What to do if you receive a check without provision? 

Verified 29 January 2020 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister), Ministry of Finance

If you receive a NSF check, you must first try to obtain payment by contacting the check issuer (friendly procedure). If this procedure fails, you can apply to a judicial officer to obtain payment of the check (forced procedure).

Friendly procedure

After a check is issued, the bank of the check issuer informs your bank that the payment cannot be insured.

Your bank will send you a certificate of rejection of a check for non-provision.

You can then for 30 days:

  • ask your bank again to cash the check,
  • directly the issuer of the check to regularize the situation, by feeding his bank account or by paying by another means.

If the check is greater than €15 is still not paid at the end of the 30-day period, the bank of the issuer of the check issues you a certificate of non-payment free of charge. This document is delivered to your request, or automatically in the case of a new unsuccessful check presentation.

The delivery of the certificate of non-payment allows you to go from the amicable procedure to the forced recovery with call to a bailiff. The certificate of non-payment must be signed by the banker.

FYI  

a check for less than €15 is paid by the debtor's bank.

Enforced procedure

When the friendly procedure has failed, you can ask judicial officer from signify to the issuer of the check the certificate of non-payment.

Service is command to pay. The debtor is obliged to settle his debt within 15 days.

If the payment is not regularized within 15 days, the judicial officer can then initiate any enforcement proceedings (a wage attachment for example).

The costs of such proceedings shall be borne by your debtor.

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