Hi
I received a cheque from HMRC - tax refund for year 2023/24 - waited 6 months for it. I took it to Scotia bank : it will take 30 days to clear. After a few days Scotiabank said they don't deal with cheques in pound sterling. They told me to tell HMRC to wire the money to me. Now I dont have the cheque and no refund. What's the other alernative now? What am i supposed to do now? Shame I closed my UK account when I moved here 15 years ago.

Abraham

My bank did it and charged me a small fee (under $5). That was HSBC before RBC bought it so I don't know what happens now or whether HSBC were typical in that regard.

Did you take it to the counter and explain that it was a foreign currency cheque? If so, it was wrong of them to accept it for clearing and then junk it. I would send a complaint to Scotiabank. What I suspect they did was digitize the cheque and then shred it. The UK only allows paper cheque clearing, not electronic. Try to get a copy of the cheque image and a notice saying it is dishonoured or won't be cleared, which should help get a replacement out of HMRC, if needed.

Thanks for the reply. Scotia took the cheque for me to be clear. I am going to see if I can get the cheque back and if not then I have to write to HMRC. I wonder if they would wire me the money. Can I ask HMRC to send my refund to my UK friend and then he can wire me the money?

No idea I'm afraid. I'm not sure they would ever send a payment to a third party as there's obviously some risk for both parties. I'd talk to Scotia again, explain the situation and see if they can do the GBP cheque. I'm not sure if HMRC would send electronic payments out of the UK.

This issuing cheques is a con.

When we moved to Hungary (admittedly 10 years ago) we received refund cheques from the DVLA, BBC & local authority. Took them to our Hungarian bank who said that if we opened a second, Sterling account they could process them. To be honest if they hadn't been able / prepared to do this I would have let it go, the total value only being about £170 - and I'm sure that's what the issuers hope for.

They will if you nominate them - https://www.gov.uk/government/public...-tax-claim-r38

Its nearly $2.5k. I dont think i will let it go

Good for you, hope you get it sorted.

Go back and talk to Scotiabank again. Maybe someone more senior. They have negotiated several UK £ cheques for me.

i am going to see my Scotia advisor tomorrow for a different issue and i will ask her. I got my check back from the branch and someone senior told me that according to his latest email they are not clearing cheques from HMRC lately cos he told me last week when i drop the cheque at the branch that it will take around 30 days to clear the cheque. That means he didn't know the recent changes ....not sure if its only Scotia who doesn't clear cheque from HMRC...i am going to see if BMO will accept it.

Thanks for the info. I have completed the form and nominated someone in the UK to get my refund and then transfer it in Canadian dollars to my account here. i will post the form tomorrow with the cheque to HMRC and telling them the reason I can't cash it here in Calgary.

Be aware of an imminent Canada Post strike.

To get around this, you could open a Wise account www.wise.com which would give you UK bank details you could provide to HMRC.