How many of you have a Cheque Guarantee card?

Mrs_Ryan

Thanks BarclaysManager - more ammo for my complaint!!

System

LittleVoice wrote: »

Mine expires next month so I shall look with interest to see what turns up.

You'll just get the same type of card that you have. They are only phasing them out for new customers, or those applying changing card type.

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

sutton111- they are useless. Im still having grief with them about the card on my account (its not a Visa Electron, according to them, but yet it can only be used where online auth is possible - er, doesnt this make it an Electron???)

It not an Visa Electron card, it just works in a similar fashion in that it requires the be authorised. But it does not require specific Visa Electron acceptance, as a Visa Electron cards do. It's accepted anywhere with the Visa sign, but you may encounter problems where the retailer can't authorise the card.

Visa Electron cards have the Visa Electron logo, and have the card details printed not raised on the card. See here . If it doesn't say Visa Electron, then it isn't an Electron card

Mrs_Ryan

Interesting - thanks HL.

I've been told the chip is programmed as Electron, but it says Visa Debit on the front of it. I have had it refused in places that dont take Electron as well, (and can auth online) but have had no problems in places that DO take Electron. The bank say it works on the Visa system, so who do I believe??

Paul_Herring

Please could any clarify, the banks take on the difference?

If you write a cheque, the bank is obliged to honour it, take your account into unauthorised overdraft with all it's attendant fees, fines, and whatever.

An authorised overdraft (what you're not eligable for) only charges interest as/when you use it.

WhySoHard_2

cruzier wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if a Cheque Guarantee Limit is a form of credit to banks? Because I applied for an overdraft and Lloyds TSB said I'm not eligible yet, yet I can issue a cheque for £250 and its guaranteed?

Please could any clarify, the banks take on the difference?

Chrid.

That's so random! I've known people get an overdraft from LTSB straight away and even a credit card, but told they're not eligible for a cheque guarantee card!

Soot2006

BarclaysManager wrote: »

:huh:

But a cheque guarantee is only valid if the payee writes the card number on the cheque, and the cheque is signed in the presence of the payee and the signature checked to the back of the card. They're absolutely useless otherwise.

I never knew that! When I send in my entries, they always ask you to write the guarantee info on the back -- does that mean the cheques are not truly guaranteed?

tbh I've never written a cheque for money I didn't have so I never really thought about it. Just a handy way to get cash from A to B.

cruzier

WhySoHard wrote: »

That's so random! I've known people get an overdraft from LTSB straight away and even a credit card, but told they're not eligible for a cheque guarantee card!

Really? oh! obviously I'm the other way around. I asked about both an overdraft and their credit cards, but was told I was not eligible.

Chris.

Paul_Herring

tavarishink wrote: »

I never knew that! When I send in my entries, they always ask you to write the guarantee info on the back -- does that mean the cheques are not truly guaranteed?

The payee cannot use the guarantee under those circumstances, so no they aren't.

ShelfStacker_3

WhySoHard wrote: »

That's so random! I've known people get an overdraft from LTSB straight away and even a credit card, but told they're not eligible for a cheque guarantee card!

I would imagine they might well be harder to get because unlike say a credit card or an overdraft, where there's a limit to how much debt the customer can get into (within reason), a cheque guarantee card's potential for bad debt is limited only by the number of cheques the customer has and how many they're willing to write. For instance, if you give a credit card to your new customer Mr Gary Gobulcoque, and he starts ordering multiple LCD TVs a day, his card can be blocked and/or declined before he can do much damage. Give a cheque card to him and the debt he can run up is roughly equal to the limit on the card multiplied by the number of cheques available to him - all it takes is a few dodgy cheque encashment services or shops that accept cheques and he's quids in.

So basically, it's because in the wrong hands, they could potentially be an absolute pain in the !!!!.

Dor what it's worth, might as well mention here, Waitrose are stopping taking cheques soon, found out the other week.

WhySoHard_2

ShelfStacker wrote: »

I would imagine they might well be harder to get because unlike say a credit card or an overdraft, where there's a limit to how much debt the customer can get into (within reason), a cheque guarantee card's potential for bad debt is limited only by the number of cheques the customer has and how many they're willing to write. For instance, if you give a credit card to your new customer Mr Gary Gobulcoque, and he starts ordering multiple LCD TVs a day, his card can be blocked and/or declined before he can do much damage. Give a cheque card to him and the debt he can run up is roughly equal to the limit on the card multiplied by the number of cheques available to him - all it takes is a few dodgy cheque encashment services or shops that accept cheques and he's quids in.

So basically, it's because in the wrong hands, they could potentially be an absolute pain in the !!!!.

Dor what it's worth, might as well mention here, Waitrose are stopping taking cheques soon, found out the other week.

Do any shops even take cheques these days?