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Depositing a cheque with my name misspelled

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  • Nov 30th, 2018 12:08 pm
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Deal Addict
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Oct 16, 2008
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Depositing a cheque with my name misspelled

I just got received a cheque written out to me but my name misspelled. Not by a lot, only by one letter. I use PCF exclusively. Anyone know what I can do in this situation, other than asking the issuer for another cheque (that option is out of the question). Will the cheque bounce?
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Deal Addict
Oct 24, 2009
2477 posts
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ilove wrote: I just got received a cheque written out to me but my name misspelled. Not by a lot, only by one letter. I use PCF exclusively. Anyone know what I can do in this situation, other than asking the issuer for another cheque (that option is out of the question). Will the cheque bounce?
I deposited a rebate cheque with one different vowel in the last name a couple months ago and everything was fine. Deposited it through PCF.
Deal Addict
Jan 2, 2007
2521 posts
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depend on the amount, if it's not a large amount then you should be fine

or

unless the cheque issuer file a lost cheque
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Deal Addict
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Oct 16, 2008
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Thanks for the replies. What would happen in the worst case scenario?
Member
Mar 17, 2011
256 posts
3 upvotes
My wife's name is Laura and she has cashed checks under Lora.

Worst case scenario is that you'll have to ask for the check to be reissued if the bank won't take it. It happened to her once.
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Mar 13, 2012
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Planet Earth
My experience: People mispell my name all the time because there are 3 variations and I have never had an issue with deposits for PCF @CIBC ATM's.
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Deal Addict
Dec 18, 2006
1773 posts
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Edmonton, AB
From past experience ive found that a teller might refuse it, but if you deposit via an ATM it will be ok.

A few months ago a roommate and I moved out if our old apartment. The landlord gave back our security deposit with both our names on it. The teller said she can't accept it without my roommate being here with me with ID, but if I were to desposit it via the ATM "there is nothing the bank can do about it" lol(her words).
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Jan 2, 2012
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Toronto
I use PC bank, and have even deposited cheques that weren't written out to me.

Several times my gf has received cheques, and just given them to me for deposit since it was convenient at the time. So i just deposit them in my account at the ATM. Haven't had a problem ever with them going through.

Another time while a friend was out of the country for an extended time, i helped collect his mail which included gst and other cheques... and deposited each one in my account at an ATM so i could e-transfer the money to him. Again at no time did PC ever ask why the cheque wasn't written out to me.

So i can hardly see them caring if a name is mispelled. Of course this is just my experience, and perhaps its just been random luck nobody at PC actually questioned why i deposited other peoples cheques!
Deal Addict
Feb 25, 2009
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rob444 wrote: I use PC bank, and have even deposited cheques that weren't written out to me.
+1 OP just deposit via the atm.
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Deal Addict
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Jun 30, 2004
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Greater Saskatchewan…
This thread is 6 years old, but I have the same question, so am wondering if bank policies have changed or not. Does anyone have recent experience with depositing a cheque with misspelt name?
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Newbie
Nov 14, 2014
52 posts
21 upvotes
Mississauga, ON
saskwatcher wrote: This thread is 6 years old, but I have the same question, so am wondering if bank policies have changed or not. Does anyone have recent experience with depositing a cheque with misspelt name?
Won't be an issue unless the person that wrote you it goes to their bank and signs a declaration asking for it to be returned for going to the wrong person. Some tellers in a branch might be more picky if it's a big misspelling, but just put it in the ABM/mobile deposit in that case.
Sr. Member
Jan 14, 2010
701 posts
249 upvotes
Central Ontario
Bank machine deposit within last year = no problem. Last name slightly misspelled but phonetically same.
Deal Addict
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Dec 17, 2008
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Winnipeg
It's cheaper for the banks to just process every cheque without verification at the Atms and they will only check if the client or the senders bank contacts them. So in my experience you can deposit any cheque at the ATM and as long as the dollar amount is correct it will go through
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Deal Addict
Jul 3, 2017
3859 posts
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It's possible for a cheque to be rejected because the name on it doesn't match the account name, but this is one area where human discretion still seems to hold - as long as it's a plausible variation, the bank typically won't question it.

Unlike the government: I had an unfortunate experience with the provincial government where some idiot transposed 2 letters in my name when entering an official record in a computer system decades ago, and when it came to light they told me that I had to immediately cancel all of my documents, including my drivers licence, and have them re-issued to comply with their records. I told them to piss off and fix their silly error, but now I'm paranoid that this is going to come up to bite me some day.
Sr. Member
Feb 1, 2018
975 posts
1119 upvotes
Montréal
It depends on the bank. My legal name is slightly different from the name I use in everyday life. Occasionally I'll receive a cheque (from a relative or friend) who is unaware of this and who writes it to my used name. In my experience, TD Canada Trust will cash those just fine, but Tangerine won't. I even obtained a letter signed by a Commissioner of Oaths in Quebec attesting to the fact that we are the same person, and tried to send it to Tangerine to place it on file on my account, but it didn't make a difference. So I've stuck to cashing those at TDCT and simply transferring the funds.

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