Cheques made out incorrectly

What is the proper proceedure if a cheque is made out incorrectly?
a) post dated or stale dated cheque
b) cheque made out to wrong name .. ie made out to church instead of ward
c) amount does not match tithing slip

Are we allowed to change cheque in any way without the donators knowledge?

Thanks

In the case of B, I'd just deposit it. For the other two, I'd return it to the donor.

Indiana wrote:c) amount does not match tithing slip

In this case, you certainly can't change the check, but you can change the donation slip. You can give the donor a quick call and find out what the real intention was and adjust the donation slip accordingly. Or the donor may say that the check was the mistake and ask it to be returned.

Indiana wrote:b) cheque made out to wrong name .. ie made out to church instead of ward

The approved payee names on a check are the ward, the church, or the combination of the church and the ward. Any other payee name should be returned to the check issuer.

jdlessley wrote:

Indiana wrote:b) cheque made out to wrong name .. ie made out to church instead of ward

The approved payee names on a check are the ward, the church, or the combination of the church and the ward. Any other payee name should be returned to the check issuer.

In the UK the full name of the Church is the required criteria!

Looking at how the word cheque is spelt, I'm guessing that the OP is possibly from a non US/Canada country!

Biggles wrote:Looking at how the word cheque is spelt, I'm guessing that the OP is possibly from a non US/Canada country!

In Canada, the spelling is also "cheque."

But your point is good -- this is certainly a case where it would be helpful to know which country we are talking about.

Ontario Canada

There are five things to check when dealing with a donor cheque.
Date - could be stale dated or post dated
Who it is made out to ... in Canada it should be Ward name not church or Bishop
Amounts should match ... (e.g. $75.00 … fifty seven ---- 00/XX)
Cheque also needs to be signed properly

The above I am guessing s/b returned to donor if in error. It does not state that on the website .... there is also an issue of hanging onto donor funds for too long of a time so that is why the question is being asked. The church website s/b in my opinion, more specific.

The last item to check is if the funds submitted match the donor slip. The church website states to change donation slip to match cheque and document proprly and notify donor ... I would assume that would be same for cash.

I feel VERY uncomfortable with "...change donation slip to match cheque and document properly and notify donor..." I have had times when the donation slip was correct and the check was incorrect. I feel much more comfortable contacting the member and seeing what they want to do. If the member is not able to be contacted, I give the slip and check, in a new sealed envelope, to the Bishop for him to maintain custody of until contact can be made with the member.

jdlessley wrote:

Indiana wrote:b) cheque made out to wrong name .. ie made out to church instead of ward

The approved payee names on a check are the ward, the church, or the combination of the church and the ward. Any other payee name should be returned to the check issuer.

Handbook 1, 14.6.1 says that checks should be made out to the ward, not to the bishop or the Church.

If a check is made out to the Church, we will advise the member, but we usually try to deposit it, and the bank usually takes it.

lajackson wrote:

jdlessley wrote:

Indiana wrote:b) cheque made out to wrong name .. ie made out to church instead of ward

The approved payee names on a check are the ward, the church, or the combination of the church and the ward. Any other payee name should be returned to the check issuer.

Handbook 1, 14.6.1 says that checks should be made out to the ward, not to the bishop or the Church.

If a check is made out to the Church, we will advise the member, but we usually try to deposit it, and the bank usually takes it.

In the UK the Church uses one bank account for donations and expense cheques, at Ward and Stake level anyway. One bank account throughout the UK means only one account name is available. I think this approach probably cuts down on admin costs, to the Church, as only one set of paying/deposit and cheque books needs to be maintained.

Ideally should the cheque be written "ward name" "church name" or just "ward name"? And does it really matter in Canada?

draysonandrew wrote:Ideally should the cheque be written "ward name" "church name" or just "ward name"? And does it really matter in Canada?

I do not know about Canada, but the Handbook says the check should be made out to the Ward. The bank deposit stamp used in the United States only contains the name of the Ward, not the name of the Church, so just Ward is proper here.

Biggles wrote:

lajackson wrote:

jdlessley wrote: The approved payee names on a check are the ward, the church, or the combination of the church and the ward. Any other payee name should be returned to the check issuer.

Handbook 1, 14.6.1 says that checks should be made out to the ward, not to the bishop or the Church.

If a check is made out to the Church, we will advise the member, but we usually try to deposit it, and the bank usually takes it.

In the UK the Church uses one bank account for donations and expense cheques, at Ward and Stake level anyway. One bank account throughout the UK means only one account name is available. I think this approach probably cuts down on admin costs, to the Church, as only one set of paying/deposit and cheque books needs to be maintained.

What if the check is made out to the bishop/branch president by someone of another faith? Is the proper course of action still to return the check to the issuer of the check?

gez2 wrote:What if the check is made out to the bishop/branch president by someone of another faith? Is the proper course of action still to return the check to the issuer of the check?

That is the current policy and procedure. There may be someone who can post an experience where a check written to the bishop or branch president got through the system. But I have not heard recently in the past couple of years of these checks getting through.

jdlessley wrote:

gez2 wrote:What if the check is made out to the bishop/branch president by someone of another faith? Is the proper course of action still to return the check to the issuer of the check?

That is the current policy and procedure. There may be someone who can post an experience where a check written to the bishop or branch president got through the system. But I have not heard recently in the past couple of years of these checks getting through.

Luckily, this should be easy to explain to whoever gave the check. If you think of the Church as a business, there's a difference between, for example, writing a check to Tim Cook and writing a check to Apple, Inc.

jdlessley wrote:There may be someone who can post an experience where a check written to the bishop or branch president got through the system.

If the bishop or branch president endorses the check over to the ward or branch, it should go through. There are accounting implications in doing this, of course, and it does not follow proper Church procedure.