You said — “If it’s bogus it will never clear.”
Well, it depends on what you mean by “clear”. The bank will tell you that it did “clear”. It may have passed the amount of time that they “tell you” that they allow for it to clear. And yet, it can come back and “hit you” a month later, anyway — even after they’ve told you it cleared (at the bank).
So, it *can appear* that it has cleared and you can also get the bank to tell you that it’s cleared — and it can still come back on you.
Regards,
Star Traveler
One strange thing about banks is that they maximize their use of your money. I asked at a local branch for a check to my brother that would be absolutely guaranteed to clear immediately, and they said “you want a cashier’s check”. So I got a cashier’s check and Fedexed it to him, and I was very surprised when he called a week later and said they had held it for a week before crediting his account. The entire point was to send a cash equivalent. Which bank was incompetent?