Have you experienced this embarrassing situation before where you confidently walk into a bank to cash a cheque only to be told by the cashier that there is no money in the account? This has happened to a lot of people and that type of cheque is known as a dud cheque.

A dud cheque is a worthless cheque that cannot be paid because the person who issued the cheque does not have sufficient money or has no money at all in his bank account.

Once you receive a dud cheque, make sure that the bank makes the proper entries in its register and also on the returned cheque so that you can use it as evidence, if need be.

It is a criminal offence to issue a dud cheque; an individual who is found guilty of this will be sentenced to 2 years imprisonment while a corporate body will be fined a minimum of N5 million. Anybody who issues a dud cheque can be prosecuted and sent to prison. It is a financial crime that is handled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

There is no statute of limitation for criminal offences and since issuance of dud cheques is a criminal offence, there is no statute of limitation to bring an action against the person.

Issuance of dud cheques is an act of fraud that breeds lack of trust among business partners and affects smooth business relations. It should be discouraged as much as possible.

Lots of people go ahead to issue cheques even when they know that they do not have sufficient money in their accounts. Unfortunately, people who receive dud cheques are not aware that the issuer of the cheque can be prosecuted so they do nothing about it.

In some other cases, people issue dud cheques unintentionally because they are probably expecting some money in their account or they have been debited for a transaction they were not prepared for. That is why it is encouraged that investigations are carried out to know the exact reason behind the worthless cheque.

If you have been issued a dud cheque, you have basically two options. You can choose to report the matter to EFCC so that they can institute criminal proceedings in court against the person. Some people are however not interested in dragging the person to court because of the stress and time that will be spent; they would rather just get their money and be done with it.

You also have a second option of amicable settlement or mediation between yourself and the person who issued the dud cheque to resolve the matter. You can bring a civil action against the person who issued the cheque so that you can get full value of the cheque.

It is advisable to get a lawyer who will provide suitable advice on the best line of action to take but it is important to act quickly. [url][/url]www.tylegal.com

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