Have I Made A Mistake Accepting A Personal Check?

confusedok

New Member
Jurisdiction
Oklahoma
I split apart from a guy I was investing with. I have just under $8,000 invested with him.

Yesterday he gave me a personal check for $6,000 as a partial return of my capital.

I noticed he'd dated the check 05.19.23 (he gave me the check on 05.18.23). I didn't want to accept a post-dated check, so I had him strike through the incorrect date, write the correct date above it and sign the correction.

I took the check straight to his bank and asked the teller if there were funds in the account to cover it. She told me she couldn't tell me, but suggested I call the guy who'd written the check. I did so and handed the phone to the teller.

From the teller's side of the conversation I overheard, he'd deposited a personal check for more that $6,000 from someone two days before and had misunderstood the bank's policy on when the funds would be available (05.24.23).

If I wait to run the check through, am I losing any legal ground here ?
 
If I wait to run the check through, am I losing any legal ground here ?

No. A week or two delay in cashing the check isn't going to change your legal position. What can change is how much money is in the account when you next go to cash it. I'd wait until the bank's hold period on the funds deposited has passed and then try again.
 
No. A week or two delay in cashing the check isn't going to change your legal position. What can change is how much money is in the account when you next go to cash it. I'd wait until the bank's hold period on the funds deposited has passed and then try again.

Thank you very much for the advice
 
Thank you very much for the advice

Have you considered taking the item to the bank (or one of it's branches) and asking for the item to be sent to collections?

That is one of the best ways to discover (fairly quickly) if the item given to you is worth what appears to be drawn on the face of the banking institution's check.

Sending a Check for Collection

Question:
How do you send a check through as a collection item instead of normal banking channels? What kind of notices do you give your customer?

Answer:
Generally, the payee endorses the item and you affix your bank endorsement so you are in a position to present the item to the drawee bank. You include a cover letter with instructions to the drawee bank regarding how long you wish it to hold the item in anticipation of adequate funds to pay the item. Your letter also contains instructions as to how the drawee bank is to remit funds or return the item unpaid. You may have the customer sign a document that mirrors the terms in your collection letter so you can have assurances that the customer understands the process, but there is no federal requirement for anything akin to a disclosure. This is somewhat of an "old fashioned" practice, but it still has its uses.

First published on BankersOnline.com 5/22/06

Sending Checks for Collection | Bankers Online
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Sending a check for collection
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The Facts About the Collection Process | Business
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I split apart from a guy I was investing with. I have just under $8,000 invested with him.

What exactly does this mean? Did you have a partnership or some other legal business entity? Were you an owner of the entity? If not, what was the nature of your investment? What sort of documentation exists relating to the investment?

If I wait to run the check through, am I losing any legal ground here ?

I don't understand your question. If the guy owes you $8k and paid you $6k, then he now owes you $2k. If the check bounces, then you'll have additional legal remedies. When, within the next week or so, you present the check for deposit or payment doesn't matter.
 
What exactly does this mean? Did you have a partnership or some other legal business entity? Were you an owner of the entity? If not, what was the nature of your investment? What sort of documentation exists relating to the investment?



I don't understand your question. If the guy owes you $8k and paid you $6k, then he now owes you $2k. If the check bounces, then you'll have additional legal remedies. When, within the next week or so, you present the check for deposit or payment doesn't matter.


We had a handshake agreement to refurbish and sell Jeeps. I purchased the Jeeps and bought the parts, he fixed and sold them.

We've been doing this for about a year and I made some money, but it was constant grief and drama. He was also refurbishing a Jeep for me (which I paid him for), so I had to stick it out with him until that was finished. It is now.

Once I have the 6K check cashed, with the profits I've made on the Jeeps we've done I will actually be ahead 14% on my investment. I hope to also recover some, or all of the other 2K, but he is a narcissist and he is escalating. The more time that passes, the more he is able to rationalize and paint himself as a victim, the result of which will surely be he will try and cheat me out of some or all of that additional 2K.

I'll pursue it, but it will be a small claims court matter, the only documentation I have is text messages and the only remedy small claims court offers is a judgement against him.

Regarding the check, Back in the 80s in another state I managed a business where I dealt with a lot of checks. From the times I had to go to court to try and collect on bad checks I had the judge rule against me any time we'd accepted a post-dated check, or accepted a check knowing funds were not in the account at the time we took the check.

My former partner is shady. I believe there's a good chance he's paying me the 6K because anything 2K and under is a small claims court matter, and that's where he'd prefer I have to deal with this if we end up in court.

I also believe he tried to give me the check with the wrong date on it in order to get me to accept a post-dated check. He just texted me telling me he'd called the bank and they've released the funds. I'm going to burn rubber up there and see if I can get that thing cashed!
 
As I asked on the other forum, what were the terms of the investment? Was the return of the full amount somehow guaranteed? Generally, it is understood that an "investment" may have risks.
 
As I asked on the other forum, what were the terms of the investment? Was the return of the full amount somehow guaranteed? Generally, it is understood that an "investment" may have risks.

So I didn't invest in his business, I'd invest in individual Jeeps. I'd buy the Jeep and any parts and outside labor (seats re-covered, title services, etc). My partner would invest his labor. After the Jeep sold, I'd first recover my expenses, then he'd recover his labor and we'd split the profit 50/50.

My money was always guaranteed. We specifically discussed that on numerous occasions, including by text message that I still have. My partner put us into a Jeep that turned out to be stolen, for example. I'd paid 2 grand for it. By the terms of our agreement I was to recover that $2,000 from future projects. We agreed I'd recover $500 from the next 4 Jeeps we did.

At the time I told him I was done, we had 3 Jeeps in the pipeline, as well as 2 co-owned parts Jeeps and several sets of wheels and tires I'd purchased for current and future projects. My total investment at that point was 7,955.11, plus several hundred dollars' equity in the co-owned parts Jeeps.

As I said earlier, this was a handshake deal, but we hammered out the details in text messages I still have and discussed the details further many times by text in the year we did business together.
 
At the time I told him I was done, we had 3 Jeeps in the pipeline, as well as 2 co-owned parts Jeeps and several sets of wheels and tires I'd purchased for current and future projects. My total investment at that point was 7,955.11, plus several hundred dollars' equity in the co-owned parts Jeeps.
Considering your arrangement, an argument could be made that you aren't entitled to anything at this time since the jeeps aren't complete and sold.
 
Let me clarify.

Our agreement (which he proposed) was that my money was never at risk; that I was guaranteed on ever project that my investment would be returned.

If that's what you believe, its not for me to judge.

You are free to invest your money with anyone you choose.

That would include deadbeats, shysters, conartists, and scammers.

Bonne chance mon ami.
 
As I said earlier, this was a handshake deal, but we hammered out the details in text messages I still have and discussed the details further many times by text in the year we did business together.

I think you probably have enough documentation of your agreement for a successful lawsuit if necessary although collecting on a judgment is often problematic.

That you got $6000 back implies that you probably can noodge him for the rest of the money a bit at a time without having to litigate.

As for the business itself, well, I'm a car guy and have done the same thing myself during the last 50 years buying, fixing, and selling collectible cars. Though never with a partner. That's where the risk is. I know how I work, but a partner is unpredictable even under the best of circumstances.
 
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