General Chat

and was refused. He was told they had stopped handling cheques some four years ago - they only wanted debit card or credit card (which charges at least 2%). I suppose they would take cash but he did not have a large three figure sum in his wallet.

None other than Thomas Cook. Anywhere else do this?

lots of places now wont accept cheques .the handling charge to them is quite big and theres always the problem of bouncing ones !

There arent any cheque guarantee cards now either although they only covered £50 I think

There is no such thing as "cheque guarantee" any more - when it existed the maximum that could be guaranteed was only £250 anyway.

The plan is to withdraw the cheque system completely and this was supposed to be in 2016 and then I think it was extended to 2018.

However, the Payments Council, to the best of my knowledge, have not yet made a final decision which is being delayed until the banks can come up with a suitable replacement which, of course, would not be paper-based.

Cheques for many are considered somewhat superfluous in these modern times with easy contactless payments becoming more and more popular but it is thought that the total withdrawal of cheques may have an impact on groups such as the elderly, sole traders and charities.

As cheques no longer have any guarantee, it could be said that they have become somewhat pointless and it is thus understandable that a growing number of companies and organisations are refusing to accept them.

Chris, does your OH not have a debit card ie switch? failing that, you could get a bankers draft made out to them from your bank, which is a guaranteed payment to them, but there would be a charge of about £15.00 probably. Long time since i worked in the bank so not up to date with those sort of chgs.

Another payment system for large amounts is CHAPS. Costs about £30 and is a bank to bank transfer which gets there same day.

Failing that, the cheapest method would be to withdraw the money in cash and ask for £50 notes, that would reduce the "wad".

hope this has been of some help.

It is a real problem now with so few companies taking cheques. It's not the bank who refuse to accept them, no, it's the companies who get charged by the bank to process them , who wont accept them.So they are still legal tender, although the guarantee card in England was only £50 whereas in Scotland, it was £100,more realistic in todays society.

Florence
in the hebrides

Bankers drafts do cost £15.00.

I thought the guarantee card was up to £250 at the banks' discretion?

No Errol, the £50 was on the back of the card and would guarantee any one cheque in any one transaction up to a maximum value of £50.00. You could however withdraw by using the cash machine up to £250 perday. This limit varied among customers depending on their own financial circumstances.*

The card was multi purpose, ie switch card and autoteller card. Years ago customers had to have 2 cards before they came up with the dual card.

imagine doing your shopping in the supermarket with a £50 cheque card. Most peoples weekly shop costs far more than that. And no you could not write out several cheques as this was against the T and C of the card. One per transaction only.

So today, switch takes care of that as there is no limit mostly. The card will authorise the transaction provided you have the funds in your account.

Unless it is a very large amount, say for several thousand, the shop would probably have to ring it through and you may be asked some security questions although cant be totally sure on that one.

Some customers may have only been able to withdraw £200 per week, depended on their income really and the managers decretion. * (sorry this comment somehow slipped down)

Florence
in the hebrides

Sorry, but from 1989 cheque guarantee cards were issued for up to £250.

Originally it was £30 (mid to late 60s).

Then it was upped to £50 in 1977 and from 1989 limits were set at £50, £100 or £250.

I had a card in the late 80s/early 90s that had a limit of £250.

My Husband went to renew his driving licence at the Post Office this morning. Needed a new photograph. Had written cheque out prior to event but was told they
don't accept cheques any more. Had to pay by card and destroy cheque.

I still use cheques for some postal transactions, and used to have a card with a £100 guarantee on it, issued by Halifax B.S. in England, and was I think within the last ten years. Never really noticed when it was no longer on cards.

I use a Debit card most of the time for day to day purchases but try to have a small amount of cash with me too.

Lizx

My bank don't send them out automatically now, you have to order them; as I found out when I needed the last three cheques (randomly) in one week after ages without writing any.

The man that services my gas boiler is a sole trader and he likes to be paid by cheque.

As if to add insult to injury, as I am typing this there is a red line keeps appearing under the word 'cheque'. I'm sorry, I'm not writing it the other way just to please my browser. :-P :-P

I pay my chiropodist by cheque (no card facilities) and the plumber, builder, and other small traders

We still use cheques at times although herself cannot get her head around internet banking. Here the chimney-sweep doesn't carry a wireless card-reader with him. Well, I've never asked!.
The thing that amazes me is that one of our big insurance companies does not print the option of direct payment on their bills. They suggest that if you don't want to set up a direct debit, then, if you phone (free), they will tell you their bank account. Sorry - I want it in writing so there is no argument.
This where the EFTPOS system underwent it's original testing.
And the bank send out a new book automatically.

B

I received quite a few cheques from kind-hearted folks on GR who contributed to Sharron's 'Fred Thread'. I paid them into my bank last week and, so far, none has been returned :-D

Quite a few sent cash, which I think is unwise these days, but what was the alternative apart from a cheque? ( apart from one lady who sent a Postal Order ;-) )

Amokavid
Yes it was the Post Office itself wouldn't take cheque

I pay many bills, milkman,gas, electric, water,club fees, competition entries....... purchases of a volatile nature, (council tax is Direct debit)

by cheque,


and as far as I am concerned a cheque is still valid tender...........

anything I need quickly, though, is by card, online.......

Had to dig out my cheque book as I want to order my grandfathers army records which I have only recently found his details on FMP.

Last cheque I wrote was for my daughters 18th....she is 23 next month...when I bought my car I used my debit card that was for a few thousand.

Trouble is now, I don't have much use of my right hand so cannot really sign it anyway....

I worked for a bank when the debit cards came out in the late 80s....refused to have one at first as I thought it would encourage spending to much money

Is there such a thing as just a cheque guarantee card now?

edit- If it was for Thos Cook was it not a debit card they wanted? not a direct debit?

Phyll - OH always renews his Car Tax at Post Office with a cheque and no problem.

Florence - there wasn't a problem as OH just used his Debit Card or Bank Card whatever it is called.

Last week we received a new cheque book from bank - they usually send one out when there are about 5 cheques left in book.

We were both surprised by the new system.

Why do you need to use a cheque when you have (or your OH has) a debit card? as long as the money is in the account you just need to put in the pin number

I worked for a large restuarant chain up until 5 years ago.....they wouldn't take cheques back then either

Sorry errol, you may be correct but the bank i worked for up until 1993 had only £50 on them. However there may have been "other" banks who had cards with higher limits. As a member of staff we certainly didnt have one with £100 or £250.

I still use my cheque book frequently to pay for the plumber, sparky, joiner etc and in my local shop actually at least once a week. Anyone who refuses a cheque is doing it out of personal choice.

i remember a couple of years ago in my local supermarket. It was xmas eve around tea time and the place was heaving with customers. suddenly there was a problem at the tills and they couldnt accept any switch payments. neither were the cash dispensers working outside. When i spoke to the manager and said"what's your contingency plan then? Will you accept cheques?" he replied " i dont have a plan and no we dont accept cheques anymore". To which i said, "cant or wont accept cheques as they are still legal tender" he didnt have anything else to say and i know some folk who didnt have cash who had to leave their shopping. It was a disgrace but he wouldnt budge.
The local bank said the supermarket could have taken cheques, its only their own policy of refusing them not the banks. Thankfully i didnt have a lot to buy as it was last minutes things like fresh cream so had cash on me.

It also reminds me of a bus driver who refused to accept a fare because the person paid in coins. a mixture of 20p, 10p and 5ps. he said he was only allowed to accept 20p in change and that was all. Eventually he took the money but wasnt happy.

whats wrong with people thesedays. Money is money however it is paid, be it cheque, P .O, loose change etc.

I am a treasurer for a charity and if cheques were withdrawn, how would i pay our bills. ie oil, electric etc. dd/s and switch are not an option.

Florence
in the hebrides

Depends on the mood Jax - remember the saying 'if you don't use it , you will lose it'.

I had a Guarantee card in the eighties for £250 and Sainsbury checkout did not look at the card properly and told me my card would not cover my bill! Now it was a big grocery shop but..............she gave me a shock and then said she had not seen one before.