Legal Question in Consumer Law in Georgia

On March the 8th we made a large deposit into the checking account. The deposit came from an Ohio Brokerage firm from the sale of a stock purchased in 1972 by my husband's grandmother. A local dealership was holding 2 new trucks for us but needed proof of the pending funds. We took the deposit slip by as proof. The deposit automatically had a 10 day hold placed on it with $4900 to be available in 5 days. We showed the finance manager the pending deposit and we were told to write them 2 checks and absolutely not run them until March the 18th they needed to put us in the trucks. We liked the trucks so we did as they ask. The checks totalled $100,149.12. We did not think anymore about it until March 10th when the bank called screaming about the 2 checks that had bounced off the hold on the account. Deposited on March the 8th. I called the dealership, they apologized for the mistake, called our bank and told them it was a clerical error on their part. Due to the size of the deposit the hold was extended another 10 days and our $4900 in funds due available were frozen. They ran the checks again on March 17th. Again they bounced off the hold on the account. In the mean time our bank is being notified by the brokerage firm there had been a clerical error in their accounting the dept. The last $250,000 of the funds from the sale of the stock was not issued in a wire it was issued as check drawn on the brokers acct. The deposit check from the brokerage firm bounced. The brokerage firm made arrangements to make the deposit good in three installments with the first being large enough to cover the trucks on April 1st. Had to take the trucks back , mine twice, due to this mess. Had so much trouble we see public humiliation every time we look at these trucks. They sent the titles to us within the first 5 days. Suppose to take possession again on Monday. What can we do to get out of it?


Asked on 4/02/11, 3:42 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Get out of what? No one here has your contracts. That long story can be boiled down to this - you bought trucks and wrote checks when you did not have money in the bank to cover them. Funds subject to a hold are not available funds -- you wait the 10 days. You don't write a check unless you have money at the time to cover it, and you assume the other party will deposit it regardless of what they say. This was mishandled all along. Read your contracts - that tells you what you can or cannot get out of.

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Answered on 4/02/11, 4:02 pm
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

You can't. You were the one who did wrong.

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a bank will take a check regardless of the date. So, if you've postdated a check, and the payee cashes the check, that's the date the funds will be taken from your account - - or if there are insufficient funds, then you'll be in hot water that day.

Most banking agreements PROHIBIT post-dated checks. You CANNOT spend money that has yet to arrive.

Examples: US Bank: "We are not responsible to you if we pay a check before its date, even if we have notice that it is post-dated."

Bank of America: "If a postdated check � a check dated in the future � is presented for payment, we may pay the check and charge it to your account even if it is presented for payment before the date stated on the check. If you do not want us to pay a stale�dated or postdated check, you must place a stop payment order on it."

Unless your written contract required them to hold the checks you have no complaint with the dealer. And unless your contract gives you a right to rescind (and few do), you own the trucks.

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Answered on 4/02/11, 4:57 pm


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