Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Death by Demand draft

The demand draft is a stealthy killer. It looks harmless…lurking behind old harmless bank counters. One hardly encounters them in everyday life and if one does it passes off as a benign happy smartly turned out cheque.

But it waits for you…in its tarantula-en web. Zen like… sharpening its claws, checking its traps, and estimating your naivety. Like a sniper it waits…amongst cheques, notes and coins.

The first attack is subtle… at the form filing itself…it wills you to make a mistake, in the payee name or the amount. If you pass that the next mistake usually is fatal….losing the demand draft: by yourself, by the receiver, or in transit.

It’s got you in its web. And as you struggle hard to retrieve yourself…you are pulled further down into the dark labyrinths of the nether world. A world where you will encounter rites of passage like…NOTARY, FRANKING, AFFIDAVIT, INDEMNITY, COUNTER SIGNATORY etc.

People you barely glanced at assume large proportions…you will meet bank managers, paan chewing random lurkers in bank, security guards, helpful advisors, service managers, tellers, advocate, other banks, franking machines and may be even the police and of course other customers with other purposes for conversations as you wait in endless lines.

For a demand draft is a promissory note. Like cash.

So here is the process for canceling a demand draft and reissuing it.
Frist…cry at the misfortune…get it off your system. Prepare for an adverse experience by disembodying yourself and numbing yourself.

1. Now write a letter to the bank manager explain the loss, and the draft details.
Get an indemnity form with a franking of Rs.200/- (some banks need a notary letter from an advocate)

2. get a third part guarantor to sign the indemnity form along with his pan card details.

3. If draft is lost by third party, a letter from them saying they have lost it in transit.

4. If you want to reissue a draft fill another demand draft request form and a ‘ to yourself’ cheque if it’s from your own bank.

5. Take it to the bank manager…breath and smile. Fingers crossed that he will accept.

6. It will take upto 15 days for the bank to contact the ‘payee’ get their signature and confirmation that they will not encash this draft, and then create new demand drafts for you.

7. In the event that anyone encashes this draft within six months of validity the bank will deduct it from your account.

You are usually dead by the end of all this…born again, wiser, calmer, sympathetic, and more appreciative of all that’s going well in life.

So my advice is as much as possible get away with a cheque…

4 comments:

  1. he he u made me remember the day I couldn't get one made in time for a visa requirement....few tears and pleading saved me those tedious steps and I got away with giving cash.

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  2. By the way after all the dance SBI made me do...all it took them was to just cancel it and reissue...2 days!

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  3. But Sree drafts are good instruments for so many transactions as huge cash is not safe to send or carry.

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