A warning about cheques

[Glenda]

I watch "Fair Go" on TV1 now and again and feel impelled to warn those with NZ bank accounts about the dangers of some cheques.

The "Fair Go" team reported on a fruit farmer who sent a cheque in the post to a packaging company. The cheque never got there as the post box was broken into. The cheque was cashed, though ... by the thief, and it was quite legal.

On a lot of bank cheques you write to whom the cheque is going to, as usual, but often at the end of that line is printed (usually in small print) the words "or bearer". This effectively means anyone can cash the cheque or put it into their own account.

Hopefully, the banks will get their act together and alter the cheques as soon as possible - apparently some already have. However, it makes me shudder to think of the cheques I have written out that could have been cashed by someone else. I actually think that has happened when I first subscribed to Sky and confusedly paid by cheque at the same time as a direct debit.

If you have a cheque book based on this format, cross out the "or bearer" words and write across the cheque "Account Payee only".

I believe that theft of this sort is pretty uncommon but now it has been mentioned on TV, it might get a few more undesirable sorts thinking about it.

[selchie]

Thanks for the warning. It's not something I would have thought about, considering our checks haven't an "or bearer" on them.