Illegally cancelled cheque - anyone any experience of this?

[Ecosse]

We had a group of students in the weekend before last who basically left our gite in a tip and broke a door (yes, they WILL be the last group of students we accept!) necessitating us to, for the first time ever, retain the cleaning deposit of 200€ as well as a further 50€ for the damage. It took us until Wednesday to get the place looking acceptable again and had to cancel a booking (small, only 2 rooms B&B) in the meantime. Needless to say, we took several photos as proof.

We cashed the cheque immediately and on the following Saturday, a letter arrived from the students saying they had cancelled the cheque because they did not agree that they had left the place in a state. We ignored it - I suspect most of you know that you can only cancel a cheque if it's lost or stolen... and certainly not for a payment dispute.

Yesterday, a letter arrived from our bank saying that the cheque had been refused, as it was 'lost'. I showed them the evidence that the students have lied to their bank and they agreed that it was illegal, but they couldn't do anything about it. Neither, it seems, can the student's bank though they also agree it's illegal.

Both banks have suggested contacting both the police and the 'Tribunal de Grande Instance'. Before I go down this line, has anyone else had experience of this and if so, did you manage to get it resolved?

Thanks!

[Marks]

I can't help you with the legalities however I strongly recommend that security deposits are banked on receipt. I include mine in the balance payment, I don't take cheques just PP & bank transfers then I have the money in situations such as these.

Good luck in getting it sorted.

[bornintheuk]

We had the same sort of thing with a renter who said to her bank that the cheque was "stolen".
We went to the Gendarmerie and they agreed it was illegal but would not do anything about it apart from recording it as a "plainte" and we would have to take action through the courts.
This was for €400 and it was not worth it, so we wrote it down to experience.
I am afraid you will have to do the same.
You could try to get the bank account frozen by the Banque de France, but good luck with that !

[vacancesthezan]

go back to the Gendarmes and try quoting the word "Grivelerie" at them.

When we had someone cancel a cheque (they were English) but as they were in France we found the Gendarmes really helpful.

You could also go back to the students and say that you have reported them to the Gendarmes. If they have cancelled the cheque saying that it was "stolen" then this is fraud ie escroquerie
which again is illegal.

If you have all the correct paperwork and details from the bank then the Gendarmes should be able to help. Grivelerie can sometimes be a civil act and therefore the Gendarmes will not help but escroquerie is a criminal act and they should investigate it on your behalf.

Stick to your guns and try again!

[Normandie]

And in addition, write to their bank again with the evidence. Do you have the details of any of their families? If so, write to them too, with the evidence. Tell the students all the people you have contacted about their behaviour. Do you know where they are studying?

I have had a French cheque 'bounce' due to lack of funds. Fortunately, the group concerned were overflow from a local wedding so I went to the villagers whose nephew had booked the rooms, looked terribly grave and serious and explained that the cheque had not been honoured. Mme was very embarrassed and promised to talk to her nephew.

I got a cheque from another member of the group a few days later which cleared with no problems.

It did teach me that French cheques may be less prone to bouncing than British cheques but they are by no means as good as cash.

Good luck, GMJ. Sometimes it's easier to rollover and write off to experience, etc, and of course you will get over it... but I get quite bloody-minded and persistent when someone tries to take advantage of me...

[kevsboredagain]

On the single occasion I had to deposit a cheque after finding damage, I made sure the cheque was at the bank before I informed the guest. Not much use to you now and no idea whether doing that would give enough time to make it impossible to cancel.

[kg1]

We were caught like that -just the once. Now if we get a cheque for damages deposit we bank it straight away. We state that if paying by cheque it must be with us 2 weeks before arrival or booking is forfeited. Most send us a post dated cheque with the balance payment which is fine.

[Ecosse]

Thanks everyone - there's an intermediate involved in it all (the students booked through an organisation that specialises in student breaks - I don't want to name them as, to be honest, it's not their fault that the students behaved so badly) and I've e-mailed him with photos of the letters to explain the situation, as well as a strong recommendation that he gets on to the group to avoid any of them getting a nasty visit from the the gendarmes. We'll wait and see...

Normandie - interesting that you mention contacting uni and families... we knew they were business students from Lyon (the group leader's course specialised in 'Business Negotiation' ) but a quick search on the internet with the address details on the cheque revealed their home phone number and (presumably) mother's name... and we were debating on contacting her. If nothing comes from the above, that might be the next stage.

Kevsboredagain - yes, ideally we would have cashed the cheque before they had a chance to revoke it, but they were weekenders so, with the banks being closed on Monday, it was first thing on Tuesday before we could cash it... which was probably when they cancelled it. Being French, they expect to pay by cheque on arrival (we would sadly lose the majority of our business if we didn't operate on the French model), so no chance to clear anything before arrival, either.

[Ecosse]

Update : à replacement cheque arrived today !! Was preparing to (grudgingly) roll over and put it down to experience but the snotty email stating fines from their bank and a likely criminal record seems to have done the trick... even got an apology from them!

Thank you everyone!

[Normandie]

I am delighted for you.

[Orsonthecat]

Well done gitmontjoly for sticking to your guns and getting the result you deserve