Intelligent Finance - How do you pay in cheques

[crazy_guy]

I've looked over the intelligent finance website and cant seem to find how you pay in cheques - i went to halifax today and they said that they couldnt pay in the cheques and i would have to send them off but to a address i dont know! Any help?

[merlinthehappypig]

You can't normally unless you find a helpful Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch (I think they are all Halifax in England?) We had no problems paying in at the local Bank of Scotland in Scotland, though paying in cash was a pain because they treated it as a cheque so needed at least a week from paying it in for it to clear.

On moving to England the Halifax flatly refused to let us pay in cheques even though they are the same group. Downright snotty they were and the upshot is I closed the IF account and vowed never to have anything to do with Halifax again.

Answer is you have to post them. If you ring IF they will send you some envelopes, but be aware that they take a few days to register on your account, then take 5 working days to clear.

Can't see any advantage with IF anymore - it was fine when they were one of the only internet accounts, but now everyone does it

[M Thomson]

Originally Posted by chriseast

You can't normally unless you find a helpful Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch (I think they are all Halifax in England?) We had no problems paying in at the local Bank of Scotland in Scotland, though paying in cash was a pain because they treated it as a cheque so needed at least a week from paying it in for it to clear.

On moving to England the Halifax flatly refused to let us pay in cheques even though they are the same group. Downright snotty they were and the upshot is I closed the IF account and vowed never to have anything to do with Halifax again.

Answer is you have to post them. If you ring IF they will send you some envelopes, but be aware that they take a few days to register on your account, then take 5 working days to clear.

Can't see any advantage with IF anymore - it was fine when they were one of the only internet accounts, but now everyone does it

Its not a problem with Halifax being snotty. If is not a branch based account and Halifax is not a clearing bank. IF is a Subsidary of HBOS and is run seperate to Halifax and BOS. There is no possible way for Halifax to accept credits to IF accounts using a bank Giro system that clearing banks use. BOS which is part of HBOS like Halifax is a clearing bank and that explains why they could take the credits for IF. When you got a welcome Pack from IF surely it would have explained all this.

[merlinthehappypig]

Originally Posted by M Thomson

Its not a problem with Halifax being snotty. If is not a branch based account and Halifax is not a clearing bank. IF is a Subsidary of HBOS and is run seperate to Halifax and BOS. There is no possible way for Halifax to accept credits to IF accounts using a bank Giro system that clearing banks use. BOS which is part of HBOS like Halifax is a clearing bank and that explains why they could take the credits for IF. When you got a welcome Pack from IF surely it would have explained all this.

It wasn't the fact that they wouldn't do it, it was their attitude. I had rung the Halifax's customer help line before going 25 miles to the nearest branch and they had said I could pay into IF no problem (I'd just moved from Scotland so wasn't aware of the difference between Halifax and BOS).

They were downright rude. I appreciate that not all Halifax staff are like that, but you make decisions based on experience. This wasn't an experience i'd want to repeat.

IF may have explained this in their welcome pack, but I opened the account over 7 years ago. When I rang them, they also said Halifax would be o.k. to pay in at. They also repeatedly told me that they were going to do something about the cheque/cash paying in problem, but still haven't.

[roddydogs]

Had the same problem 3 years ago the daft thing is u get the paying in slips with the checkbooks, but cant use them.

[YorkshireBoy]

Originally Posted by chriseast

IF may have explained this in their welcome pack, but I opened the account over 7 years ago.

Even if you've misplaced your T&C's, they're readily available on their website...

A.6.3 You cannot pay cash or cheques into your Intelligent Finance plan using a cash dispenser or at a Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch or agency counter.

http://www.if.com/info/IFtcs.pdf

[merlinthehappypig]

Originally Posted by YorkshireBoy

Even if you've misplaced your T&C's, they're readily available on their website...

That's not the case, whatever their website says. I lived in Scotland for 4 years and had absolutely no problem paying in cheques and cash at any of my local BOS branches.

[YorkshireBoy]

Originally Posted by chriseast

That's not the case, whatever their website says. I lived in Scotland for 4 years and had absolutely no problem paying in cheques and cash at any of my local BOS branches.

That may have been the case then, but the account condition A.6.3 changed in 2004 to include BOS branches. The earlier (pre-2004) T&C's simply stated...

A.6.3 You cannot pay cash or cheques into your Intelligent Finance plan using a cash dispenser or at a Halifax plc branch or agency counter.

http://www.if.com/info/terms.pdf

[merlinthehappypig]

Originally Posted by YorkshireBoy

That may have been the case then, but the account condition A.6.3 changed in 2004 to include BOS branches. The earlier (pre-2004) T&C's simply stated...

Hi. I don't want to get into a lengthy debate about this, but I was still paying in cheques to IF via BOS branches in March this year. Have paying-in stubs to prove it. Guess it depends where you live?

[regularsaver1]

BOS use a slgihtly different computer system to Halifax and as M Thompson says - BOS are a clearing bank, where as Halifax are not (can not pay bills/giro's)

At the end of the day, IF is an internet bank

If posting, be careful with the postal strikes at present

[Heng Leng]

I'm confused :confused:

Isn't Halifax not just a trading name of Bank of Scotland PLC now?

I thought that the idea of the change of structure, and the new bank notes that BoS recently issued?

Surely that means that it is a clearing bank?

[Melly31]

Hi,

I have an account with Intelligent Finance & you do have to post cheques to them.
Alternatively you can take them into your local post office who will post them free of charge & give you a receipt.
Hope that's helped?

Mel.

[regularsaver1]

Originally Posted by Heng Leng

I'm confused :confused:

Isn't Halifax not just a trading name of Bank of Scotland PLC now?

I thought that the idea of the change of structure, and the new bank notes that BoS recently issued?

Surely that means that it is a clearing bank?

No, they had to change their banking licence only

Halifax are still not a clearing bank - and are still separate in their own right, as IF and BM are

[s1h]

I now have 3 cheques I need to pay into my Intelligent finance account.

Where do I send them to? What address? The cheque book has paying in slips with it so I imagine I send one of those with the cheques but dont know where to their website doesnt cover it.

What I do find strange is although you cant pay it in at a branch the paying in slips have a bit for a cashiers stamp.

[regularsaver1]

http://www.if.com/info/contactus.asp

why don't you phone them

[will-in-estoril]

When I changed my direct debits to my new current account from IF a few years back they sent me a list of the instructions. What was interesting was that at the top of the page was a roll number, the type Halifax use.

Halifax had previously told me that they could accept payments into my IF account only with a roll number, something which IF had never previously provided.

[veryunsure]

I pay the cheque into a current account at a high street bank (HSBC in my case) and then transfer the money electronically into my IF account.

Easier than waiting for the post!

[sharpnsnazzy]

Are you guys serious? It took me 10 seconds to find out. Send it to PO BOX 17316, Edinburgh, EH 12 1AY. At the back of the Cheque write Plan Number and Account Number and Sort Code. Hey presto. Now go out and play!