Cheque Guarantee Cards

Snakeeyes21

Alison69 wrote: »

To go on a general shopping trip and to have to carry £100 or more is putting everyone at an unacceptable risk.

What risks might those be? do muggers carry around xray scanners :rotfl:

DCFC79

This thread must be another wind up, the OP says they used to work for a bank so surely they would know about cheques etc

EarthBoy

DCFC79 wrote: »

This thread must be another wind up, the OP says they used to work for a bank so surely they would know about cheques etc

I agree. She also calls the Nationwide a bank, instead of a building society. While some people might get confused, I really think that anybody who worked for a bank would know the difference.

Also, if she didn't have a debit card then it's almost certain that her cheque guarantee card would have had a limit of £50, so the usefulness of it would have been limited. It would have been no good for buying the expensive electrical equipment that she mentions.

pmduk

Alison69 wrote: »

At the end of the day it is withdrawing consumer choice

Consumers have as much choice as they did before. They can either buy a product or not. If they choose to buy they can select how to pay from the range of options available. It's just that cheque won't be one of them.

PROLIANT

Cash is out, so are cheques - Visa is king.

simax

Alison69 wrote: »

Thanks all. I am only too aware of the amount of fradulent transactions and also simple errors like the wrong amount being taken from an account. I am also aware that to correct such issues can take between 1-3 months and involves countless phone calls. I wish to avoid all that. I have never had an issue using cheques and there will always be times when you perhaps need to pay someone and a cheque or cash is the only method.

Not when cheques (and the guarantee scheme) are phased out. Then you'll be lumped with cash or debit card.

Alison69 wrote: »

The decision to withdraw cheques has not actually been taken yet. By withdrawing the cheque guarantee cards it will be virtually impossible to use cheques thereby engineering a position where banks can say no-one uses them therefore we can get rid of them. Also consider elderly housebound people who rely on cheques to make payments, if this is removed what are they to do.

Then they'll have to move to paying by debit card or DD, won't they?

Alison69 wrote: »

To go on a general shopping trip and to have to carry £100 or more is putting everyone at an unacceptable risk. For example if I wished to purchase electrical equipment which is often expensive.

Then use a debit card?!?!?

Alison69 wrote: »

At the end of the day it is withdrawing consumer choice with no consultation and not taking into account personal circumstances. But then I guess the banks don't care about that.

No they don't. Use a debit card.

Alison69

Firstly, yes Nationwide is strictly speaking a building society but it acts as a bank and this subject is clearly as pertinent to high street banks.

Secondly, it is possible to have a cheque guarantee card for far more than £50.

Thirdly, I don't have a credit card. They have the same issues as debit cards and are subject to charges.

Fourthy, there are far more problems with fraudulent transactions and errors then ever there was with cheques. You may believe what the banks tell you in public, I don't.

Fifthly, the elderly are not necessarily able or capable of dealing with standing orders of direct debits. I certainly would not give any utility company my bank details. I did with a company once and never again. Things like paying for home helps, etc are not possible to pay by standing order or direct debit.

Well, I must admit to being very disappointed to the attitude of the last postings on this thread. I really thought this was a place to get advice and help but clearly I was wrong.

WhiteHorse

I resent gradually being manoeuvred into a position in which direct debit is the only option. They want access to your bank account, pure and simple. There are supposed to be checks and balances and they are not supposed to do certain things , but read on ...

Some years ago, my wife paid Council Tax by direct debit. There was a dispute over the amount owed (it was zero actually). The council disagreed, and instead of taking the standard amount (some £30 or so), illegally tried to take £1300 (the whole year).

This would have plunged her deep into the red and incurred penalties. There would then have been an almighty battle to get the Council to disgorge the money that it had stolen.

Fortunately, I could see this coming (they have previous), so I got the direct debit stopped days before they tried it on. Thus, it never came to pass, but it was a narrow escape.

stclair

It not just nationwide all banks/building societies are adapting the same policy that they will begin to phase out CGC over the coming months.

Its just one of those things people will just have to learn to live without ;-)

Plus its not the banks decision to withdraw the CGC facility.

noh

Plus its not the banks decision to withdraw the CGC facility

.

Splitting hairs there.
Quote from the press release:-

"Today the 24 bank and building society members of the UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme have announced that the Scheme will close on 30th June 2011, meaning that it will no longer be possible to guarantee a cheque under the Scheme after this date. The decision to close the Scheme was taken by the Payments Council in June this year as guaranteed cheque use is in terminal decline. The Payments Council concluded that it was in all parties’ interests to manage the Scheme’s demise in a coordinated fashion following extensive consultation with guaranteed cheque users and acceptors. This announcement does not mean the end of cheques as businesses will continue to be able to accept them and customers will still be able to write them."

The members of the payments council are listed here:-
http://www.paymentscouncil.org.uk/membership/-/page/list-of-members/