Bouncing Cheque
 

I know this doesn't have anything to do with the MVA but I had a question. I was givin a cheque by a tenant who has since moved out. The cheque has been returned and says the account was closed. I have left messages with the tenant asking them to call me and that it was important and they are completly ignoring me. I thought it was a mistake at first but now I think it was intentional so that they could stay the last month without having to pay. Is it possible this is cheque fraud? Should I be contacting the RCMP? I have no idea what my options are.

Contact the RCMP and see what they can do. Typically people will cough up the money if they think the police are involved. If the RCMP won't do anything, take it to small claims. As long as you have proof of the monthly rent and the cheque that bounced, the judge will award you the money.

it's tough. there's only a few things you can do.
1) call them, leave them a message that they didn't pay their rent for the last month. tell them you have kept a record and they forgo their damage deposit.
2) tell them you want to resolve this without going to small claims court.
3) you need their new address so you can serve them documents.
4) once you go to small claims court, u'll most likely win. HOWEVER, it's the next step that's hard. a) you need to garnish their accout b) their salary.

u don't have their new accout info. so unless you're well connected like me, you won't be able to find out any details from their current bank accout. (you also need their FULL name)
if you want to garish their salary, you'll need to know his banking / salary schedule before you can garish.

i have 2000 that i need to collect from tenant, but .. meh.. it's a lost cause since he's unemployed.

hopefully some of you RS'ers will turn a blind eye to this post but I say take the law into your own hands.

Be careful of what you say if you manage to contact them. If you exchange the cheque for their promise to pay you have effectively extended them credit. Best to get some legal advice on this from someone familiar with the civil law involved.

If you can prove that they knowing gave you the check without having the funds/that it would bounce, there are legal implications/charges that can result. Frauds are generally difficult and lengthy/time consuming files. Contact legal counsel with experience in civil matters such as this, and contact your local police detachment to start a file and see if they're able to do anything on their end.

I believe writing a cheque AFTER they closed the account is consider fraud..and the police will do something about it.

On the other hand, if the chq bounces (NSF), then the police won't do anything about it, cause this is considered more like a credit issue.