What a cheque-bounce demand notice actually has to say

Once a cheque to you has bounced, everything hinges on one document going out in time: the demand notice. People often send a casual "please pay" message and assume that counts. It usually doesn't — the notice has specific work to do, and if it's thin or late, the straightforward legal route can slip away.

What the notice has to establish

A proper demand notice isn't just a request for money. It needs to set out, clearly:

• The cheque details — number, date, amount, and the bank.
• That it was presented and returned unpaid, with the date and the bank's reason.
• That the amount is a legally enforceable debt — i.e. real money genuinely owed.
• A clear demand to pay within 15 days of receiving the notice.

And it has to go out to the drawer within 30 days of the bank telling you the cheque bounced. Get the timing or the ingredients wrong and the other side can pick the case apart later.

Why the wording carries weight

If it ends up in court, the notice is read closely — a missing ingredient or a vague demand becomes the gap the other side argues through. This is precisely the kind of document where careful drafting is the whole point.

Where Miss Lucy comes in

Miss Lucy Lite can explain what the notice needs and check you're inside the deadline, but she doesn't draft documents. Miss Lucy Pro drafts the demand notice itself — the correct ingredients, the right deadline, the wording that holds up.

Tell Miss Lucy Lite your dates and she'll tell you where you stand on the clock.