“Please make cheques payable to”

This really is the snowflake generation.

Spoilt, tantrummy, getting worked up because some system isn't just to their liking.

Just make the call and stop making a mountain out of molehill.

Me too... My chequebook case shows my age though...😅

Haven't written one for four years apparently!

How is it 'perfectly efficient' compared with direct debit where it all happens automatically.

I've never not paid a water bill by direct debit or had any need to contact my water company apart from the 3 occasions when I've moved house and I've had my own home for over 30 years. So in that time, that's 120 phone calls that you've made which haven't been necessary.

OP I agree that payment by cheque these days is very unusual and it sounds like the it's because the arrangement is direct with a private consultant who's working at the hospital. So either they just haven't updated their payment methods, or it could possibly be a security measure - it's a known fraud to intercept emails discussing invoices for services and send fake 'our bank details have changed' emails tricking people into sending money to fraudsters.

DP is self employed (labour only contractor). He does dozens of jobs for a handful of clients every year and everything is done by bank transfer. Except one client that he does the occasional job for who insist on him sending an invoice by post and a separate invoice to another address for his expenses, which is very weird and he gets two cheques, but he can generally pay these in via the app. I've told him he should add the cost of 2 stamps to his expenses invoice.

I see a consultant at a private hospital every year and his only payment options are by phone or cheque, but I can pay online for the hospital tests. I still use a couple of cheques a year and have recently made two payments to my solicitor by cheque. I recently spent an hour with an adviser in my bank and closed three accounts which had very small balances, and asked for the money to be transferred to my current account. Three weeks later, I received three separate letters from the bank, each with a separate cheque for the closing balance from each account. One cheque was for £2.74, one was for £4.28, and the third was for 1p 😆😆.

Not necessarily.

My family and I have used private medical care for 40 years.
Every hospital is different.

It's really not a big deal.

I don’t think it’s weird at all TBH
There’s prob a lot of elderly people using this type of service who still like a paper copy of things so invoice /cheque etc
You could probably have asked for an email at the time and easily use an alternative method of payment.
Bank transfers whilst fine can also be subject to scamming - as can email interception so sending an invoice in the post to a verified address on file and receiving a cheque or payment over the phone seems sensible in some ways!

The consultants are likely self-employed rather than employees hence the invoice from them rather than the practice/surgery whatever

but yeah, I’ve not used my chequebook since 2011!

My home insurance you can’t get on line you have to call (NFU Mutual)

Blooming heck. In the time you have spent complaining on here about it, you could have called and made the payment

I prefer to make payment on the phone but I and understand things change so have to do it online and on my phone nowadays. I dont spend (much) time complaining about it .
Just call them and see if they answer before thinking of all the scenarios that might happen if they dont answer. It really shouldn't take more than 5 mins maybe 10 at the very most

How old are you? Quite a difference between 21 and 29? Do you live alone and manage your own finances, bills, rent/mortgage etc?

HMRC asks for account details when you complete a tax return where they can pay refunds.

You’re welcome

Thousands of people have to call for car insurance every day, points, disqualifications, passed their test, medical conditions, restricted car types. Underwriters are required for a thousand reasons - including cars being impounded because someone didn't insure it correctly online.

Just because you have a straight forward policy doesn't mean everyone else does. Making payments by card over the phone is not outdated.

You can pay in cheques in your mobile banking app. Clear in a couple of days.

You are paying the surgeon, who is an individual, not a big company. He probably doesn't want to give out his personal bank account details. If you phone up, the hospital presumably has card payments set up so they can accept it on his behalf. I'm surprised they sent an invoice, every private hospital appointment I've had, I've paid immediately at the hospital at the time of the visit.

Hooray! I was a bit bothered as to how I was going to get the money! Thank you for the reassurance.

Do you always get your knickers in a twist over small things like this?

It's coming over as throwing your toys out of the pram.

HMRC pay refunds directly into your account now.

What's the issue if you can't call till Monday?
Is there a deadline before then?