to think you can't JUST take cheques?!

[hairtoday1]

I'm viewing a to buy a property tomorrow. If I like it I need to move fast. I've just been informed that 'To reserve a property you will need to provide a cheque for £100.00 payable to Metropolitan. We do not take any other payment methods on the day so without this you cannot reserve.'

Erm, really? I haven't had a cheque book in YEARS!

Is it me or is this bonkers? I could miss out on a home because of this

Lessons in writing a cheque sounds a bit OTT. it ain't that hard.

We write or pay in 1-2 cheques/wk. Don't understand the umbrage. No biggie.

I have to pay by cheque or cash for DS's swimming, and for our most recent holiday we had to pay by cheque. We had a new fence installed and the fence wanted payment by cheque rather than providing his bank details.

How odd. I have 2 bank accounts and both have cheque books. I write loads- dinner money, sports clubs ( I write post dated cheques to spread the cost over the term) school trips,PerfumeParlour

Oh yes , builders need cheques too part cash,part cheque

I bank about 600 cheques a month for my DH business. he is a s/e milkman and a lot of his customers are elderly and pay by cheque. They would be stuffed without them.

I think you can write a cheque on anything. As long as it contains all the pertinent information that a standard cheque would have, you can write it on anything - a large sheet, even. Do that, please.

I've never been issued a cheque book. I opened a new account with my back only last year and I didn't get one then either. I've never needed to use one so I'm not fussed. I'm sure they'd give me one if I asked.

I don't understand the op either. I have always had a cheque book (and only two bank accounts, unlike the op) and just wrote a cheque yesterday for the annual fee to a professional body.

OP, the company could insist on a cheque because they will have all your bank details and your signature on file, too.

I've wrote one a few weeks ago for a ballet class after years of not writing any. I had to think quite hard about it.

They will be gone before long, probably not 2018 but I doubt we will have them in 2025.

I wasn't given a cheque book when I opened my bank account.

I pay my window cleaner with cash. I thought everybody did that .

When I was a student a carefully timed shop paid for by cheque was a fairly common way to be able to buy food whilst waiting for money to clear into your account.

tether - no. I said upthread is was no good unfortunately

I have a chequebook but I honestly can't remember the last time I used it. Even DDs nursery prefers bank transfers for things like sports day picnic etc. same with the plumber we used recently.
Actually, I'm now not entirely sure I know where my chequebook is...

Never had a chequebook of my own, despite having my own bank account from age 12. My Mum does and will write the odd cheque that I've needed. It was only an issue when paying for wedding stuff, as smaller vendors would only take cheques.

GG Yes! How does one pay for the lawn boy and the window cleaner !

Our local branch of Lloyds now has a special cashpoint like machine that will scan cheques and accept them into your account. Your receipt shows a mini cheque by return!

I can't see cheques being phased out if banks are investing in that type of technology.

They are used very widely in my line of work too (counselling/psychotherapy). More accountability than cash and much easier than bank transfers.

'The lawn boy'?!

I pay the person who cuts the grass with cash!

I don't agree when people say a cheque is easier than a bank transfer. I could transfer you some money now using an app on my phone and you'd have the money in your account within the hour.

Or I could find my cheque book (if I have one), write it, give it to you next week when I see you. Then you'll have to go to the bank, pay it in and then wait 12,322 days for it to clear.

I don't agree when people say a cheque is easier than a bank transfer. I could transfer you some money now using an app on my phone and you'd have the money in your account within the hour.

I like transferring money online, because I can see it come out of my account straight away and it helps me to keep track of how much money I have, whereas cheques might not be cashed for a while.

But, for me, a cheque is much quicker - get the cheque book out of the drawer, write a cheque - 2 minutes.
Online: get the folder with my banking stuff, find the page with my customer number, open up a new tab on my laptop and type in the bank's website address, use customer number to log in to my account, get the card reader out of the drawer, get my purse out of my bag, put debit card in the card reader, type the code into the box on the log-in page, transfer money - 10 minutes.

cheques are much less faff at home (but I haven't use one in a shop for years and years)

You are also not 95yrs if you think a bank transfer is easier than a cheque!

My late Nan used to send me a cheque for my birthday. Something really lovely about receiving it, in her lovely handwriting. Much more personal than a bank transfer, which knowing my Nan was never going to happen.

The thing is online transfers are not the same as a cheque. You need to know at the very least a sort code and account number.

All you need for a cheque is a name. And even then, once the cheque is paid in, there's no immediate way to get the payees bank details (not sure if bank would refuse to divulge as personal data, in fact).

The same goes for any other form of transfer - you need to know details of the destination.

The closest we probably have to cheques, technology wise, are virtual currencies like bitcoins. But banks and governments aren't too keen on us using them, so it's unlikely they'll be touted as a replacement.

Bank details are classed as personal data under the Data Protection Act, so a bank should not give them out.

31 and I've never had a cheque book or ever written one, in either Ireland or the UK. Completely pointless, and the shop I worked in while at uni stopped taking them as far back as 2003.