Is it ever legal to post date a check?

Yes, I believe its acceptable pre date or post date a check, as long as the funds are there when you say they'll be and the funny dating isn't interfering with anything else like a due date or a contract obligation. But it may not be acceptable to who you are giving it to and that's would be a different matter.

I agree with Val here, however I have to add that most banks do not look at the date, so if the person you post-dated the check to cashes it, then the funds are withdrawn.

I wll agree, I have had people run posted dated checks though my account often. Even a month or two early.

You can post date a chk, but you are taking your chances. Banks do not look at the dates and will and can run them through early. When you give a post dated check to someone for a purchase, it is considered a debt as they have extended you credit.

All above is correct. Post dating a check IS legal, but it does NOT prohibit the recipient from cashing it. Once you give a check to someone, it's legal tender - even if dated for the future.

One note: Collection agencies in the US are permitted to elicit post dated checks with the promise to hold them until the date on them. If they cash them early they are in violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

Rickj is right on.

Ten years ago right out of school I got behind in loans and defaulted. I worked with a collection agency to get back to clean status, and they required me (or at least talked me into) submitting a couple of post dated checks to get things rolling. They honored their promise not to cash until the proper date, but it was a nervous few months, since I really didn't know if theyd wait.

On the other side, I can also say I have had post dated checks cashed early. I cannot remember what I wrote it for, but I know it was to try to delay a payment, probably of some utility bill or something, until payday and it didn't work.

This amazes me…the difference b/w America and Canada.

From my understanding…

Here in Canada, we use post dated cheques. In which, a bank can NOT cash the cheque until the day on the cheque comes into being. So if it says Dec. 21, 2006, you have to wait until then (or later) to cash it.

While in the USA, they do not bother to look at the date on the cheque.

Well it is legal as stated and it is risky for the maker of the check. If a post dated check makes it past the teller or into the processing system, then it is all over... the check will be paid. However, if you notify your bank that there is a post dated check out there, they will have to find a way to make certain that check is not paid. Please note you must give the bank ample warning. If you fail to do so, you have no recourse against the bank.

Maybe it is different from state to state in America, because I am from the USA, and I have written/received post dated checks. When I receive them, the bank WILL NOT cash the check until the date of the check.

Very seldom have written a post dated check, but most of us have to from time to time-as I have a few times-and again, the banks around here will not "cash" them until the date of the check. To me-THAT would seem illegal otherwise. They may be able to post a deposit of a post dated check, but the funds are not available until the date of the check.

I have more of a story than an answer on this one. A company which I used to work for accepted a post-dated check from a customer. The company accidentally deposited the check early. The check (for $13,000 I might mention) bounced. The accounts payable department tried to reach the customer but he would not return calls. Anyway, they ended up taking him to court over the bounced check. Turns out that the judge filed in favor of the defendant stating that our company basically should not have sent the check in for deposit and that the check was no better than a promisory IOU. The judge also stated that the check was no better than the paper it was printed on. The judge though DID order the defendant to pay our company for products delivered, which he eventually did. Just a little food for thought--instead of accepting a post dated check from someone, I give them a hold check authorization stating what date their check will be deposited on and have them sign it and give them a copy.

This amazes me…the difference b/w America and Canada.

From my understanding…

Here in Canada, we use post dated cheques. In which, a bank can NOT cash the cheque until the day on the cheque comes into being. So if it says Dec. 21, 2006, you have to wait until then (or later) to cash it.

While in the USA, they do not bother to look at the date on the cheque.


Crazy canadians... its not that we don't bother to look at the date on a check.. its that the date doesnt matter at all on a check.. its no different than the memo space. Everyone wondering about post-dated checks you can find the answer in the Uniform Commercial Code...article 4..section 401c ...afterall we in America only care about the money

Actually, MOST banks do not accept post-dated checks. All of the banks I have worked at do not. IF they do get through proof (the people who actually enter information and move it on to the Federal Reserve) the customer is able to complain and the bank can be held liable. A check is a legal document, if a date on a check is not yet current, the bank can not hold that check. Hope that helps!

Bottom line.. post dating is an agreement between the person writing the check and the person receiving it. I'm looking at a bank disclosure right now and it states it has the right to refuse or pay a post-dated check but otherwise states its illegal. I have been working for a bank for 20 years now.

Actually, MOST banks do not accept post-dated checks. All of the banks I have worked at do not. IF they do get through proof (the people who actually enter information and move it on to the Federal Reserve) the customer is able to complain and the bank can be held liable. A check is a legal document, if a date on a check is not yet current, the bank can not hold that check. Hope that helps!
Any decent bank will put in their disclosure that they are not held responsible for negotiating a post dated check. Therefore, protecting them from being sued.

If your thinking about taking taking post dated checks. ARC .net offers guaranteed payments on the checks you take in even if they bounce. Customers are also allowed to make larger purchases and a business can take larger amounts that you would not normally risk.

www.nocreditcheckfinance.com

Why people use post dated cheques, what is the benefit of PDC?

There is none. Its an agreement between you and the person you write it to. The banks don't recognize post dating checks and will cash them anyway. You take the risk or postdating it and it being cashed early by the payee and the bank. They have no recourse to you.

There is legislation in Canada called - Bill of Exchange Act.

In Section 2 number 26 is clearly states:

Valid bill

26. A bill is not invalid by reason only that it

(a) is not dated;
(b) does not specify the value given, or that any value has been given therefor;
(c) does not specify the place where it is drawn or the place where it is payable; or
(d) is antedated or post-dated, or bears date on a Sunday or other non-juridical day.

Banks in Canada must abide by the law otherwise they can in very big trouble if they don't and realistically people can sue them as the LAW is clearly written out! :)

Sorry I am double posting but I found more information out that I wanted to add to my original post but realized there is not edit option that I can see. :(

There is legislation which was put in place in 1882 in Canada called - Bills of Exchange Act that has been amended over the years, the latest amendment was done on June 19, 2009. You can find it at the Department of Justice of Canada website. This is the LAW that all banks in Canada must abide by.

This is from the June 19th version:

Section 2 number 16 - Bill of Exchange:

A bill of exchange is an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the perosn whom it is addressed to pay, on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time, a sum certain in money to or to the order of a specificed person or to bearer.

Section 2 number 26 - Valid Bill:

A bill is not invalid by reason only that it

(a) is not dated;
(b) does not specify the value given, or that any value has been given therefor;
(c) does not specify the place where it is drawn or the place where it is payable; or
(d) is antedated or post-dated, or bears date on a Sunday or other non-juridical day.


In the 1882 version of the Bills of Exchange Act they took the time to elaberate on what each of the points mean. Here is word for word what it says for (d) above:

A bill is not invalid by reason onl that it is antedated or postdated...

(meaning) If a bill payable on demand be issued bearing date after the date of issue, payment cannot be demanded before the date on the bill has come.

At another Government of Canada website for the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada it says this about Banking and Insurance with respect to cheques.

Post-dated Cheques:

The Canadian Payments Association (CPA) is the organization that develops rules for Canada's cheque-clearing and settlement system. CPA has developed a rule, called A1: Genernal Rules Pertaining to Items Acceptable for Exchange, for the Purposes of Clearing and Settlement, which states that any bank that is a member of the CPA cannont cash your cheque before the date indicated on it.

If your bank or trust company does cash the cheque before this date, CPA has another rule, called A4, Returned and Redirected Items, which allows for your finanical institution to return the cheque and put the money back into your account. You can only ask your bank or trust company to do this up to "the day before" the cheque should have been cashed.

--

So there you have it! The "real" law and rules that Canadian banks must abide by otherwise you can take legal action against them and win no doubt! :D

Lethal



Lethal

Post dated checks are legal and in most cases the bank is allowed to cash them. The exception is when you notify your bank that you have post dated a check. This is in accordance with the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), which most states follow. The following link may help.

Illinois Legal Aid | Can the Bank Pay a Post-dated Check before the Date on the Check? (http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=2640)

Post dated checks are legal and in most cases the bank is allowed to cash them. The exception is when you notify your bank that you have post dated a check. This is in accordance with the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), which most states follow. The following link may help.

Illinois Legal Aid | Can the Bank Pay a Post-dated Check before the Date on the Check? (http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=2640)

Even though my posting was referring to the law in Canada both by the Government and by the Canadian Payments Association which banks here in Canada must abide by, it turns out the post-dated rule that banks use here in Canada today is a rule that the banks themselves have implemented even though it goes against the law. It's only when client threaten to sue the bank or get the FCAC or CPA involved that they back down as they knew they are legally responsible for the making sure the check isn't cashed on the date before it was posted.

CPA - The Canadian Payments Association

Rule/Law:
A1 General Rules Pertaining to Items Acceptable for Exchange, for the Purposes of Clearing and Settlement, which states that any bank that is a member of CPA cannot cash your cheque before the date indicated on it.

Government of Canada / The Department of Justice of Canada

Rule/Law:
Bills of Exchange B-4 which has been in legislation since 1882, the latest amended version still consists of the same law and wording for post-dated or antedated cheques.

FCAC - Financial Consumer Agency of Canada a division of the Government of Canada, they also uphold the Rules/Law which The Canadian Payments Association has set forth.

In the USA I would check the "Bills of Exchange" (the US version) to see if ti conflicts with the state law, if it does you then have a case. :)

My ex-wife has cashed my post-dated child support cheques twice in the past six months. While she has only cashed them a few days early, the last time she did this it cost me several dollars in NSF fees because I had not been paid and didn't have the funds in the account. (Pay day was the same date as the cheque was due to be cashed.)
The bank told me that a post-dated cheque is legal tender and it is only out of courtesy that the recipient holds the cheque to the date written on the cheque.
This is frightening as both my ex-wife and my landlord hold tens of thousands of dollars of my post-dated cheques! Legally, they could cash them all in at any time!!

I just spoke to the president of my bank and she told me that even though my landlord said he would wait to cash my check, it is illegal and punishable by fine, or jail time, and if you do not have the money in your account at the time you will be charged by the bank.