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Overdraft fee on a post-dated check?
Omnicron9999
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My girlfriend and I sent in our rent check to our landlord a few days ago. The rent isn't technically due until May 1st, but we just wanted to get it out of the way. We dated the check for May 1st, seeing as thats when its due.
Our landlord cashed the check today, and it overdrew on our account. I had been planning on, and did, transfer enough money into the checking account this morning. Evidently he beat me to the punch though, as when I did the transfer, the account was already overdrawn.
It was always my understanding that a check couldn't be cashed until the date written on it. Thats why I wasn't in a hurry to make sure there was enough cash in there, heck, I should still have a few days right?
My girlfriend called the bank, and we're going to be charged an overdraft fee. I think this is bullshit. Basically I want to know if I am right to feel this way.
Also, is it legal for my landlord to cash the check before the payment is actually due? Not really mad about that, just curious.
Our landlord cashed the check today, and it overdrew on our account. I had been planning on, and did, transfer enough money into the checking account this morning. Evidently he beat me to the punch though, as when I did the transfer, the account was already overdrawn.
It was always my understanding that a check couldn't be cashed until the date written on it. Thats why I wasn't in a hurry to make sure there was enough cash in there, heck, I should still have a few days right?
My girlfriend called the bank, and we're going to be charged an overdraft fee. I think this is bullshit. Basically I want to know if I am right to feel this way.
Also, is it legal for my landlord to cash the check before the payment is actually due? Not really mad about that, just curious.
Omnicron9999 on
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You could try talking to your bank to try to get the overdraft fee removed, but they were entirely within their rights. Your landlord was also within his rights to cash it because you gave him the check already, regardless of when it was due.
In the future if you have an issue like this you should just wait to give your landlord the check until you know there's money in your account to cover it.
So there is no law or regulation regarding the date on a check?
And in fact (at least in some states) there are laws against writing a check when you know that there aren't funds in your account to cover it, so writing your rent check when there's not money in your account to cover it may have been illegal in the first place.
Edit: From what I've found it seems most banks include in their terms that they can cash a check when they receive it, regardless of the date, unless contacted in advance and told not to cash it until the date on the check (which most likely translates to contacted in writing). Also some banks will then charge a fee for holding a check like this (similar to a stop-payment fee on a check).
You could try to plead with your bank regarding the date, but brace yourself to just eat the loss.
We were just trying to do the right thing, and be proactive.
From what I'm reading the illegality of post-dating, even with insufficient funds, depends more on intent rather than the act itself. Obviously, its hard to prove either way. Anyway, I'm gonna go to the bank tomorrow and talk to them, and see what they say. Its only a $27 fee, so its not the worst thing if I actually have to pay it.
If anyone else has any firsthand knowledge that could help, I'd like to hear it. I'm in Massachusetts, by the way.
Nope. Thanks to new procedures designed to speed up check processing (but not depositing funds into your account, grr), you can't even count on a check taking a few days to clear and withdraw the money from your account anymore, much less respecting post-dating. The last rent check I paid, the funds were withdrawn from my account the same day the landlord cashed it.
IANAL, but unless it specifically says so in your lease, I would think they're probably free to do whatever they want once you give it to them - they could argue that if you didn't want them to cash the check, you shouldn't have handed it off yet.
Certainly you're right to be annoyed, but as far as being able to demand the bank not charge the fee...Not so much. As has been said, if this is the first or second time you've ever overdrafted, they might take pity and reverse the fee if you plead with them (especially in person), but don't count on it.
Well thanks for all the advice guys, I guess this can be locked.