Question

[Kathi]

I wrote a check to a company almost a month ago.They still have not cashed the check.I called them and they said that they still have not gotten around to it yet.It is messing up my statement.What can I do?

 

[Gary]

I wrote a check to a company almost a month ago.They still have not cashed the check.I called them and they said that they still have not gotten around to it yet.It is messing up my statement.What can I do?

Happens to me every once in awhile. I always keep my checkbook balanced so it's never an issue. You just have to remember that the amount on the check you wrote, even though the funds are still in your account, is no longer yours.

I wouldn't worry about it.
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[Willie T]

You owed it. You paid it. You are completely aware of the amount. How can simply carrying forward this negative amount mess up your statement?

 

[Kathi]

Happens to me every once in awhile. I always keep my checkbook balanced so it's never an issue. You just have to remember that the amount on the check you wrote, even though the funds are still in your account, is no longer yours.

I wouldn't worry about it.
.

I always keep my checkbook balanced as well and this is throwing everything off.How long do you give them.A year?

 

[Kathi]

You owed it. You paid it. You are completely aware of the amount. How can simply carrying forward this negative amount mess up your statement?

Because I check off all the checked that have cleared.That is important to me.

 

[Gary]

I always keep my checkbook balanced as well and this is throwing everything off.How long do you give them.A year?

Give them however long it takes them to cash it.

How is it throwing everything off?
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[Obadiah]

I had that happen once too. It was a small company that I guess didn't have a very good book keeper or accountant perhaps. I thought maybe they'd lost it or something. But they gave me the same kind of excuse about being sorry and they just hadn't cashed it yet for some reason. (It had been almost 3 months, and I had visions in my mind of those checks you get that say they are only valid for 90 days.) I politely told them I would just go ahead and put a stop payment on the check and asked them to let me know when they have time to go to the bank, and I will send them another check at that time. Of course, they said something to the effect of "Oh NO! We'll cash it today!", and they did. Inconvenient problem solved.

Sure, I owed them the money and I really doubted they would agree to my stop payment idea. I just really thought they might have lost it and wanted to take care of it if they had. When I heard their lame excuse I was just trying to spur them on to take care of it so I didn't have to needlessly deal with carrying the balance anymore. It worked.

 

[Eugene]

Be sure and retain any correspondence to keep them honest in case they would attempt to charge late fees or other charges. At some future time a different person might not know what happened.

 

[Kathi]

I had that happen once too. It was a small company that I guess didn't have a very good book keeper or accountant perhaps. I thought maybe they'd lost it or something. But they gave me the same kind of excuse about being sorry and they just hadn't cashed it yet for some reason. (It had been almost 3 months, and I had visions in my mind of those checks you get that say they are only valid for 90 days.) I politely told them I would just go ahead and put a stop payment on the check and asked them to let me know when they have time to go to the bank, and I will send them another check at that time. Of course, they said something to the effect of "Oh NO! We'll cash it today!", and they did. Inconvenient problem solved.

Sure, I owed them the money and I really doubted they would agree to my stop payment idea. I just really thought they might have lost it and wanted to take care of it if they had. When I heard their lame excuse I was just trying to spur them on to take care of it so I didn't have to needlessly deal with carrying the balance anymore. It worked.

That is what I am thinking Obadiah.A bad book keeper.I am thinking all kinds of things and one of them is just what you said.They lost it.I think I will give them 3 months and then I will tell them that I will stop payment on the check.Good idea.

 

[Kathi]

Be sure and retain any correspondence to keep them honest in case they would attempt to charge late fees or other charges. At some future time a different person might not know what happened.

Good idea.I have all receipts.

 

[Obadiah]

I don't know if I really would have stopped payment or not... There is a charge for that, of course, and I would probably be on shaky ground if they wanted to send me to a collection agency, probably resulting in more charges to me. I guess it would have depended on how they reacted to me when I said that. My goal was really just to give them a nudge to get it done and it seemed to work. I think they realized just making that long overdue trip to the bank was easier than dealing with my stop payment. In reality I wouldn't be surprised if my check had just accidentally slipped into the bottom of a file cabinet or drawer and she was too embarrassed to admit that. So now she took a good look, found it, and got it off to the bank. Things like that DO happen, especially in small businesses where one person may be doing several jobs that they aren't really an expert at.

 

[Kathi]

I don't know if I really would have stopped payment or not... There is a charge for that, of course, and I would probably be on shaky ground if they wanted to send me to a collection agency, probably resulting in more charges to me. I guess it would have depended on how they reacted to me when I said that. My goal was really just to give them a nudge to get it done and it seemed to work. I think they realized just making that long overdue trip to the bank was easier than dealing with my stop payment. In reality I wouldn't be surprised if my check had just accidentally slipped into the bottom of a file cabinet or drawer and she was too embarrassed to admit that. So now she took a good look, found it, and got it off to the bank. Things like that DO happen, especially in small businesses where one person may be doing several jobs that they aren't really an expert at.

It is like having an attorney write that letter.Alot of times that is all you need

 

[Obadiah]

It is like having an attorney write that letter.Alot of times that is all you need

LOL, exactly! Reminds me of a time that a person hit my car. Obviously her fault (I was legally parked!), and she admitted it was her fault and agreed to pay. It wasn't much damage, only a couple hundred dollars, but the payment always seemed to be in the mail, or was going to be mailed right away. I'm pretty good at writing legal sounding documents, so I wrote up a letter worded just like an attorney would right up, put it on my company letterhead which at the time was simply a rather vague "W.S. Associates". (The company was really just me and one other person formed to do a joint real estate investment.) I had my partner sign the letter so it was obviously from someone other than me. We were careful not to represent ourselves as a law firm or as lawyers, but we just didn't go out of our way to say we weren't either. Got a check in the mail shortly after, along with a nasty letter telling me I hadn't had any need or right to get "lawyers" involved!

 

[Kathi]

LOL, exactly! Reminds me of a time that a person hit my car. Obviously her fault (I was legally parked!), and she admitted it was her fault and agreed to pay. It wasn't much damage, only a couple hundred dollars, but the payment always seemed to be in the mail, or was going to be mailed right away. I'm pretty good at writing legal sounding documents, so I wrote up a letter worded just like an attorney would right up, put it on my company letterhead which at the time was simply a rather vague "W.S. Associates". (The company was really just me and one other person formed to do a joint real estate investment.) I had my partner sign the letter so it was obviously from someone other than me. We were careful not to represent ourselves as a law firm or as lawyers, but we just didn't go out of our way to say we weren't either. Got a check in the mail shortly after, along with a nasty letter telling me I hadn't had any need or right to get "lawyers" involved!

Yes,it is surprisingly effective.