I hate cheques
By Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
Manchester, England
September 29, 2015 8:52am CST
I received a refund from British Gas yesterday, which was sent to me by cheque.
British Gas are also the ones with whom I have my solar panels registered, so I receive my government backed payment for generating electricity via British Gas, which is always sent by cheque.
Every time that I go to pay a cheque into the bank I have the same irritating scenario. There are 2 machines in the bank which are designed to accept deposits by either cheque or cash, so when I queue to pay in via the teller I am always informed that there are machines available for this service.
Rather than queue up and then be sent away I always attempt to use the machines first, which rarely work well and usually return my cheque due to some unknown issue. Today was no exception, I tried the machine then took my rejected cheque to the teller, who in turn took me to the machine to demonstrate. When the cheque was rejected she then took the deposit manually at the counter.
I usually anticipate this rigmarole every time I receive a cheque, but for some bizarre reason British Gas insists on paying me that way.
8 people like this
7 responses
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
29 Sep 15
I ran across the strangest thing the other day after opening a new bank account. Apparently you can take your phone. (i don't have that type of phone though :-( duh ) and take a picture of a cheque then send the picture to the bank and it will auto install itself into your account. There is a waiting period for cheques but that method sounded so very easy and highly technical to me.
I always go to the counter and make strange sounding noises and look around the bank like aliens are moving about and the tellers will then do everything for me. That's my method.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
29 Sep 15
This is something that I have never encountered before.
In one respect it sounds illogical because you will retain the cheque despite it having been paid into the bank, but on the other hand it should cause any issue since all cheques have individual numbering and cannot be submitted twice.
Of course I would assume that in a few years this method of transaction will seem as natural as physically taking a cheque to the bank.
1 person likes this
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
29 Sep 15
@Asylum
It seemed to me to be prone to abuse or counterfeiting since it is only a copy but then so are lot of other things. They do take precautions I suspect that is their job and they are keeping records of transactions.
Sure someday they we may have a bar code and that's it. Who knows. I like the older way of banking in a bank in person however as it does not degrade if you know what I mean. We are not just numbers but the ways we can bank are really easy and trouble free.
Maybe your cheque from the power company is a their way of saying you are special. :-)
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
30 Sep 15
They certainly were Anna. As the years progressed I gradually eliminated cheques because more and more companies would accept direct transfers from my account, in fact the majority requested this.
Of course, despite requesting that I pay them by electronic means, British Gas are sarcastic enough to impose the problem of cheques on me once more.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
30 Sep 15
I take the one check I get each month to the bank myself and take it through the drive through. The rest of my business is done online. It is cool that you get this check for your solar panels generating electricity. I have heard of this but didn't know anyone who does it around here.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
30 Sep 15
It may not be in force in the United States.
This is a payment made by the British government in order to encourage individuals to install solar panels and reduce the overall demand for other forms of power. The payments are often quite small, especially in the winter when our Sun tends to hibernate, but even a small payment every quarter is well worth having.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
30 Sep 15
@celticeagle The system changed rapidly here after the scheme was introduced. The government set a level of payment for each kWh of electricity produced, which soon became more expensive than they had anticipated. As a result the rate for anyone installing solar panels from then onwards was vastly reduced in order to keep the cost manageable.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
30 Sep 15
@Asylum .....I think it is available but not many use it. Several different plans for people to use and kinds of solar panels too. It seems to be way different here right now. Where I live anyway which is in the northwest.
@topffer (42156)
• France
29 Sep 15
I have to deposit my cheques myself, and to fill the form if the machine rejects the cheque, as the employees refuse to do it now. For cash, I refuse to use a machine, and I have to growl to make them do the job. With online banking and cards, there are only 1 employee for the public in my bank now, and I heard this morning that a large bank will close soon half of its offices, and that the customers will have to use the mail to send cheques, and their online support
.
.@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
29 Sep 15
Modern banking systems and direct transfers online have made such transactions far easier and quicker, but we are now experiencing inconvenience with some older aspects such as cheque payments.
The majority of companies now want us to pay by either standing order or direct bank transfer, yet still insist on repaying customers with cheques.
1 person likes this
