Ronald Raygun wrote:


Why? Do the terms generally forbid the giving of undated cheques?

I think you are talking about the difference between what is legal what
is not proveably illegal. It was already stated that guaranteed cheques
shouldn't be undated. If someone provides both an undated cheque, and a
guarantee card, it seems to me that they intend to breach that condition.

Nah. Fraud would be taking the loan with the intention of not repaying it.
The method by which the non-repayment is to be achieved is neither here
nor there. The intention not to repay might in any case not have existed
at the outset, but arisen later. It might then not be fraud if there are
circumstances at play beyond the borrower's control.

The scenario I envisaged was that they went out of their way to record
the breach of the guarantee rules, to give them the option of voiding
the cheque. Proving that beyond reasonable doubt might be difficult,
but the bare facts might blight future credit checks.

If she is unwilling to repay (for whatever reason, such as being unable),
she would do well to consider which of the loan shark and the bank would
make the more civilised creditor. :-)

My thought, although this is presumably a licensed company, not someone
on the doorstep, or in the pub.


It is not clear whether the bank has discretion to honour the guarantee
even in the event of a technical irregularity with the date. It may not

Normally they would have discretion to honour it as though it weren't
guaranteed and generally businesses always draft contracts to give
themselves discretion, but absolutely bind the consumer.

be up to the customer. She could try putting a stop on the cheque, ahile
admitting that a guarantee card was involved but pointing out hat the
provisos were not observed, and see what they say, but the bank will not
take kindly to being used as an unwitting accomplice to defrauding the shop.

My guess is it would depend on whether they thought that they would get
their money back, with profit, eventually. If they didn't honour it, in
those circumstances, I would think it very likely they would close the
account, noting the breach in their credit history.