Can anyone alter your checks without your concent?

Question

I wrote a check, noted do not cash till .... date. The note was scratched off and placed for deposit. Causing overdraft fees to my account. Who is responsable for the fees? And was this legal?

Answer 1

You should have written the date in the Date field of the check no earlier than the earliest acceptable cashing date. Even if you had, though, according to 4-401C of the Uniform Commercial Code, a bank may charge a postdated check against the account of its customer unless the customer has given notice to the bank of the postdating describing the check with "reasonable certainty."

If all you did was write a note directly on the check, there's not much you can do, as you didn't even come close to fulfilling half of the requirements for post-dating a check under the Uniform Commercial Code.

Still, the recipient did scratch out a note on it, so if you have the kind of checks that make a carbon you could prove that he did attempt to alter the check after it was received. You *might* have some sort of recourse from that even though the note you had written wasn't enforceable under the UCC.

Answer 2

That act constitutes forgery, but the burden is on you to prove it.

If there are "scratches" on the check, you should get to your bank & hold them responsible as it is their responsibility to detect such illegal acts & to contact you first to verify the check before allowing it to go through. Get to your bank & shout at them. That could save you at least the overdraft fee is you shout loud enough and put the burden back to your bank. It's their 1st responsibility to protect you/your account as a customer.

Answer 3

if the check was NOT post-dated, and you made the note only in the Memo area of the check, I am afraid that the check was valid, and you are responsible for the overdraft fees.

If the check WAS post-dated, then the bank should not have cashed the check, and thus should not charge you the overdraft fees.

Answer 4

Most states have laws prohibiting post-dated checks, although people do it all the time, and creditors often ask for them. All states have laws against writing checks against an account you know has insufficient funds to cover them, often with criminal penalties. Which would you prefer? Overdraft fees or a criminal record?

Answer 5

nope not supposed to but you are responsible

Answer 6

no, that's forgery