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AIBU

cheques not accepted

(39 Posts)
anneey Sun 29-Jun-14 18:53:56

I intend buying an expensive item (£1500) from John Lewis.
However they will not accept a Building Society Cheque. In fact NO chqs at all. This is so inconvenient, it means transferring money from the Building Soc. to my Bank....What if I didn't have a Bank Account?
Don't get me wrong, I love shopping in John Lewis.

Eleanorre Sat 05-Jul-14 21:25:01

We just paid for a brand new car with switch . The garage said there would not be a problem because they have been approved by the bank .

janerowena Tue 01-Jul-14 13:18:35

I was in the local Aldi when it happened once, I was so glad I had my chequebook with me, people were putting their shopping back or just abandoning their trolleys.

janerowena Tue 01-Jul-14 13:17:44

Around here, most takeaways will only take cheques. It's because the internet disappears with alarming regularity and sometimes payments get aborted halfway through. So there would be an outcry if cheques were discontinued.

Tegan Tue 01-Jul-14 12:48:21

Have written out three cheques this week; one as a wedding gift as I couldn't get onto the website, one to pay for B&B accomodation and the third to pay for dog kennels..the last two would only accept cheque or cash.

HollyDaze Tue 01-Jul-14 09:29:52

Although I usually pay by card, I do sometimes write cheques.

Aren't banks trying to phase out cheques completely

That is what I had heard. However, when I was chatting with one of the bank staff not too long ago and I mentioned about paying a roofer in cash, he advised against that and said it is safer to pay by cheque because should anything go wrong, they will be able to trace the person the cheque was paid to; made sense to me!

kittylester Tue 01-Jul-14 08:37:09

I don't actually know where my cheque book is! blush.

DH still uses and receives cheques for his business. It seems very anti various disadvantaged groups (eg people older than us!) to phase them out. Having said that, my brother, who is younger than me, doesn't use the internet and uses cheques most of the time confused

Deedaa Mon 30-Jun-14 23:12:52

I use cheques to pay my dentist as she doesn't do cards. The last time I had to post a cheque I was so out of practise I forgot to sign it blush

merlotgran Mon 30-Jun-14 21:42:30

I wrote a cheque today as quickly as possible because I was holding my breath.

We'd just had the cess pit emptied!! shock

Ariadne Mon 30-Jun-14 18:46:14

Can't remember the last time I wrote a cheque! With the DGC, and other secure sources, we just "ping" it to their accounts, and tell them in a card what we have done.

I find it difficult to remember to keep a little cash in my purse too, these days. But it isn't a real problem, surely? Just a question of adapting the way we work.

rosesarered Mon 30-Jun-14 18:28:42

I send cheques to; charities, for birthdays/Christmas and for builders/decorators etc whenever we need work doing around the house.I think cheques are still very useful.If we buy from say, John Lewis, it's either online by card, or in the store by card.

durhamjen Mon 30-Jun-14 18:18:57

I always use cheques for charities, too.
One thing I saw recently was that we will soon be able to pay cheques in by just taking a photo of the cheque and sending it electronically. I find this idea rather bizarre, and it seems to me money launderers will love the idea. You can draw on the cheque within two days.

littlegran Mon 30-Jun-14 14:58:29

I write a cheque when asked to donate to various charities if i wish to do so.

janerowena Mon 30-Jun-14 13:58:54

All of my family do online banking, no-one thinks it's cheeky because it's how we do all our shopping. So today I shall be sending my daughter money for my GD's birthday, she will buy something on my behalf and wrap it! Very civilised, I think. I just send a card separately, safe in the knowledge that my daughter will buy something they actually like. With no postage or cheque payments involved.

anneey Mon 30-Jun-14 12:35:03

The simplest answer is to transfer money from the Building Society, to my bank. It just seems such an unnecessary procedure.
Going back to Merlotgran, (Bank putting a stop on a large amount)
I went through the embarrassment of holding up the queue in Ikea, my bank phoned Ikea, which was passed on to me. They asked me a few Security questions, then all was o.k. Although I had a few dodgy glares from the Queue.blush

GillT57 Mon 30-Jun-14 12:08:29

Why not pay for in on your credit card and then write a cheque to your credit card company? That's what I do when I dont want the hassle of paying a large and unusual amount out of my current account. You also have the added benefit of the goods being covered by guarantee as they are in excess of £100. Sorted. I do write some cheques, and do receive quite a few from clients so I am still pro-cheque but you just have to work a way around things that suits you.

harrigran Mon 30-Jun-14 10:21:30

I send gifts of money to children of friends, I am not going to ask for bank details that would be really cheeky. I don't even do that for family.

Coolgran65 Sun 29-Jun-14 23:55:50

For a gift of money I lodge into the person's account (family - ask for details) and send a copy of the lodgement slip in their card.

Only difficulty is if it's abroad the bank charges a fee. Around £26 if done in the bank and £13 if you do it yourself at home. This can add up.

rosequartz Sun 29-Jun-14 23:45:07

There was a petition a while ago against the proposed abolition of cheques; we signed it at TG and I think other organisations were also signing petitions. I don't know what the current position is re this, whether or not the banks are having a re-think.

Paula8 Sun 29-Jun-14 23:44:31

You could always transfer the money from your account I know its not as nice as sending in the post though

harrigran Sun 29-Jun-14 23:31:15

If I can't give a cheque as a birthday gift how am I to send money through the post ? I have lost count of the cards that have gone astray after posting.

Soutra Sun 29-Jun-14 23:28:23

Can't you arrange online payment? I would have expected JL to be more accommodating. Mind you would they ever have taken a cheque for £1500 withput security even when cheques were common?

janerowena Sun 29-Jun-14 22:33:46

They do - rather surprisingly!

susieb755 Sun 29-Jun-14 22:19:37

My husband gets paid by cheques all the time as he windows cleans when people are out,so they post it to him, he does do online payments but a lot of his older customers dont do that
Some of his customers bank at Coutts - do they do online ? smile

janerowena Sun 29-Jun-14 22:15:37

Cheque guarantee cards no longer work, and even when they did they didn't guarantee a sum that large, not for years. Quite a few people come a cropper in hotels, as most large chains will no longer accept a cheque either. There are a few that won't accept cash, in case it is a way of money-laundering. Money laundering is usually the problem, I gather. Keeping an electronic trail of how large sums of money are spent is far easier than working your way through lots of bits of paper. I think I worked out that I use 2 or 3 cheques a month - but the thought of all of our money being tied up in banks accounts and not being able to go shopping when the banks computer systems go down - which they have, twice lately - is enough to make me want to keep cheques as a back-up.

Ana Sun 29-Jun-14 22:04:42

Yes, that's correct absent. Still doesn't explain why John Lewis won't accept a cheque - unless, of course, it's about the cost involved in processing it.