Cheque Dishonour & Debt Recovery

Cheque dishonour matters are lost more often on timelines than on merits. The demand notice must go within thirty days of the bank memo, the complaint must be filed within thirty days of the notice period expiring, and the cheque must have been issued towards a legally enforceable debt that the complainant can actually establish. We work backwards from those dates from the day a client walks in.

For the payee

We issue the statutory notice, file the complaint before the competent Magistrate, press for interim compensation where the facts support it, and pursue the matter to judgment or a recorded settlement. Where the underlying transaction supports it, a parallel summary suit is often the more effective route to actual recovery.

For the accused

Defences to a cheque dishonour complaint are narrow but real — absence of a legally enforceable debt, a materially altered instrument, a notice that was never validly served, or a complaint filed beyond limitation. Each is a question of evidence and is taken up on the record.