Stopped cheques

[Under Siege]

A client of mine has paid me with a cheque for services rendered.

I have a signed contract also.

My bank has just informed me that he has stopped the cheque. which has caused me lots of inconvenience.

I have tried to contact client and he is just hanging up on me.

 

Is he commiting a criminal offence by stopping the cheque?

 

Is this "Obtaining services by deception"?

[blitz]

I think it would be criminal if he stopped the cheque and has no intention of paying you. Send him a recorded letter with invoice for services, requesting payment immediately within 14 days.

 

If he doesn't contact you to arrange payment, send an LBA (with a further 14 days) then sue.

[Guest louis wu]

I think you should probably stop considering this as stopped cheque, and class it as a simple late payment and follow your usual practice in that circumstance.

 

I think you will get a 'quicker' resolution in treating this as a late payment as opposed to trying to prove criminal intent.

 

louis

[Aequitas]

It is only a criminal offence if the cheque was drawn and there were insufficient funds or no overdraft facilty to meet it.

 

You can now sue on the cheque without regard to the contract under which you supplied the services - usually makes life easier!

[lookinforinfo]

There may be reasons why he has stopped the cheque-even trumped up ones

I guess. He may have a dispute with the standard of workmanship or the

quality of materials supplied to the quality specified although generally there

would be some sort of contact to alert you to their displeasure..

You would only be able to claim "obtaining goods by deception" had he never

intended to pay you from the outset-which may be difficult to prove unless

he is a serial conman.

 

Rather than phoning, which often ends in heated arguments, perhaps a more placatory letter may bring a response

[even though you may not feel like being patient]-------something along the

lines of " I was surprised to hear from my bank...........and can only presume

that this was some kind of mistake. If you like, I can hold the cheque for a

few days for you to contact your bank and remove the stop, whereupon I

can represent the cheque.

On the other hand, if you feel you have a dispute over the services provided,

could you please contact me to resolve any issues outstanding..."

 

And see if that produces some sort of contact from him/her.