In this situation, I think you really need to work with the party that issued the cheque to you. Based on your spelling of the word 'cheque', this post is written from a Canadian banking perspective...
A cheque is certified "before delivery" or "after delivery". If it's certified "before delivery", it means that the payer went to his bank before giving the cheque to the payee to certify it. "After delivery" cheque certification occurs when the payee visits the bank after receiving the cheque from the payer to have it certified before depositing it.
With "after delivery" certification, when the payer gives a cheque to the payee and the payee presents it to the bank for certification, the payee is basically saying to the bank, "I want you to cash this cheque for me, but I don't necessarily want the money right now..." The bank accepts the request, certifies the cheque and holds the funds to honour its commitment to the payee.
The payer can't stop payment on the cheque because it has been presented for payment and the bank has already honoured it. The cheque becomes a charge on the bank so it has to honour it. It has already basically paid the cheque and it is just holding the funds until the payee returns for it.
In a "before delivery" certification, the rules are a little different. The payer is asking the bank to certify that the funds are in the account at the time of the certification. In doing so, the payee is offered a sense of security about the cheque clearing without a problem. It's important to note that it's NOT ALWAYS a guarantee of payment.
The bank certifies the cheque and immediately removes the funds from the account into a holding account where the funds are kept until the cheque is presented by the payee for payment.
As far as the bank is concerned, the payer has every intention of honouring the responsibility of paying the cheque, and therefore the bank plays its part in ensuring that the transaction will occur seamlessly.
Right??...Well....
The Bills of Exchange Act is quite specific in its wording when it states that the payer may countermand (stop) payment on a cheque before it is presented to the bank for payment by using such instructions in writing to the bank. So, if the bank received such instructions from the payer, it would HAVE to put a 'stop payment' on a cheque....in which case the funds from the original cheque can be recovered and another cheque could be issued.
