General Chat

I am quite happy not to use cheques now as I can no longer write....(well with difficulty)

A year or so ago the inland revenue gave me a tax rebate paid straight in my pension, few weeks later they sent me a letter saying I had under paid by £60 so could I send a cheque.....Rung them and said NO....so they had to set up a direct debit for me to pay over two months instead.....

I use cheques to pay the milkman even though the dairy keeps sending flyers about setting up an on-line account. I don't trust them to take the correct sum & am fed up with the number of organisations who have our bank details as it is.

Tradesmen also get cheques. It means that I can photocopy the cheque before it goes in the post.

I hate it if I get a refund or any other payment by cheque. That means I have to traipse to the bank and the queue for ages while someone dithers at the front......

Often if the cheque is for a very small amount, I will look online to see if any charities will take them.

As I cannot stand still for long, can walk about a bit easier. Waiting in queues of any sort is excrutiatingly painful.

Be glad when cheques are completely phased out.

I even managed to get my aunts solicitors to pay my inheritance directly to my bank, not only easier for me, but for them too.

Birthdays, most kids these days have a bank account, for savings etc. so will often pay money direct to their accout as well.

And if not going by post, cash is much more aprreciated by kids.

lol @ Bob.

Some days, loose change is all I have to give my daughter for the bus. I save 20p and 5p in a jar and when the need arises, i can always go to the jar and find what i need.

As i mentioned before, Im a treasurer for a community hall and cheques are all we have to pay bills. We cant get a debit card to purchase things we need. To get cash you need two signatures always, so that couldnt work with a card either.

For instance, we had to buy a new kettle for the kitchen on monday and thankfully our local shop which sells just about everything accepts cheques. If they didnt, I would have had to drive 60 miles to the bank to get out the cash to pay for the goods! not only that, but my petrol costs are high enough and 2 hours spare to make the journey are not always available.

When i was a junior clerk in a bank in the 70's we used to process all the cheques paid over the counter from various businesses etc. yes it was a long processs, but that was my job and I enjoyed it.

Move forward to the 80's and with the introduction of switch etc less cheques were processed that is true, but fraud occurred then with the cards and that sometimes was difficult. PIN went missing in the post when new cards were sent out, shared premises ie flats were a good opportunity to steal new cards and PIN.

I remember one time a customer whose card had been used in the machine several times told me it was a bank error as she had not used the card and she had the card. When upon questioning a little deeper, ie could anyone else in your property get access to you card, they went quiet and then admitted it could have been their teenage son.

A week later they came back in and said yes, it was their son. he had used it at night and slipped it back into the bag when she was asleep!! But to start with they were adamant it was the banks error.

When a cheque book was stolen, there was more evidence. Police used to take cheques away for fingerprinting and sometimes they would be addresses etc written on back of cheque.

A lot harder these days for the fraud department especially with hacking and cloning!

Still glad up here we are a little behind the times in this way. "Save the cheque, be it ever so humble."

Florence
in the hebrides :-)

LOL Sylvia!

Bob, Glad I'm not the only one who saves up those irritating 5p pieces to use in car parks! Since it takes some time to feed in 80p worth of 5p pieces I have to make sure nobody is behind me, taking into account the extra time needed because the machine throws out every 3rd or 4th one, for some reason or other :-P
However, now that I'm back in the desert, I am spared the hassle of it all :-D :-D

I have a bag of 5 p's primarily to feed parking meters,

I Do find occasionally that the meter freezes at around 80p's worth.......'

Karen ...............

I also avoid going to self pay desks and line ups, and also insist on going to a teller in the bank .........

......... which is why I haven't set up my bank card to use the ATM :-)



I also write cheques for birthday and christmas presents for the grandchild and great nieces/nephews in our family ...........

........... we gave the parents a fairly large cheque on the birth of each child, with instructions to open a bank account in the child's name. The money can be used as the parents wish ........ accumulate or buy something for the child.


A friend did that for us when our daughter was born 40 years ago, and it was very much appreciated ................. we used that account to buy special shoes that she needed as a 2 to 5 year old but cost an arm and a leg, to buy her a piano when she was 8, it then became her book fund when she was at university, and finally was used by her to buy some of the things for her wedding and for their first apartment.

In light of the proposed 'doing away with the cheque system' which has been talked about for some time, I am dead against such a thing and specifically use cheques as often as I possibly can these days.....ie window cleaner and as many tradesmen as will take a cheque; the GRO; Fam History Society purchases such as CD's/booklets etc; charity and other one-off donations; birthday/Christmas money to nephews etc; and anyone else who will take one for payment.

I suppose I'm being stubborn, but I feel that it's necessary to prove that cheques are still needed, just as my stubbornness won't let me go to the self-pay desk in a supermarket because I prefer a human to serve me, and I always will. :-S

BTW ..............

............ we wrote a cheque to the car dealership when we bought our Subaru. The amount was close to $30,000


Cheques are used when people buy houses, condos and apartments.

IGP .............


Cheques over here almost always have the account holder's name and address printed on the front ......... and sometimes a phone number as well.

I wouldn't swear to it being law, but it does seem to be almost unacceptable not to have that information.

Of course, in many places such as smaller stores, we also have to produce another piece of ID ............ one that has a photograph on it and one that has an address or is otherwise "acceptable". A driver's license is preferred because that has both a photograph and an address.

I use my passport as I don't drive (never have), and have a couple of other acceptable pieces.

I think in the future they will be hoping everyone has a mobile phone and transfers can be done on the spot.

I havnt got my internet banking on my phone....but then I don't need it....but OH bought a car not long ago and had to take cash with him (private sale) I suppose if he to had his bank account on his phone, he could of done it that way....as long as the seller had internet banking as well

So then we will have to go to the ATM to draw out large amounts of cash because the painter/plumber/etc does not have a card machine - and we will get robbed on the way home!

Post Office - our village PO does not do car tax but everything else including Premium Bonds so we have to drive to the next village where the PO does. (both are sub PO's.)

I has a guarantee card which covered up to £250 per cheque, but not everyone did, so yes they did exist.

Cheque usage has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years as electronic payment systems have been developed. Not only are they far cheaper - less than a quarter of the £1 or so it costs to process a cheque - they are quicker safer and less prone to error or fraud.

When you think about it, each time you issue a cheque you are handing over the very personal details you really want to keep to yourself to people you don't know. Your bank account details, a specimen of your signature, and if you have written it on the back as so often requested, your address too.....!

The banks want rid altogether, but in order to do this must first come up with a workable alternative which both cheap to operate and secure.

In the meantime, whilst cheques are legal documents, they are not legal tender, and usage will undoubtedly continue to fall as more and more businesses refuse to accept them.

I use Cheques for some postal transactions (ordering wills etc.)

But for everything else it is a Debit card, have been using one for donkeys years now, makes life so much easier.

Do still carry some cash around, for smaller purchases. Hate being in a queue when some eejit at the front decides to pay by card for their 'big' shop of less than £5.00!!!!

As for the Post Office not taking cheques. Was this a MAIN Branch Office or a SUB Post Office, although we consider them the same there is a BIG difference. Sub Offices are run on different rules. So a Main Branch Office will do ALL transactions, but many of the Sub Offfices cannot do all transactions. Some do not do Tax Discs.

It has been known for about 2 or so years now, that many banks are trying to phase out cheques, but it is not easy.

Internet banking is pretty safe - it is the people that use it who are the risk!

There is an awful lot of scaremongering out there and yet the internet, if used sensibly, is pretty safe in reality.

Most bank fraud/internet fraud is avoidable and is only caused by people's stupidity.

If you have decent security software on your computer, make yourself aware of what things like phishing are, check your internet settings and firewall, surf sensibly, and "think before you click" then there is no reason why online purchases and banking should not be safe.

If, after all that, you really DO have to open an email to check the best viagra prices or view a naked image of the queen upon her throne, then I don't really have an awful lot of sympathy.

It would seem that Post Offices differ . OH paid his car tax at one PO with a cheque but the one we went to for his licence would not take a cheque.

The banking system is a little different over here Sylvia.

Cheques have not been that popular for some years now......I cant remember the last time I used a cheque in a supermarket ect.....must be 20 years

As I said the restaurant chain I worked for stopped taking them at least 5 years ago as the cheque guarantee card was also a debit card......

Like Maggie, I will not do internet or phone banking, nor do I have a direct debit card.

We use cheques a lot .............. to pay bills such as phone, electricity, petrol, department store, credit card bills ...... on and on it goes.

The carpet cleaning company we used a few months ago wanted paying by cheque.

My lawn mower man wants cash, but would take a cheque in a pinch .................. I think maybe he doesn't always declare his full income :-)

I may be wrong :-)


The grocery store we use takes cash, cheques, credit card, debit card ................ they'd be stupid to refuse to accept a legitimate means of paying for items.



I use cash, credit cards and cheques.

I let OH use the bank card to get money out of the bank machine if we need cash when the banks are closed.


The bank that we use still asks if you wish to have cheques when you set up a new account ............. we did that just 2 months ago so that is how I know that.

The minimum order is for 100 cheques

They have a bog standard cheque and those are free, or they have a selection of about 12 different picture ones ................. I love the ones that are a series of views from 5 or 6 Canadian National Parks, and willingly pay the extra to have those for the 3 accounts that I handle.

OH is cheap ............. he has the standard free ones for his 2 accounts :-)


I've never heard mention over here about getting rid of cheques ..........................

................. two banks even advertise that they have a service for depositing cheques by taking a photo of it with your smart phone :-)

Well, with the hacking of computers going on at the moment, the cheque may reign supreme!!!

I have a debit card, a credit card with a small amount on it (for internet purchases), and a cheque book - which I used to purchase premium bonds last month, also use it to give children/grandchildren birthday money etc.
I haven't got internet or phone banking - far too 'flimsy' for my liking - as has been proven lately.
Anyone (like Experian) who demands your credit/debit card details for a 'free trial' is told 'I don't have a credit/debit card', and asked why they need it for a 'free' trial - it's so, when you forget to cancel it, they can take a years subscription off you, so I offered them a cheque - they accepted it - my 'free' trial cost £2, but at least I didn't lose £33!!

There are defined limits to 'legal tender', but the limit for a mixture of coins would be more than the 20p mentioned by the bus driver. The limit of 20p applies to 1p coins, and also to 2p coins.

"The following is a summary of the currently produced British circulating coins, plus the five pounds:-

Denomination Legal Tender Limit
£5 Crown Any Amount
£2 Any Amount
£1 Any Amount
50 Pence £10
25 Pence (Older Crowns) £10
20 Pence £10
10 Pence £5
5 Pence £5
2 Pence £0.20
1 Penny £0.20"

See also:

http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines

which states the following.

"Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning in the settlement of debts. It means that a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender. It does not mean that any ordinary transaction has to take place in legal tender or only within the amount denominated by the legislation. Both parties are free to agree to accept any form of payment whether legal tender or otherwise according to their wishes. In order to comply with the very strict rules governing an actual legal tender it is necessary, for example, actually to offer the exact amount due because no change can be demanded."

So presumably the bus driver was free to accept an unlimited amount of small coinage if he so wished.