Should I stop payment on lost check?

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badatmath

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Check was sent 12/18 ish - still has not presented to pay the credit card. I'm inclined to think it never will and not sure I should bother to pay $30 to stop pay.

IDC if is found and presented correctly to the card (which is what I thought would happen eventually).

I paid the card via other means so it is no issue though if it presents and fails later I imagine there is a fee even if no balance. IDK for sure.
 
Yes cash is there so it really doesn't matter in my mind but IDK. I have never lost a check in all these years before. . . I kind of expected it would just turn up late since it is a business that is definitely not missing. . . Chase.
 
As long as you have money in your checking account so the missing check won't bounce then the worst that could happen is that they find it, process it and yu have a credit on your credit card bill, right?
 
badatmath said:
Check was sent 12/18 ish - still has not presented to pay the credit card. I'm inclined to think it never will and not sure I should bother to pay $30 to stop pay.

IDC if is found and presented correctly to the card (which is what I thought would happen eventually).

I paid the card via other means so it is no issue though if it presents and fails later I imagine there is a fee even if no balance. IDK for sure.
Click to expand...
If it eventually gets to the credit card company and gets deposited then it will just show as a credit on your bill assuming the funds are there to clear it and no big deal.
I'd be more worried that the check was stolen from your mailbox and is now in the hands of scammers who could "wash" it, change the amount to a higher figure and try to cash it at a branch of your bank. It happened to me many years ago but the bank was suspicious and called to verify and the thief realized what was happening and took off. It's far more secure to logon to your bank and set it up so they process your payments and it doesn't cost me anything.
 
badatmath said:
Check was sent 12/18 ish - still has not presented to pay the credit card. I'm inclined to think it never will and not sure I should bother to pay $30 to stop pay.

IDC if is found and presented correctly to the card (which is what I thought would happen eventually).

I paid the card via other means so it is no issue though if it presents and fails later I imagine there is a fee even if no balance. IDK for sure.
Click to expand...

First, can you not set up a credit card to autopay? Earn 2% ish cash back?

Like others, I wouldn't worry about it. I know setting up ACH with the cell company is a risk, but I take that risk for the convenience. I've been doing it for 100 years and never had an issue. Saved 100s of hours hassling and worrying over paying bills. Maybe even set up a separate checking account and keep $1000 in it or auto-move what every you need monthly to cover bills. One thing I don't do is use a debit card on my primary checking. NEVER do this.
 
If it was me, I’d wait a few more weeks for Chase or the Post Office to find the check.

Check washing is growing crime, according to multiple sources. Here’s an article from AARP describing the problem https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2023/stop-check-washers.html

I would consider switching to paying the bill online - it will save you the cost of a stamp and the cost of a check. I’ve been doing this for years and have reduced my check writing to 6 per year, and 4 of those are to the town for property taxes.
 
I always request lost/missing check to be cancelled. I had a State of California check stolen and cashed. It took 2 years and many forms before I got a replacement check.
 
pb4uski said:
As long as you have money in your checking account so the missing check won't bounce then the worst that could happen is that they find it, process it and yu have a credit on your credit card bill, right?
Click to expand...

I guess I was thinking the worst that could happen is someone else finds it and alters it but it has been weeks already . . .

And really even if it was found a person might be honest and remail it or tear it up or whatever. Leaning towards just leaving it go like I have been. I really did think it would turn up eventually I guess it still could.
 
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RetiredAndLovingIt said:
If it eventually gets to the credit card company and gets deposited then it will just show as a credit on your bill assuming the funds are there to clear it and no big deal.
I'd be more worried that the check was stolen from your mailbox and is now in the hands of scammers who could "wash" it, change the amount to a higher figure and try to cash it at a branch of your bank. It happened to me many years ago but the bank was suspicious and called to verify and the thief realized what was happening and took off. It's far more secure to logon to your bank and set it up so they process your payments and it doesn't cost me anything.
Click to expand...

+1

If someone finds it and adds a few digits to the front of the number, it may become a $9,930 problem instead of a $30 problem. Yes I know they'd also have to write in the "wording" line the number...but there are some sneaky ways to alter a check. For the peace of mind, I'd stop payment.
 
badatmath said:
I guess I was thinking the worst that could happen is someone else finds it and alters it but it has been weeks already . . .

And really even if it was found a person might be honest and remail it or tear it up or whatever. Leaning towards just leaving it go like I have been. I really did think it would turn up eventually I guess it still could.
Click to expand...

Have had maybe 4-6 checks get lost in the mail over the years - count myself fortunate, as it seems like some of my tenant's rent checks get lost in the mail all the time... (joking - mostly). The bank wanted something like $35 to put a stop on the lost checks, so I've never done it. Is a nail-biter as the weeks tick by.
 
In my opinion, if the bad guys intercepted the check, it would already have been washed, modified and deposited within days, not months.
 
Surely, in the USA, as well as Canada, a cheque dated Dec. 2018 is 'stall dated' and non-negotiable.
 
Al18 said:
In my opinion, if the bad guys intercepted the check, it would already have been washed, modified and deposited within days, not months.
Click to expand...

More likely they would use the info from the check and do electronic transfers and/or create new checks. Definitely an antiquated system of payment.
 
I would not pay the fee... the money can only go to the CC company and will reduce what is owed if it is every cashed...


If it were stolen and cashed incorrectly you get your money back...
 
I recently was contacted from a company I made a payment to via check. It was the only payment they accepted. They said I still owed the amount due and was a few months late, so I dug into my records and sure enough, I had the check stub attached to the invoice. I checked my account and they were correct, it never cleared. My bank also charged a $30 stop check fee so I thought it over for a few days. I didn’t like the idea of a check just being “out there” for all the reasons already mentioned. I have been with my bank for over 20 years, so I asked them if they would consider waiving the fee. They did and I was extremely grateful.

I pay all of my CCs online with no issue at all. I would recommend looking into this.
 
On 1/5/2024 I filled a request to USPS to search for my lost mail. Today 2/4/2024 I got an acknowledgement they are looking for it but have not found it. I had assumed I'd hear nothing back. . . still may not but . . . I mean mail is scanned right?
 
^^^^^^ mail is scanned, but not tracked.

That is what I was told when I saw a letter was supposed to be delivered to me (it was scanned) and yet never arrived.
 
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