withabix

I just got an unexpected tax rebate from HMRC

It was unexpected because I filled in the 'Leaving the UK' HMRC forms last November and got a pretty big rebate then, so I wasn't expecting another one!

Will I have any problems depositing an HMRC cheque in my Canadian account and does anyone know what the fees are likely to be other than via a sub-standard exchange rate?

I could post the cheque back to my personal banker (AKA my eldest daughter) in the UK, but might not be worth the hassle...

Twitcher1958

I have deposited UK cheques over here from time to time with no problem. They have quoted me a rate at the time of deposit so I know the expected CAD amount and told me how many days before it will clear - it's varied from 15 to 30 working days for reasons I can't determine.
That's with TD - I presume other banks will be similar.

JamesM

Yup just takes a long time to clear and I don't think you can draw on it till then if you need the money.

Aviator

Depends on you banking relationship, we don't have any hold on foreign cheques.

colchar

Both of my parents regularly do it with their UK pension cheques without any problems so I doubt you would have any.

BristolUK

Well in that case we can all persuade our banks to stop holding cheques. That's the way things work isn't it? You can so everyone can?

Aviator

I guess you could.

JamesM

You can but you have to build the history of the checks clearing.

A one off is not going to clear automatically.

The only other thing is the banks crap exchange rate when it does clear.

MarkG

From what I remember, the rate I got when depositing UK cheques was only a couple of cents below the official rate. Not really worth worrying about unless it's for many thousands of pounds.

TheAwesomeMatt

Yea, I had an HMRC cheque deposit without a hold earlier this year, which I thought was pretty weird.

I figured it was that it's a government cheque so the chance of it bouncing would be slim...

rivingtonpike

Don't know who you bank with but we have a separate sterling account with our Canadian bank so we don't have to worry about the spread on the exchange rate until we need the money. Its used as a sort of savings or trip to UK fund.

gibjam

I also recieved a rebate which was nice $$$. I was told six weeks clearing, but lucky for me my wifes friend is over so will have her take it back to the UK and deposite there.

withabix

Well, after the 3 cashiers figured it out between them, I successfully deposited the cheque.

$2000 immediately available, $600 held for 30 days. Seems to be completely random...

Kaye5

The banks have to allow access to at least $100 of "uncleared" funds in your account from a CAD/Canadian bank cheque. This amount can increase as you establish a good banking record, and they are unlikely to advertise what that limit now is. Mine is now (I think) about $1.5k.

So let's say your access limit is $2k, they might have held the amount over that limit for the usual 30 days on foreign cheques, but allowed immediate access to the $2k - discretionary.

They also have discretion not to hold anything back at all - let's say you consistently had a balance of $100,000 in their bank over several years and presented a cheque for $2k. If it bounces, it is ultimately your responsibility so there is plenty of money in your account for them to simply take it back - which they will.

If you had $100 in the bank, they would no doubt hold the full amount of the foreign cheque, as there isn't sufficient to cover it if it bounces - unless you had a great history with the bank, they knew you well and you regularly banked foreign cheques which were always ok..... etc.

So quite a lot of thought goes into whether they hold and how much. The better and longer your banking record is and the higher your banked funds, the less chance you have of a hold being put on.

I bank UK cheques about once every two months and unless I get someone new, they don't put a hold on.

scrubbedexpat091

Is it a personal or company account? If a company account can make a huge difference vs personal accounts.


I've been with RBC in good standing for 11 years now, and still can't convince them my dad's Christmas cheque wont bounce, so it's always held for 20 or so business days.

They clear Canadian cheques from companies right away up to 700 and then they hold the rest for 5 business days.

Only cheques they don't place any hold on are government, but I am not sure they are allowed to. (provincial disability cheque)

Its all very random how bank works, no 2 people or accounts are the same and different tellers do different things as well.


But people like me are not the kind of people the banks like, so they wont go out of their way to do much, the balance is 0 most of the month, so they make no money off us, so I guess I can see why they really have no interest in service.