Sale & cleared funds

[Nosey]

Any advice from more expereinced sellers than me?!
Took payment for our pony that we sold yesterday. Sale went much quicker than expected so has taken me by surprise really. Purchaser shoved chq in my hand which I promptly paid in this morning thinking it wld be cleared funds Weds which is when they want to collect but it won't be cleared till Fri.
Its not unreasonable to wait till then is it? Can't think of another way round it...just about to break the news to them!
Caught me on hop really - normally wld have said cash etc....
Thanks

 

[Roody2]

Definitely wait until the cheque has cleared properly. Any honest decent buyer will understand that.
Has the bank said why it will take 5 days and not the usual 3?

 

[Gamebird]

I generally don't take cheques and prefer a direct transfer from their bank account to mmine - very easy to do on t'internet and in a lot of cases it's instant. I hate hanging on to a horse waiting for a cheque to clear as I panic about them getting kicked etc. in the intervening gap. You can also pay to have a cheque 'express cleared' if you need which would probably be worth your while, if not this time then next.

 

[Ferdinase514]

Actually can take up to 10 working days for the funds to be definitely yours, so check with your bank as it varies. You can draw on the funds usually after 4 working days but the chq can still be returned. This is how many frauds are conducted, as most people dont realise.

Used to be a bank manager

 

[smac]

I generally don't take cheques and prefer a direct transfer from their bank account to mmine - very easy to do on t'internet and in a lot of cases it's instant. I hate hanging on to a horse waiting for a cheque to clear as I panic about them getting kicked etc. in the intervening gap. You can also pay to have a cheque 'express cleared' if you need which would probably be worth your while, if not this time then next.

I agree with this. Bank transfer is the only thing I do now. Wait for cheque to clear before releasing pony

 

[now_loves_mares]

Definitely wait until the cheque has cleared properly. Any honest decent buyer will understand that.
Has the bank said why it will take 5 days and not the usual 3?

It actually takes 6 working days before a cheque is properly cleared. Banks differ in the time after which they will allow you to withdraw the funds; but at this point (usually 4 or 5 business days after pay in) the cheque still isn't cleared and you'd have to pay the money back if it bounced. It's called the 2-4-6 process. The day 3 idea is a common misconception I'm afraid.

 

[now_loves_mares]

Actually can take up to 10 working days for the funds to be definitely yours, so check with your bank as it varies. You can draw on the funds usually after 4 working days but the chq can still be returned. This is how many frauds are conducted, as most people dont realise.

Used to be a bank manager

The 2-4-6 was introduced in 2007. 6 days is now the maximum allowed and you start getting interest after day 2.

 

[Easy Rider]

Cheque clearing is unbelievably slow given that this is the 21st century... (just one of the smaller reasons to hate banks!) Definitely standard practice to wait for it to clear before letting the horse leave the yard.

 

[Nosey]

Thanks for all you advice.. have spoken to new owner & they were fine about it....I was obv. worrying unduly.
I think I was a bit taken aback at how quickly they wanted to seal the deal so wasn't thinking as clearly...having said that I suppose i have more experience of buying rather than selling!!
Read the banks internet blurb then called them - they say 5 days for it to be cleared funds...