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