Issuing a Stop Payment Order on a Check

Have you ever mailed a check payable to someone and then decided that you did not want to pay that person. Maybe a contractor did some shoddy work on your house and you did not discover it until you had paid them the money. What do you do in a situation like that? Well the first thing you do is call your bank and put a stop payment on the check. The sooner you do this the better. If the check has already been cashed then you will have to seek other means for resolving this matter, other than a stop payment.

A stop payment is a simple process. To issue a stop payment you visit your bank and in some cases you can call the branch while other banks request you to call the customer service department. Once you are speaking to the representative let them know you want to have a stop payment placed on a check. You will need the check number, which is in the upper right hand corner, the dollar amount of the check, the date on the check or the date the check was issued, the person the check is payable to and finally the reason for issuing a stop payment.

Normally your request can go through the same day, but can vary from bank to bank, and can last anywhere from 6 months to one year. Of course there will be a fee somewhere in the area of $30 to $35. You can check with you bank to see how much the fee is there. If the stop payment order is issued on time the person in receipt of the check will not be able to cash it.

Some banks will allow you to perform a stop payment order online. If you have issued a check to someone and think that your money is gone don't give it a second thought simply issue a stop payment order. It's better to pay a fee of $35 than to let an unscrupulous individual cash a check for thousands of dollars and make off with your hard earned money. The whole process only takes minutes and you will save yourself a lot of time and effort if you have to retrieve your money by going through the court system. There have been situations when a consumer has contracted with a contractor to perform certain work on their home. Unfortunately after giving them a down payment the contractor disappeared never to be heard from again. A stop payment order is a good way to combat this sort of dishonesty.