Quick answer

A cheque can be countermanded at the bank, but stopping it does not avoid the drawer liability on it: a cheque is treated as a bill of exchange, as good as cash in hand, so the drawer cannot resist paying by arguing the work was worthless for want of consideration or by raising a counterclaim, as Isovel Contracts v ABB shows

No. A cheque is treated as a bill of exchange, as good as cash in hand, so stopping it at the bank does not release the drawer from liability: the drawer cannot escape paying it merely because the work later appears defective. In Isovel Contracts Ltd v ABB a cheque issued to a subcontractor was stopped after the value of the work was reduced up the chain, the drawer arguing that the work merited a nil valuation, but the court held that the drawer could not argue that the work had no value and so no consideration was given, nor use a counterclaim to avoid payment, and the cheque had to be met. Any dispute about the value or quality of the work is pursued separately, by a claim or counterclaim, while the cheque remains payment in its own right.