When is a cheque deemed to have been received

[Robthefun]

Hi

could someone please advise. If I were to send a cheque via registered / recorded post and the recipient refused to accept the delivery or failed to collect the cheque from the sorting office, have I discharged my responsibility to pay or at least the attempt to pay.

To put this into perspective. A contract I had with the recipient was voided. They had paid a deposit towards the services that I was due to deliver but the contract was voided before the date on which the services were to commence. I want to pay back the deposit to the recipient but they have advised that they will refuse the cheque and any other payment method for that matter.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[des8]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Hi and welcome.

In the UK cheques are not legal tender, and creditors do not have to accept them as discharge of debt.

You talk about a contract that has been voided. Do you mean "voided" or " cancelled"?

If voided , why?

If cancelled, by which party?

More information, if you feel you can give it, will make it easier for posters to assist.

[Guest]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

So you are seeking to rescind the agreement.

This is not a simple matter and depends on many different factors. Among which
The contract, was there any provision within to rescind the agreement or was performance guaranteed on your receipt of the deposit.
Estoppel, was the other party damaged because of an action they took on the understanding you would carry out your obligations under the contract.

Unfortunately the matter is not going to be as easy as just returning the advance IMO, unless by consent. Presumably you entered into an agreement, they performed by making payment and you did not.

what they can do and what damages they can claim depends very much on the nature of the agreement, but personally I would recommend getting on the phone and talking it out with them rather than going to law with this.

Just my humble opinion.

[Robthefun]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Thanks for the responses


To add more detail. The contract had 3 parties. My company as the Supplier and two customers who were working closely together on a project requiring industrial property space. The contract was formed on the clear principle that providing the space at the price each would pay was contingent on both customers being responsible for paying a 50% share of the cost for the total space and each duly paid a deposit.


Ultimately, the two customers had a disagreement with each other and one pulled out and lost their deposit. I advised the remaining customer that my company can offer half the space for the amount they agreed to pay or all of the space at the full cost with either of those options being delivered through a new contract between just my company and the remaining customer. They have not accepted either offer. As a result and considering that it wasn't them that voided/cancelled the contract (I don't know whether it would be considered voided or cancelled) I advised them I would return their deposit.


The customer has advised that they won't accept the return of the deposit because whilst they recognise that all the other events necessary to void/cancel the contract have taken place they believe that the final step to void/cancel the contract is for them to accept the return of the deposit and by not doing so their element of the contract with my business still stands and I will be required to provide the space at the price agreed as long as they make the remaining payments at the previously agreed rates.


As the customer has accepted that other than for reasons of them not accepting the return of the deposit the contract is voided/cancelled, I could do with some advice specifically about whether attempting to pay back the deposit via cheque through recorded delivery would be enough to demonstrate that I have done all I can to conclude the matter and as such the contract is in fact cancelled/voided whether the customer accepts the delivery or not, or cashes the cheque. I hope that if I can provide this information to the customer I can close down the discussion ASAP.

your assistance is much appreciated

[Guest]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

When you say there were three parties to the contract, how many contracts where there, one or two.

Am iI correct in thinking that they are under the impression that there was one, and the lost deposit represented half of there joint pre-payment on the contract, where as you are under the impression that there were two and one was lost resulting in the lost deposit.

#or am I miles off.

[Robthefun]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Hi Andy58

There was 1 contract. I signed and both Customers countersigned the same agreement. Customer 1 then pulled out of the agreement and lost their deposit. I then advised Customer 2 that I had received notice from Customer 1 that they would be pulling out and as the agreement was contingent on both customers paying to cover the full price, the contract could no longer be fulfilled by just my business and the remaining customer and I would return customer 2's deposit.

that's when they said that ending/voiding/cancelling (whatever the correct term is) the contract for the scenario above was contingent on them accepting the refund.

i have checked the contract and it says in the event described above we will refund them but it says nothing about whether acceptance of a cheque is required.

[Guest]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Difficult to say without seeing the contract in more detail however generally.

If a party to a contract withdraws before completion , then it should be rescinded as would no longer apply in law. The contract would have had to encompassed all parties to it. This means that everyone should be returned to the condition they were in before the agreement was formed. I do not think that it is necessary for the other parties to accept any payment to complete this process, the contract is dissolved, the repayment is there if they want to take it.

However what I suspect they are saying(and I cold be wrong here) is that you in some way repudiated the active contract by failing to perform, and by accepting your repudiation of contract (taking back the money) they are consenting to the agreement being terminated.

I think if the above scenarios are correct it should be made clear that the contract was voided by customer two not yourself and never actually got off the ground so to speak, that any purported contract never existed, and irrespective of whether they chose to collect their money, unless a new contract is formed there will be no transaction.

Just my unqualified opinion of course.

[Robthefun]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Thanks Andy58

Much appreciated. Would it be prudent for me to send the cheque anyway just to prove I future if needs be that I have made reasonable efforts to return the deposit?

[Guest]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Thanks Andy58

Much appreciated. Would it be prudent for me to send the cheque anyway just to prove I future if needs be that I have made reasonable efforts to return the deposit?

Yes ,I would

[Robthefun]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Thanks again

[Robthefun]

Re: When is a cheque deemed to have been received

Thanks again