Stolen Check & Forged Endorsement
by Ken Golliher, BOL Guru BIO AND CONTACT INFO
Question: A customer wrote a check and made it payable to a person. The check was mailed to a foreign country. The check was stolen from the mail and deposited at a US bank. Should the affidavit for forged endorsement be filled out by the payee or the maker? If the payee, can our bank's form be used and sent to the payee in the foreign country? Would I need anything from the maker who is informing us of the claim?
Answer: If it is the payee's endorsement that was forged, only he can fill out the affidavit. You should always use your bank's affidavit; presumably it has exactly the language you want. If your affidavit requires a notary's seal, there may be some "translation" difficulties in determining the equivalent attestation in the foreign country. You do not need anything from the maker, but you will wait until the properly completed affidavit is returned to you before reimbursing the account.
Time is of the essence. Generally, you have 30 days after being advised of the forgery to assert your breach of warranty claim against the other bank.
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