Understanding a Fake Bank Warning

What is a Fake bank warning?

Would you like to wipe out all your debts? If you pay us a one-off fee of £35 plus £10 a month, says the WeRe bank, we will send you a cheque book that will do just that. Or will it?

Not according to the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is warning people not to fall for the promises made on the WeRe Bank website.

The WeRe Bank says that its cheques can be used to pay various debts, including tax demands, utility bills and court fines, even though you will not have to pay any money into an account. It states that, under sections 42 and 43 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, an organisation which refuses a WeRe Bank cheque is “acting in dishonour” and the person’s liability for the debt ceases.

The trouble is that cheques are not legal tender and never have been, meaning that someone who is owed money does not have to accept a cheque. A creditor is entitled to be paid in legal tender and can refuse payment in any other form.

Fake Bank Warning Scam

The FCA says, “We believe that you are unlikely to be able to pay any of your debts using a cheque from WeRe Bank. Instead, you may end up with additional charges from your creditors for late payment. You could eventually be subject to other sanctions such as County Court Judgements or repossession proceedings.”

Some people have fallen for the scam and tried to pay bills using the WeRe Bank cheques, which are on poor quality paper, carry an account number that is all 8s and bear an invalid sort code. The FCA knows of no organisation that has accepted the cheques.

It is also worth pointing out that people who deal with a firm that is not authorised by the FCA will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.

As they always say – if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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