FGW to Stop accepting Personal Cheques @ 1 July

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Cheque Payments

The 24 bank and building society members of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme have announced that the Scheme will close on 30th June 2011, meaning that it will no longer be possible to guarantee a cheque under the Scheme after this date. The decision to close the Scheme was taken by the Payments Council in June 2008 as guaranteed cheque use is in terminal decline.

Please be advised that, in line with other retailers, First Great Western will no longer accept any personal cheques for the payment of rail travel or rail travel-related products from 1st July 2011.
Additionally, acceptance of Company Cheques from this date will be restricted to the purchase of Annual Season Tickets only.

Customers wishing to make high value purchases using a debit or credit card are advised to inform their card issuer in advance, as authorisation may be required.

[grahame]

Chris - many thanks for letting us know that.  Not really surprising; almost everywhere I go, places say "we no longer take cheques".

The decision to close the Scheme was taken by the Payments Council in June 2008 as guaranteed cheque use is in terminal decline.

Hmmm ... if you think (or want) something to be in terminal decline, one way you can do it is to withdraw the facility.  You're then going to be 100% sure you don't have any business  .   I seem to remember some railway services being withdrawn in the past which resulted in 100% traffic loss.

[Brucey]

I find cheques a very archaic method of transferring money between parties.  There are some arguments that people give for retaining them (e.g. the elderly or charities), but as some countries have managed without cheques for many years, there must be alternatives for these groups.

Even our local self-employed plumber takes credit cards through a portal machine.  He says it is cheaper to rent the machine than drive to the bank and deal with bounced cheques.

[ChrisB]

Portal machines only work where you have mobile phone reception.

Charities usually work on the dual-signature method....difficult to find a way around this.

[Ollie]

On a similar note for another operator that shares some of our route. South West Trains will stop accepting personal cheques from 26th June.

[LiskeardRich]

Asda, Mcdonalds, Tesco all stopped accepting them years ago, so not surprised they're being withdrawn now more

[JayMac]

AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know) the only two major retailers still accepting personal cheques (with guarantee card) are Marks and Spencer and John Lewis/Waitrose.

Used the last cheque in my book last week in Waitrose Clifton.

Now I'll only be able to spend money I actually have in my account. No more using a cheque knowing that by the time it's processed I'll have cleared funds. 

Hey ho. That's progress I suppose. 

[Mookiemoo]

Now I'll only be able to spend money I actually have in my account. No more using a cheque knowing that by the time it's processed I'll have cleared funds. 

Hey ho. That's progress I suppose. 

You can buy train tickets on board knowing that by the time they downoad the ticket machine thing and process it there will be money in the account - thats the reason I still buy on the train these days

[Phil]

So far this month I have:

* Applied for a licence to run an event. Posted the completed paperwork off along with a cheque for the required amount as directed by Wiltshire Council.

* Received a bill from my garage for a car service and MOT that took place in mid-May. They invoice their customers (account holders anyway) at the end of the month in which the work takes place, so at the start of June I returned the tear-off slip with a cheque for the full amount.

* Sent a cheque and covering letter to a very nice man in Barrow-in-Furness who was advertising some vintage model railway equipment for sale (he didn't take PalPal )

* Paid a small local company for a garden shed that was delivered and put up for me. By writing a cheque for the full amount, whilst stood in the garden admiring said handiwork together.

[ChrisB]

Cherques will continue until at least 2016 - it's just that the guarantee card expires on 30 June 2011. Banks will refuse to honour any gurantees on cheques dated after 30 June.

(So, if the payee agrees, you actually have until 30 December to issue back-dated guaranteed cheques to 30 June - cheques have a six-month shelf-life)

[Super Guard]

Now I'll only be able to spend money I actually have in my account. No more using a cheque knowing that by the time it's processed I'll have cleared funds. 

Hey ho. That's progress I suppose. 

I thought you were supposed to have sufficient funds in your bank when you write a cheque regardless? 

[LiskeardRich]

Now I'll only be able to spend money I actually have in my account. No more using a cheque knowing that by the time it's processed I'll have cleared funds. 

Hey ho. That's progress I suppose. 

I thought you were supposed to have sufficient funds in your bank when you write a cheque regardless? 

officially yes. although if you were paid on a Friday, you could easily get away with paying by cheque on a wednesday or thursday. When my company used to accept cheques they were all banked on a monday morning, so if you paid with one on a tuesday it wouldnt not be presented to the bank till the following Monday leaving 6 days to arrange funds, although the customers didnt know that

[broadgage]

Strictly speaking, yes funds should be available in the account before a cheque was issued.
In practice though a great many people used to issue cheques a few days before payday or other income.
If there was a bank holiday involved, or if the cheque was sent by post up to a weeks leeway was in practice available.
Cash cheque in local pub on a Friday preceeding a bank holiday, they cant bank it until Teusday, and the money wont leave the account until Thursday at the earliest.

I think that technicly it is fraud, though it was widespread.

[Super Guard]

I know officially most people commit cheque fraud so to speak - it just amused me that BNM was upset at the progress of having to follow the law by having funds when payment was made