Paying by Bank Giro Credit

GeoffTF

I have been wondering how the unbanked get by.

Back in the old days, I received bills by snail mail with a Bank Giro Credit form at the bottom. I could walk into a bank and use that form to pay by cash or cheque. I had to pay a fee unless I had an account at that bank or the bank was named on the form.

Several years ago I waited in a long queue and tried to pay my tax bill that way at Santander, but was told that they were not a member of the Bank Giro and I had to go to a proper bank. (She did not put quite like that.) I paid the bill at Barclays. They did not make it easy, but I was able to do it.

Does this service still exist? Is it free? Which banks provide the service?

retiredbanker1

Banks where you hold an account with and have counters for you to use.

In this day and age no bank will do business for non customers.

GeoffTF

retiredbanker1 said:

Banks where you hold an account with and have counters for you to use.

In this day and age no bank will do business for non customers.

Thank you for that. It is therefore is not a method that the unbanked can use to pay their bills. As I have said, Santander does not provide the service at all.

EarthBoy

You can pay a lot of common household bills at the Post Office.  Not all bills though, it depends on your service provider:

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/bill-payments

retiredbanker1

GeoffTF said:

retiredbanker1 said:

Banks where you hold an account with and have counters for you to use.

In this day and age no bank will do business for non customers.

Thank you for that. It is therefore is not a method that the unbanked can use to pay their bills. As I have said, Santander does not provide the service at all.

Can I ask why you are unbanked?
Unless you have been done for fraud you could get at least a basic account - choose one with counters close to you or one that gives you a debit card and online banking - this would make your life a whole lot easier.

GeoffTF

It would be possible to pay my Council Tax by PayPoint. I cannot find any way of paying an HMRC Self Assessment bill with cash. It would be necessary to switch to prepay to settle energy bills. Water bills can be paid at a Post Office, and some mobile phone and two broadband providers allow that too.

I pay have been paying for virtually everything electronically for decades. It comes as a shock to find that there is so little cash fallback nowadays.

GeoffTF

retiredbanker1 said:

GeoffTF said:

retiredbanker1 said:

Banks where you hold an account with and have counters for you to use.

In this day and age no bank will do business for non customers.

Thank you for that. It is therefore is not a method that the unbanked can use to pay their bills. As I have said, Santander does not provide the service at all.

Can I ask why you are unbanked?
Unless you have been done for fraud you could get at least a basic account - choose one with counters close to you or one that gives you a debit card and online banking - this would make your life a whole lot easier.

I am not unbanked, or ever likely to be unbanked. I am just interested in what options are available for those who do not have bank accounts. There are nonetheless a lot of horror stories posted here.

GeoffTF

Actually, the situation with HMRC is unclear:

https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill/bank-or-building-society

That suggests that payment by cash is possible at a bank or building society using the paying in slip, but perhaps that is not possible unless you have an account, as retiredbanker1 has said.

EarthBoy

There's always the option of giving the cash to a friend or relative and getting them to pay the bill from their own bank account.

GeoffTF

My current account receives my pensions and pays direct debits for utilities and my credit card with another bank. I also regularly move large sums to and from own accounts with other UK regulated financial firms, and pay HMRC. In theory, nothing should go wrong. The worst case appears to be having a perfectly innocent transaction like a state pension payment flagged up as suspicious and being locked out of my account for a month or two as a result. I have opened an account with a building society that gives me branch access. I think I am adequately protected.

[Deleted User]

GeoffTF said:

My current account receives my pensions and pays direct debits for utilities and my credit card with another bank. I also regularly move large sums to and from own accounts with other UK regulated financial firms, and pay HMRC. In theory, nothing should go wrong. The worst case appears to be having a perfectly innocent transaction like a state pension payment flagged up as suspicious and being locked out of my account for a month or two as a result. I have opened an account with a building society that gives me branch access. I think I am adequately protected.

A backup account is always prudent but being locked out for 'state pension payments' is negligible as they are identify what they are and also quote a NI number. 

People who get locked out for a protracted period of time usually have less common transactions along with a lack of a paper trail to back them up e.g. Crypto