MSE News: Cheque guarantee cards to be abolished tomorrow

Paulgonnabedebtfree

I'm self employed and have a one man window cleaning business. Until about a year or so ago, more than 50% of my income was paid by cheques from customers. The lack of guarantee card won't change that as I've never bothered with that anyway. I have gradually been converting people over to paying by bank transfer. It can be a slow process as many don't trust the internet or just don't want to figure out how to set up a bill payment that they activate manually when a bill becomes due. Some of my more elderly customers wouldn't know how to switch on a computer even if they had one. If the banks are to abolish cheques in 2018, they need to promote bill payments by telephone for those who are unwilling or unable to adapt to the computer age. If not, some of my customers will cancel, be cancelled by me, or will have to go back to the dark ages of very expensive postal orders. I refuse to go back to doorstep collecting in the evenings. I've better things to do with my time (like posting drivel on here ) .

guesswho2000

Consumerist wrote: »

Since when has an overdraft been illegal in the UK. I understand that it may be true in the US, however.

Sorry, I may have misphrased, it's writing cheques (guaranteed or otherwise) which is illegal, if there are knowingly insufficient funds available. An arranged overdraft is considered available funds, so nothing wrong with that at all.

The offence could be either fraud by false representation (Fraud Act 2006, the "representation" being that the cheque would be honoured) or (exceptionally) obtaining goods by deception, in practice prosecution is unlikely...

dekaspace

I have always preferred cheques to Paypal and in all my years only had one bounce(but I was suspicous when buyer was wanting item sent fast etc)

With Paypal I pay fees then have to wait like a week for money to clear anyway and paypal has in the past limited me a few times for stupid reasons(such as when I moved house I sold quite a few items and they demanded proof of supplier and ownership then kept my money for 6 months)

Cabbagewhite

I like cheques for any payments to the school - I don't like sending in any money with a 6 year old, or even a 13 year old. The schools request cheque payments anyway, it is a double check of payment, it also means they don't have to issue receipts. I also like to pay my Avon lady with them. The cheque guarantee is a peace of mind, we sometimes go close to our overdraft limit depending on money going in and out and my Husband's employer has been known to pay only the 'basic' pay for technical computer reasons (just worked it out, they do it at least once a year) - a lot of his pay is extra hours and overtime.

I also like to send cheques to my Nieces. They all live away and I send money for Christmas and birthdays, but I also like to send the odd unexpected cheque to 'treat' them. I would never send cash and it spoils the surprise if I have to contact them to check their current bank details (they both change banks every 2 or 3 years). I write between 40 and 50 cheques a year and I can't see anything that will easily replace it.

Bassettman

Went to Hampton Court Flower Show yesturday and after spending my cash I couldn't make further purchases as I was told they wouldn't accept cheques due to guarantee cards being void.
The smaller stalls/nurseries don't have the portable card reader machines for credit/debit cards so the only way to purchase was to go to the portable hole in the wall which charged £2 per transaction.
This is going to effect a lot of sales when the sellers can't afford the portable card at this type of event which only happen 2-3 times per year.
Banks are not working for the customer, only there own profit.

3kidsathome

plumber2009 wrote: »

The sooner cheques are gone the better.


I have had no need to write a cheque in years and most people/organisations wont accept them anyway due to additional processing costs.

Lucky you. I have 3 children and write cheques constantly for dinner money, school trips, school uniforms, scout and guide fees, sports classes etc. etc. There are so many things that my children have to take money for that I would be lost without being able to give them a cheque to take. I can easily cope without a cheque guarantee card but not without a cheque book.

[Deleted User]

Absinthe_Fairy wrote: »

I don't use cheques very often but they're perfect for sending through the post, particularly when I don't want the recipient to know my bank account/card details, or ask for theirs. I'd be disappointed if they vanished for good, and I'm not some old fogey stuck in the past, I'm 25!

What bank issues cheques that do not state the name of your bank, your account number and your name?

[Deleted User]

Bassettman wrote: »

Went to Hampton Court Flower Show yesturday and after spending my cash I couldn't make further purchases as I was told they wouldn't accept cheques due to guarantee cards being void.
The smaller stalls/nurseries don't have the portable card reader machines for credit/debit cards so the only way to purchase was to go to the portable hole in the wall which charged £2 per transaction.
This is going to effect a lot of sales when the sellers can't afford the portable card at this type of event which only happen 2-3 times per year.
Banks are not working for the customer, only there own profit.

This is another example of statistics having been used to fool people.

It is statistically incorrect to lump together the transactions of very small traders with big businesses. The transactions carried out by big firms will dwarf everybody else.The % of transactions affected by these changes will seem to be so small that they are unimportant.

A more correct analysis would determine the % for various types of business. Certain of them may use cheques a lot and will be seriously affected, In some parts of Europe a small shop has had to take my card to a neighbour that has installed the necessary equipment.

I don't subscribe to "There are lies, damned lies and statistics" but I would ask everyone to always think about the underlying data and how it was collected.