Checks! (Cheques!)

[Lincsong]

Well, considering how many bounced checks I've encountered in my line of work I can understand why a fee would be charged.lol C'mon bouncing a $13.25 check?

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Oh, that must've been the one my hubby wrote lol lol

 

[Sunny]

Thanks for the helpful ideas, people! I never thought of seeing what my bank has to offer.

As far as expressing myself... I'm not taking anything that has been said personally. I think it's ludicrous that it's become a controversy. If anyone cares, I want personalized checks because I like to look at things I like, because they make me happy. (I think it's particularly important to be happy when I'm signing money away!) For the same reason I watch movies that I like to look at and put up favorite desktops on my computer and hang photos and paintings on my walls. There are plenty of things that I couldn't care less about being personalized, but if people want them and are willing to pay, I'm glad they're available. I don't see how supplying a legitimate customer demand is a scam.

Incidentally, this is the first box of checks I've ordered since opening my current checking account. That was... let me think... 5 1/2 years ago.

 

[morrigan_aria]

I know this is an old thread but...

Go to www.checksunlimited.com; there you can design your own checks with non-copyrighted photographs. They have done well for me in the past.

Just a thought in case someone is still searching out there.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I've never seen personlised cheques available in the UK but I have seen that some banks, such as NatWest, allow you personalise your debit card. You pay them £10 and send a picture of your family or whatever you want on the card and they print it on a plastic debit card for you.

https://adaptcard.natwest.com/viewlibrary.aspx

I suppose for added security you could get one that said "do not let anyone else use this card other than pictured" and have a picture of yourself. PhotoID Debit Card. lol

However, my bank did tell me that I could use whatever colour ink I liked to write the cheques.

 

[Cigarband]

CHECKS (CHEQUES) OR DEBIT CARDS?

Something I've noticed over the last couple of years while shopping; the majority of Women I've been in line behind use checks, while Men use debit cards. I find this dichotomy fascinating. I have politely inquired of many Women why they seem to prefer checks. The usual answers I receive are,
1. I just like them better. 2. I like to be able to keep track. 3. Why do you care? Personally, I hate having to carry a checkbook and write a check, rather than just swipe the card and be done with it. I also keep track by saving the receipt and updating my account online. It is always current and balanced. I'm not sure why I care, but I am interested. So, what say you fellow Loungers; are you a Checker or a Swiper?

And I love the idea of a Photo-ID Debit card.:eusa_clap

 

[John in Covina]

Quote: However, my bank did tell me that I could use whatever colour ink I liked to write the cheques.

I don't know that this is or perhaps was at some time a true thing, but I was told by a number of people that your should not use red ink to write checks if your bank uses the check photo system. Supposedly the photo system was blind to some red colors so the photo would not show the information one had written on the check.[huh]

 

[Mike in Seattle]

A lot of stores are starting to refuse to take personal checks (Staples accepts only business checks - everyone else is debit, credit or cash), and some process them on the spot like a debit card. You hand them the check, they run it through their scanner and it prints "Paid" or something, and they hand the check back to you.

But as for the computer checks you print yourself - I've been doing that for years. You can put whatever font, designs, photos, drawings, etc. on the checks. I've got two personal and five business accounts and write a limited number of checks each month, most repetitive once-a-month or once-a-quarter vendors. I don't have to keep several checkbooks taking up space - I just have the computer print & fill out the checks, and sign them, stick them into window envelopes and pop a stamp on them. I can change them seasonally if I want, and it's a lot cheaper than what the bank wants to charge for their imprinted checks, especially on the business accounts. And I don't have money tied up in "paper inventory" for each account.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

It took me awhile to realize this was a resurrected thread. As I read from the beginning I was confused to see references to:

Free Checking accounts??
Washington Mutual??
Stores that still accept paper cheques??

Perhaps we should move our obsessions to the Golden Era of 2006 when these charming antiquities still existed! lol

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Cigarband, many stores in the UK no longer accept cheques such as ASDA (part of Walmart), Tescos, Boots The Chemist, Shell Gas Stations.

What a chap from HSBC says about cheques:
http://www.moneynews.co.uk/7323/hsbc-cheque-usage-in-terminal-decline/

And also:
"Banks and building societies will stop guaranteeing cheques after 30 June 2011. The Payments Council (formerly APACS) announced that the change had been agreed by 24 institutions, including Abbey, Barclays, Halifax Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland."
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/09/cheque-guarantee-cards-to-be-scrapped-185465.jsp

When the cheques are no longer guaranteed I think many, many more shops will no longer accept them.

...I was told by a number of people that your should not use red ink to write checks if your bank uses the check photo system. Supposedly the photo system was blind to some red colors so the photo would not show the information one had written on the check.[huh]

I believe my bank still checks cheques :eusa_doh: by hand when they're paid in, even if you use the automated machine to pay them in. I have checked this at more than one branch and it's true.
But in the case of cheques being scanned I can see that red ink may cause a problem.

 

[Paisley]

Something I've noticed over the last couple of years while shopping; the majority of Women I've been in line behind use checks, while Men use debit cards. I find this dichotomy fascinating. I have politely inquired of many Women why they seem to prefer checks. The usual answers I receive are,
1. I just like them better. 2. I like to be able to keep track. 3. Why do you care? Personally, I hate having to carry a checkbook and write a check, rather than just swipe the card and be done with it. I also keep track by saving the receipt and updating my account online. It is always current and balanced. I'm not sure why I care, but I am interested. So, what say you fellow Loungers; are you a Checker or a Swiper?

And I love the idea of a Photo-ID Debit card.:eusa_clap

Debit card for me. It's one less expense.

My employer is soon going to quit issuing paychecks. You'll have to have a bank account to get paid around here.

 

[Miss 1929]

Some of each

I use the debit card for EVERYTHING - except paying the band members.
I have fairly simple checks from my bank that have a little bit of graphic, in an Art Deco sort of style. Not at all anachronistic really.


Of course, ANYTHING with your bank account numbers, the date, who it is to, how much it is for and your signature, is legally a check. It will confuse the bank, but legally, it's a check even if you write it on a bar napkin or a slice of baloney or a bar of soap. Could be fun...

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

I use the debit card for EVERYTHING - except paying the band members.
I have fairly simple checks from my bank that have a little bit of graphic, in an Art Deco sort of style. Not at all anachronistic really.


Of course, ANYTHING with your bank account numbers, the date, who it is to, how much it is for and your signature, is legally a check. It will confuse the bank, but legally, it's a check even if you write it on a bar napkin or a slice of baloney or a bar of soap. Could be fun...

You pay your band in baloney? They must be really dedicated.