What does 'not valid unless signed' actually mean?

BooJewels

I actually can't believe some of the narrow-minded, insensitive remarks in this thread.

My grandmother was registered blind and in the days where everything was signed, before chip and PIN and when you paid all your bills by sending off a cheque, she had plastic templates provided by the bank that were placed and fitted either over a cheque book, or payment slip, with holes in, marked adjacent in braille and once she'd felt her way to the right bit, she could sign etc in the right hole to make payments or sign a cheque.  I'd sit down with her periodically and write cheques to pay bills etc and she'd then sign them.  You wouldn't know looking at it that she couldn't see what she was writing - her signature, once positioned by the template and confined within it, was just the same as when she was sighted.

Probably these days, we'd just set up an LPA and I'd pay by card for her, as I do for an elderly aunt now.  But I'm sure that banks still provide assistive devices of a similar nature.  I know they do, I just looked, such as higher contactless limits, statements on a colour of paper and print that you'd find easier, large format cheque books etc etc. and that was just looking at their partially sighted section.

jimjames

[Deleted User] said:

I got asked to sign in the states a lot, nobody ever checked the card.

That changed on my most recent visit but it might also be very dependent on the state you visit as banking is very much a local thing.

molerat

There is a big difference between not knowing what your PIN is and having a disability that makes it almost impossible to remember a PIN or a mobility impairment that makes it very difficult to physically press the keys in the correct order.  I must say I am shocked by some of the posts here.

Se1Lad

briskbeats said:

Se1Lad said:

Deleted_User said:

Get over yourself. 

Is that the advice you would have given to my relative with dementia?

Deleted_User said:

Also with the contactless limit being £100 there is even less need for a PIN now. Unless you're also saying your entitled disabled folk refuse to use contactless too, out of principle, of course. 

If you use contactless regularly it will occasionally force you to enter a PIN to approve the transaction - what happens in those situations if you’re unable to remember a PIN?

Had customers who have no idea what their PIN is! They should be embarrassed about it. You don't have to keep the PIN that your bank randomly allocated you. Can change it to something more rememberable - wedding anniversary, childhood phone number, first two houses door numbers you lived in, eldest (grand)children birthdays in the month etc...

Also the old £20 notes are fine to accept til end Sept. Probably see 1 or 2 per day now.

If you are ever unfortunate enough to have a relative suffering from dementia, I hope you treat them with more compassion, dignity and respect than you are showing here.

how would you feel if someone told you that your Grandmother should be embarrassed that she couldn’t do her own LFT:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6322669/advice-re-grandmother-needed-re-self-isolation#latest

WillPS

Very glad the MSE forum team have finally taken action on here.

briskbeats

Se1Lad said:

briskbeats said:

Se1Lad said:

Deleted_User said:

Get over yourself. 

Is that the advice you would have given to my relative with dementia?

Deleted_User said:

Also with the contactless limit being £100 there is even less need for a PIN now. Unless you're also saying your entitled disabled folk refuse to use contactless too, out of principle, of course. 

If you use contactless regularly it will occasionally force you to enter a PIN to approve the transaction - what happens in those situations if you’re unable to remember a PIN?

Had customers who have no idea what their PIN is! They should be embarrassed about it. You don't have to keep the PIN that your bank randomly allocated you. Can change it to something more rememberable - wedding anniversary, childhood phone number, first two houses door numbers you lived in, eldest (grand)children birthdays in the month etc...

Also the old £20 notes are fine to accept til end Sept. Probably see 1 or 2 per day now.

If you are ever unfortunate enough to have a relative suffering from dementia, I hope you treat them with more compassion, dignity and respect than you are showing here.

how would you feel if someone told you that your Grandmother should be embarrassed that she couldn’t do her own LFT:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6322669/advice-re-grandmother-needed-re-self-isolation#latest

The people I'm talking about who have don't know their PIN are of all ages, not just the elderly

Then get those young ones holding up the queue whilst they transfer money from one account to another on a banking app or ring partner "transfer £30 please". Why can't they use something on their phone called a calculator (which appeared on all the phones since my first one I had in 98/99) and add up shopping. Then transfer any money before going to the checkout?

[Deleted User]

briskbeats said:

Had customers who have no idea what their PIN is! They should be embarrassed about it. You don't have to keep the PIN that your bank randomly allocated you. Can change it to something more rememberable - wedding anniversary, childhood phone number, first two houses door numbers you lived in, eldest (grand)children birthdays in the month etc...

Also the old £20 notes are fine to accept til end Sept. Probably see 1 or 2 per day now.

Yes I know old £20 notes are still acceptable but that doesn't stop some shops refusing to accept them any longer. What are you going to do if a shop doesn't want to take it? Call the police?

WillPS

Deleted_User said:

briskbeats said:

Had customers who have no idea what their PIN is! They should be embarrassed about it. You don't have to keep the PIN that your bank randomly allocated you. Can change it to something more rememberable - wedding anniversary, childhood phone number, first two houses door numbers you lived in, eldest (grand)children birthdays in the month etc...

Also the old £20 notes are fine to accept til end Sept. Probably see 1 or 2 per day now.

Yes I know old £20 notes are still acceptable but that doesn't stop some shops refusing to accept them any longer. What are you going to do if a shop doesn't want to take it? Call the police?

You're right, it's not at all like an adjustment in place to protect those with a disability - when the Equality Act could be cited and used to demonstrate wrongdoing in a court of law, adherance to which no doubt forms part of the retailer's merchant banking agreement.

briskbeats

My work still takes the old £20a. In November, someone tried to pay me with £5 George Stephenson note. They were withdrawn 18 years prior! Where has the fiver been in those 18 years?

BooJewels

I have two old green one pound notes, I found them both inside the pages of books when I was clearing my parents' house.  Don't know if they'd been hidden or intentionally used as bookmarks.