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Why not speak your mind below
Checkout time for cheque
Page last updated Friday, 18 December 2009
The Payments Council, to which most banks belong was established to ensure that
This month they voted to abolish the use of cheques by 31 October 2018, in a controversial move, aimed at saving the banks millions in processing costs. However It will undertake a full review in 2016 before any final decision is taken.
The Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme is to close on 30th June.
The Payments council say that the number of cheques raised has fallen dramatically over the years from a peak in the early 90s of about 11 million per day to under 4 million presently.
Cheques cost about £1 each to process, four times as much as an electronic payment and more and more stores have stopped accepting them claiming that they are the most insecure form of payment and add to delays at the check-out.
The plan has been widely criticised by lobbyists and consumer groups who say that many, particularly the elderly, who have been used to using a chequebook for years, will be confused. They say that they use cheques and cash for all their transactions and they are uncomfortable with alternative payment methods, such as credit or debit cards with PIN numbers. Any plans to end the use of cheques must ensure there are alternative ways of paying which they are happy using.
Government departments, such as HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions, rely on cheques to make millions of payments each year and cheques are still widely used for making payments to tradesmen and for utility bills.
Debtwizard comment
If the proposal to abolish cheques goes ahead, whilst 2018 is some way off, the Payments Council must recognise the concerns of consumers as well as its members and ensure their anxieties are addressed. I believe this proposal is based a lot upon reducing costs for the banks.
Let's not forget that we have enjoyed the facility of the cheque for the past 350 years so why change now and cause the massive problems for those that still rely on this method of payment?
Personally I can see this being reversed in 2016, if not earlier if the there is a change of party at the next election. This could become a major an election issue.
Ted (Guest) Friday, 01 January 2010
At 63 I can remember a time when most people got a weekly wage packet...CASH and would put any savings in a Post Office accont....only rich people would have a bank account, or businesses.
If you didn't have the money than you couldn't buy stuff unless you could get Hire Purchase.
When I finaly was able to open a current account I made sure I used it just like cash. if the money is not there, then you don't write a cheque and if anyone WANTS my money, they get it when *I* decide to give to them.
I have NEVER had a cheque bounce in my life , never been overdrawn and I have been through my share of hard times, messy divoce, I kept my children with me and still had to run a home and a full time job. Getting to the bank was a Saturday morning thing to pay money in and posting off a cheque I knew *I* had done it personally and not had to rely on some electronic wizard to try and screw up my life by remote control.
At least in a communist country they KNOW they are living in a Police State.....The UK is run by Stealth!
Love Europe....HATE the EU !
Happy New Year to one and All :-)
Debtwizard Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Hi Paul
I agree with you, this has not been thought through properly, by setting the time frame to 2018 they hope we will get use to it and find alternative ways to exchange payments. It has worked for over 350 years and there is still a massive demand for its use so why change it? All about the cost to process the cheque, estimated to be £1.
I believe this may be revoked in any future government bar the current party.
Good example of how this affects tradesman and the consumer.
Best wishes.
Debtwizard
paul tooth (Guest) Tuesday, 22 December 2009
im a self employed locksmith covering about 50 mile radius from my home. cheques are vital to me as a method of payment by my customers.
imagine the scene, i go to a lady's house who has been mugged and has lost her house keys and purse containing her swipe card. what am i supposed to do for payment; go back in a week when she has had a new card and get cash, or insist she swipes my machine with another card there and then. to go back will cost me unnecessary costs in petrol and a pdq machine is an extortionate amount of money to rent which will have to be passed on.
the abolition of cheques has not been thought through properly like most whimsical ideas by this government. does anyone remember the nhs super computer and national i.d cards? where are they now?
FalseMoney (Guest) Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Reality. The bank that I use literally presents excuse after excuse to stop me getting access to (my) money.
Last weeks excuses were "you can't have access cos it (the money is in a "special account".
Finally after 4 phone calls - moving up the banking staff chain - a cheque was dispatched "in the post". When it did not arrive 4 days later and I rang them again they told me it takes 7-10 days. Why? Because it goes into the "banks own postal system" where it sits there for several days. The amount of money was very very considerable.
What would happen if the cheque does not arrive? The answer "I don't know". I have been humiliated time after time, fed wrong information time after time. The usual response "sorry".
I am not that stupid - not much longer as I say.
FalseMoney (Guest) Wednesday, 16 December 2009
If you believe that a New World Order is coming (which for those who see beyond our puppet masters is virtually here in all but name). Then getting rid of cheques is one of the steps to complete control. The ability to turn you off electronically. They would also like to get rid of cash as well. One step at a time, let's not go too fast so that people see what is coming. I dumped my cards years ago. I use cash. Next step dump the bank (coming soon).
Debtwizard Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Hi John
Well put, I agree that this is mainly down to cost to the banks to process the cheque. Any stopping of cheques as a method of payment will cause untold mayhem to those that find other methods confusing or not to mention those that have been hit with fraud, as in your case.
Best wishes
Debtwizard
John Wheatcroft (Guest) Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Seems a bit strange to me that they want to abolish cheques, since there is more card fraud with the electronic means than with the paper means. It is much harder to forge a signature that it is to clone somebody's card as happened to me at the same Shell filling station in Kenilworth. I am now on my 5th Mastercard in 18 months. I never had this with a cheque book and pen.
the banks USED TO BE really good at detecting fraud. In all the time I have had a cheque book, since the age of 16 and I am now 43, I have only been fraudulently stolen from twice. That's twice in 27 years with a signature.
So far I have been fraudulently stolen from 5 time in 18 months using the current methods, do the maths yourself, Sorry its a cheque book every single time for me because it gives you an extra layer of protectiion if a fraudster has to spend time trying to copy your signature. The banks have everyone's signature on file and can EASILY verify if it is correct or not.
That was the case, the banking system stinks now though.They only pretend to care about their customers but they don't really give a damn. I would pay a bit more for processing a cheque, if it kept someone in a job and reduced fraud
All you get when you complain are blanket assurances that it cannot possibly happen which is total crap. Would the Government be pushing this by any chance via Mandelson and cronies. After all he want a cashless society and this is yet another step towards that ultimate goal.
