Guide
A cheque bounced,
or my bank account is stuck
Two different problems share this page because they both end at a bank. A cheque that was given to you and came back unpaid. And an account of yours, or of a relative who has died, that the bank will not let you reach from abroad.
Where this applies This page covers banks and cheques in Pakistan. Your bank in the country you live in has nothing to do with either.
What this is about
A cheque that bounces is more than a debt. Giving a cheque that is not honoured can be a criminal matter in Pakistan, and that is why a bounced cheque is often the strongest paper a creditor holds. The route is a complaint, and alongside it a claim for the money.
An account you cannot reach is usually a paperwork problem: an expired identity card, a signature the bank does not have, an account holder who has died and heirs who have not yet been named. Each has a fix, and each needs someone at the branch.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
For a cheque: the cheque itself and the bank’s return memo.
For an account: whose account, and what the bank has asked for.
Someone in Pakistan who can go to the branch with a power of attorney.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
What you will be asked for.
- The cheque and the return memo.
- Your identity document, valid.
- For a deceased’s account: the succession certificate.
- Your power of attorney.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Files the complaint on a bounced cheque, and the claim for the money.
- Deals with the bank in writing and in person until the account is released.
- Obtains the succession certificate where the account holder has died.
What to ask before you agree
- Do you have the cheque and the bank’s return memo, and are they enough?
- What exactly has the bank asked for, and who will go to the branch?
- If the account holder has died, will you obtain the succession certificate?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Money
We paid an agent for a visa or a job and got nothingMoneySomeone owes me money and will not payMoney
I have been cheated out of moneyMoney
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- bounced cheque
- A cheque the bank returned unpaid.
- return memo
- The bank’s note saying why the cheque was not paid.
- frozen account
- An account the bank will not let you operate.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.