Question 344. - If a cheque is written "with exchange "with commission" with bank charges," or some such expression, is the cashing bank entitled to add commission when forwarding for redemption and is the drawee bank justified in charging the increased amount to customer's account without further authorization, the commission added being reasonable and the usual charge?

Answer. - In practice, such orders to pay are usually honoured, but there is no legal warrant for it, since the document is not, strictly speaking, a cheque at all - one of the prescribed conditions, viz.: that it shall be for a sum certain, not being complied with. To make it valid, the rate or the amount of exchange to be added should be stated, and a bank assumes a certain amount of risk in waiving this requirement.