I am about to bounce my rent check?

Question

hi,

I've never bounced a check before... but I sent a check out and an emergency came up where I had to take $750 out of my account for something else. Therefore, my rent check of $920 will be bouncing. I am with PNC bank. Will the landlord notice or will PNC give them the money anyways and charge me? I get direct deposit on the 7th from my work that will cover all fees and the rent check plus some more. The check has not been entered in the system yet but I am assuming it will very soon (4th).

Am I in big trouble? I am 24 this is my first time in this situation. I am scared.

Answer 1

You should try to get the landlord to hold off on cashing the check. He  will probably not be too thrilled but it is easier for him to wait to cash the check then go through the runaround with the bank. On your end, if your bank does honor the check for the missing amount, you will most likely be assessed a daily overdraft fee of something in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 dollars. In the future you may want to look into getting a savings account that is linked to your checking account to protect against overdraft as the fees add up quickly.  

Answer 2

A bank will never give that kind of money on a check that large.  Not unless you are Bill Gates.  But, then again, Bill Gates will never be in that position.  You should be fine if they allow your land lord to deposit the check without giving it back to him/her for insufficient funds.  Then, it will take a couple days to clear.  And it should be fine for the time being.  If it doesbounce, it probably wont be too much of a big deal because you can fix it almost right away....Just explain that another check that you deposited didnt clear in time....no biggie...

Answer 3

I was once a landlord. If a renter was about to be late with rent and told me the reason why and assured my that a rent check would be coming soon, I would normally accommodate them. But if they bounced a check on meI would normally get pretty pissed. My bank would charge me a fee and if I had insufficient funds due to the bounced check I might bounce a check and get another penalty. Call your landlord right away and alert them to your dilemma. They might cut you some slack.

Answer 4

Call the landlord and ask him to hold the check until the 7th.  Usually, you have until the 10th before the rent is late.  Banks all handle this situation different ways with different customers.  For some customers, they will honor the check, for others, they just bounce it.

Answer 5

Don't be scared, it will be ok.  But you MUST call your landlord.  That will be a hard call to make, but that's your best chance of getting yourself out of this scrape.  Overdraft protection usually doesn't go above $500 or so.  If you don't call the landlord, he/she will most likely deposit the check within a day or so of receiving it, and they will get notified within a couple days that it bounced.  That reflects very, very badly on you.  However, if you call, tell them what happened, apologize, and ask them to hold the check, they will most likely accommodate you.  They will also respect you as someone who is up front and responsible when things go wrong.  Hey, things happen, they know that.  But how you handle it is what really matters.  This is something you should know:  once your landlord deposits a check that later bounces, chances are his bank will start holding ALL future deposits for 3-5 days to make sure the checks clear before they release the funds.  This is unfair to them & has a negative impact on their cash flow, so just do the right thing.  Call them, and I bet they'll be understanding & hold the check.  At the very least they will respect you for making the call and your relationship with them will not be damaged.  Good luck!  Go make the call right now!! =)