Section 12: Payment incidents and penalties

Any drawer who issues a cheque without indicating the place of issue or without a date, or who covers a cheque with a false date, or who draws a cheque on a person other than a banker, is liable to a fine of up to 6% of the amount for which the cheque is drawn, but not less than 0.75 euros.

Any banker who issues his creditor with blank cheque forms, payable at his cash desk, must, on pain of a fine of 7.5 euros per offence, mention on each form the name of the person to whom the form is issued. Any banker who, having sufficient funds and in the absence of any stop payment, refuses to pay a cheque duly drawn on his bank is liable for the damage…

Any banker may, by reasoned decision, refuse to issue to an account holder cheque forms other than those issued for a withdrawal of funds by the drawer from the drawee or for certification. It may, at any time, request the return of cheque forms previously issued. This must be requested when the account is closed. Where cheque forms are issued, they are made available to the account holder free of…

Cheque forms other than those issued for a withdrawal of funds by the drawer from the drawee or for certification may not, subject to the provisions of Article L. 131-78 and under the conditions set out in that Article, be issued to the holder of an account or to his authorised representative following a payment incident recorded in the name of the account holder for lack of sufficient funds, where…

The drawee banker may, after informing the account holder of the consequences of insufficient funds by any appropriate means made available by the drawee banker, refuse to pay a cheque on the grounds of insufficient funds. The drawee banker must instruct the account holder to return to all the bankers of which he is a client the cheque forms in his possession or in the possession of his agents, and…

Any payment made by the drawer to the account from which the unpaid cheque was issued is allocated first and foremost to the constitution of a provision for full payment of the cheque.

The holder of an account who has been served with an injunction to stop issuing cheques shall recover this right as soon as he has regularised the situation in accordance with the conditions set out in Article L. 131-73. If the account holder has not rectified the situation, the right to issue cheques will not be restored until five years have elapsed from the date of the injunction.

Disputes relating to the cheque-writing ban are referred to the civil courts. Legal action before the civil court has no suspensive effect. However, the court seised may, even in summary proceedings, order the suspension of the cheque-writing ban if there is a serious dispute.

Where a payment incident is the fault of any one of the holders of a collective account, with or without joint and several liability, the provisions of articles L. 131-72 and L. 131-73 shall apply ipso jure to whichever of the holders has been designated for this purpose by mutual agreement, both in respect of this account and in respect of any other accounts of which he or she may…

I. – Notwithstanding the absence, insufficiency or unavailability of funds, the drawee must pay all cheques: 1. Issued on a form which has not been returned to the drawee in accordance with the conditions set out in Article L. 131-73, unless the drawee can prove that it has taken the steps set out in that Article; 2. Issued using a form that it has issued in breach of the provisions…