[PDF] Our commitment to you - NatWest

Cheques made out to one party can be paid into asingle named or joint account, but a cheque made outto joint parties cannot be paid into a sole account.There are some cases in which, for legal reasons, oras a result of circumstances beyond our control, thepayment of a cheque into your account may beprevented or may take longer than the timescalesmentioned above. This may effect the day on whichthe money is added to your balance; the day on whichwe will start paying interest on the cheque (or stopcharging overdraft interest if your account isoverdrawn); and/or the day on which you will be ableto withdraw the money if your account is in credit.Consequently, you should not rely on the abovetimings and check in branch, online or at a cashmachine to ensure funds have cleared to your account.When a cheque is returned unpaidSometimes a cheque which has been added to thebalance on your account is later returned unpaid.If a Sterling cheque issued by a UK bank is returnedunpaid after it has been paid into your account, wecan deduct the amount of the cheque from yourbalance (or add it onto your overdraft) at any timebefore the end of the sixth business day after the‘transaction day’ or ‘T’. As explained above, T is theday on which the money is added to your balance (ortaken off your overdraft). In other words, you will notbe sure that the money is yours until the end of T+6.For example, if the money is added to your balance ona Monday (T), the point at which you can be sure themoney is yours (the end of T+6) will be the end of theTuesday of the following week (or the end of theWednesday of that week if the Monday is a bankholiday). If, before then, the cheque is returned unpaidwe will deduct the amount of the cheque from yourbalance – even if we have already allowed you towithdraw the money. If this means that an unarrangedoverdraft arises on your account, you will have topay interest and fees as explained in the fees leafletPersonal and Private Banking – A Guide to Feesand Interest.However, if the cheque is not returned unpaid untilafter the end of T+6, we will not deduct money fromyour account (or add it onto your overdraft) unless:(a) you give your consent; or (b) you were knowinglyinvolved in a fraud concerning the cheque.As before, longer timescales apply where the cheque isnot in Sterling, or is not issued by a UK bank.7