Whew. Checks went through even though I errored

[andrews_dad]

I wrote out my last round of checks to all of the usuals (mortgage, CC, electric, gas, cable, etc). with the date Jan. 4, 2009! I guess I was not used to writing 2010 yet. Anyhow, I think they all cleared. I did not realize it until today when I starting writing out some new bills and looked at the carbon copies. I freaked out wondering if the checks might get rejected and I might get some late fees. Either the banks don't notice, they don't care, or they see fools like me doing this annually!

 

[minnie1928]

I wrote out my last round of checks to all of the usuals (mortgage, CC, electric, gas, cable, etc). with the date Jan. 4, 2009! I guess I was not used to writing 2010 yet. Anyhow, I think they all cleared. I did not realize it until today when I starting writing out some new bills and looked at the carbon copies. I freaked out wondering if the checks might get rejected and I might get some late fees. Either the banks don't notice, they don't care, or they see fools like me doing this annually!

Honestly, no one looks at dates anymore....it's all so automated. The machines look at the encoding on the bottom and the box where the amount is written.

 

[pixiewings71]

Yup, it's rare that dates are checked, but even if they are checked banks will clear checks thru Jan/Feb with no questions if they are dated the previous year. It happens all the time.

 

[cvjw]

Checks will even go thru unsigned. I don't think a human even looks at them anymore.

 

[hipchickie]

I once inadvertently sent the wrong check to 2 places, they each got the one made out to the other, and the bank even cashed those with no issues.

 

[clj1410]

One time I wrote a check to my gas & electric company. The place where you write the amount in words, I wrote the correct amount, then the box that you write the amount in, I wrote the balance of my bank account! The bank cashed it for the number amount written in the box, 900% more than what was written in words!

 

[PHXscuba]

It's a little late now, but every year I go to my checkbook on Jan 1 and write the new year number on the checks for the first 10 checks or so. It keeps me from writing the date wrong for the first month!

ITA about the non-human factor making the date issue a rarity. I suppsoe some bank or vendor could use it as a reason if they really didn't want to honor it, but I don't see it being a problem.

PHXscuba

p.s. I pay all of the bills you listed online these days. It took me forever to get up the nerve to switch to paying online, but it is awesome! Most big banks seem to offer it these days.

 

[Mom21]

One time I wrote a check to my gas & electric company. The place where you write the amount in words, I wrote the correct amount, then the box that you write the amount in, I wrote the balance of my bank account! The bank cashed it for the number amount written in the box, 900% more than what was written in words!

Strange. lat year I wrote a check to my lawn service. I wrote the correct amount in the box, but when I spelled it out I messed up. They cashed it for the written amount. Luckily my lawnservice guy has a sense of humor and just added the amount into next months bill as the amount I spelled out was less than what I owed.