ਆਪਣੀ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਭਰੋ

STOP PAYMENT LETTER TO BANK

Instruction to a bank to stop payment of a cheque that has been issued and has not yet been paid

Date: __________, at __________

__________

To: The __________, __________, __________

From: __________, __________ (email __________, telephone __________)

Subject: Stop payment of cheque no. __________ drawn on __________ ending __________

Sir or Madam,

1. 1. My account. I hold the __________ ending __________ with your branch. The account is operated as follows: __________. I write as the person who drew the cheque described below.

1. 2. The cheque. The cheque is no. __________, dated __________, for the amount of __________, drawn in favour of __________. It is a cheque of this kind: __________.

1. 3. My instruction. I instruct you to stop payment of this cheque with immediate effect. If it is presented to you for payment, in any manner and at any branch or clearing house, please do not pay it. Please record this instruction against the cheque number in your records today, and tell me the time at which you recorded it.

1. 4. Why I give this instruction. The reason is this: __________. __________

1. 6. What I know about the cheque. __________. Please tell me in writing, as soon as you can, if the cheque has already been presented, has already been paid or has been returned, and give the date, so that I know whether this instruction came in time.

1. 7. The money behind the cheque. __________. I understand that stopping payment of a cheque does not cancel any money I may owe to the payee. I also understand that a cheque given to pay a debt that can be enforced in law may still lead to a notice and to a complaint to a Magistrate under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, if it comes back unpaid, whatever the reason for the return. I give this instruction knowing that, and I am responsible for it.

1. 8. The bank's charge. __________. I will also sign any form of your own for this purpose, and I enclose the form if I have already filled it in.

1. 9. What I ask you to do.

(a) Mark the cheque number as stopped in your system from the time you record this instruction.

(b) If the cheque is presented, return it unpaid with the reason your return memo shows, and give me a copy of the memo.

(c) Confirm to me in writing that the instruction has been recorded, and tell me for how long it will stay in force.

(d) Tell me if you need any other paper or signature from me, and tell me the same day.

1. 10. If the cheque is paid after this letter. If you pay the cheque after you have received this letter and recorded it, I will ask you to credit the amount back to my account, and I reserve my right to take the matter to your grievance officer and then to the Consumer Commission or the civil court. I make no complaint now; I am writing to prevent loss.

1. 11. What I confirm. What I have written is true to the best of my knowledge. I have not given this instruction to avoid a debt that I know I owe, except as I have said in paragraph 7. I will tell you at once if the cheque is found, or if the payee returns it to me.

Please acknowledge this letter and return a date-stamped copy.

ENCLOSURES

__________

PAPERS TO ATTACH

Attach a copy of the cheque leaf or the counterfoil if you have it; the police report if the cheque was lost or stolen; a copy of your identity proof such as a passport, driving licence, voter card or PAN card; and your bank's own stop-payment form if the branch gives one. If the cheque was a post-dated cheque, say so in the form as well.

HOW TO SEND THIS LETTER

Give it to the branch where the account is held, at the counter, against a stamped and dated copy. Ask the officer to tell you the time of recording. If you cannot go in person, send it by registered post with acknowledgement and by email to the branch, and keep the receipt and the sent copy. Do it on the same day you find the problem: a stop instruction does not help once the bank has paid the cheque. Keep a copy of this letter and the bank's reply for at least three years.

LEGAL BASIS

Punjab: A customer who has drawn a cheque may tell the bank to stop payment before the bank pays it, and the bank must act on the instruction once it has been received and recorded; a cheque paid before the instruction reaches the bank cannot be recalled by it. Stopping payment does not cancel a debt, and a cheque given for a debt that can be enforced in law, if it is returned unpaid, may lead to a notice and a complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. A customer who is unhappy with how the bank handled the instruction can complain to the bank's grievance officer and may file a complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a remedy in addition to other laws under section 100. A claim against the bank for a wrongful payment is decided by the civil court under section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, with an appeal to the District Judge or the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Chandigarh: The same law applies in the Union Territory. The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and the bank's duty to act on a recorded instruction are the same, a consumer complaint goes to the District Commission serving the Union Territory under section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and a claim against the bank goes to the civil court at Chandigarh under section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, with an appeal to the District Judge, Chandigarh, or the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

PERSONAL DATA NOTICE

This notice is given under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

The purpose of collecting the personal data in this letter is to identify the account holder and the cheque, record the reason for the instruction, and let the bank act on it and reply.

The record will be held by __________ and may be shared with the bank and its branch and grievance officers, the clearing house, the police if a loss or theft is reported, any Consumer Commission or court that hears the matter, and the account holder's advocate.

If the matter does not proceed, the personal data will be retained for 90 days and then erased. If the matter proceeds, the record will be retained for the transaction or authority matter plus 12 months, except where a statute requires a longer named retention period.

A person named in this document may request correction or erasure where the purpose has ended, withdraw consent for future consent-based processing, or raise a grievance by writing to __________. The record-holder should acknowledge and reply within 30 days.

Data minimisation: this document does not collect a full Aadhaar number, an Aadhaar-card copy, a password or bank credentials.

Personal-data instruction: __________.

SIGNATURE

 
 
______________________________
Signature
Account holder: __________
Place: ____________________
Date: ____________________