A bank which negligently loses your cheque should be liable for the loss, the Banking Ombudsman says.
In his report, Charl Cilliers says some 173 000 cheques were lost last year while in the care of banks. But in fact "lost" hardly ever really means "lost": it means the cheque disappeared due to fraud, theft, hijacking, wilful destruction or damage in processing (for instance, when staples are left in cheques), he says.
The banks generally refuse to accept liability for lost cheques, the ombudsman says, instead they cite the Bills of Exchange Act. But the act, he says, simply requires the drawer of the cheque to provide a replacement "it does not exonerate a bank from liability for negligence in losing a cheque".
"Bank customers are generally not aware that many cheques are lost after being deposited. Unaware of this risk, the depositor cannot be held to have accepted the risk, nor can he be expected to take steps to protect himself from this loss."
In Britain and Australia, Cilliers says, ombudsmen report that banks seldom lose customers' cheques. If a cheque is lost in Britain and a replacement cannot be obtained, the bank pays the customer's full loss and also pays compensation for his or her inconvenience.
"We see no reason why a bank that negligently loses a cheque should not be held liable for the loss that this causes," Cilliers says.