No Personal Checks

[metricmonkeywrench]

Needing to do a bit of work on the wifeys car I stopped by my closest Ogreen chain parts store to gather the needed supplies. Everything was on hand and when I asked for the total to write out my check the lip ringed (different rant) clerk told me they no longer take personal checks and I would have to use a credit card or cash. I asked when this went into effect and she didn’t know. I asked for the manager and she replied that she was the shift manager. I promptly turned on my heel and walked out of the store before going off on her.

Not sure if this was a one off but we are ever cautious of where or when we use a credit card, and I normally don’t carry much cash on hand either, it just seems to melt out of my pocket.

Even at the height of the ‘rona scare most everyone around here at least still took checks.

Is this becoming more common in a push to go to a system where all your purchases can be tracked fo targeted marketing and knowing where you spend your money?

The old faithful red&yellow checkered flag parts store was as always more than willing to take my cash substitute.

[georgerkahn]

I hear you as I am pretty much always endeavoring to pay with a personal cheque. In addition to not depleting cash from my wallet -- it kind of tells me where my money is going, simply by looking at the register. My annoyance where they take my cheque, they too often want to see my driver's license. HUH? Is there any law one might know of that mandates one has a valid driver's license to be able to pay with a cheque? I have both (the long and short) license numbers committed to memory and most clerks will simply punch the numbers I give them into their machine... and it works.
Still.... a nuisance!
geo

[Bookworm]

So get a debit card, free from your bank, that is linked to your checking account. Everyone accepts them.

No big deal.

[starnbar]

No don't get any card linked to your bank account get a DEBIT card and when you need to put money in it do it. I pay cash or debit with no link to my bank or me.

[Murphy]

I pay all my monthly bills by check, zero problems. I would venture to say, 99% of the buying I do is by check. I will send a U.S. Postal Money Order if need be. I don't care to have any banking or credit card information sent online. Once in a blue moon, the wife will need something we can only get on Evilbay. Last year, we used it and within the month our credit card company notified us about some unusual activity on our card. About $15 worth of movie rentals online you have to have account for to rent from. I contacted the movie rental outfit and they apologized and refunded the money within minutes. Our credit card company sent us a new card within the week.

My take is a lot of companies and smaller outfits would just as soon it be all electronic transfer. Why? At the end of the day, no cash to be robbed of. 2nd, a lot of people passing bad/bogus checks and them getting left empty handed. And lastly, no daily run to the bank. Let's not forget the lack of people who can't make change in todays world, they're out there.

Murphy

[Bookworm]

No don't get any card linked to your bank account get a DEBIT card and when you need to put money in it do it. I pay cash or debit with no link to my bank or me.

Okay, get a debit card, as I stated, and have it pull from (linked to) a special account that isn't your checking account.

No big deal.

Either way, the debit card has to draw from (debit) an account somewhere. That somewhere will probably be a bank.

That bank account doesn't need to be a checking account, but it does need to be an account at a bank. And it needs to be linked to the card, because it needs to debit some account somewhere.

Slightly different from what I originally posted, in regard that it's a special account.

No big deal.

[Winger Ed.]

I used to write checks for purchases.
When some place didn't want to take it, I told them, "Sure, no problem, put it on this credit card and lose 4% when they pay you".

[metricmonkeywrench]

Bookworm, your missing the point, like any modern citizen I have a wallet full of various cards I could have used, but prefer not to. Most businesses utilize an electronic accounting system that verify or makes the sale at the point of purchase for the check.

I tried to get a separate pay as you go card from my credit union to do these mundane tasks, but again they want to link it to my main accounts. Pre paid credit cards bring their own trouble, I got one for my birthday and I couldn’t use it to buy anything firearm or reloading related in a store and online.

[ascast]

my local family dollar has stopped taking checks - not sure what this means

[Handloader109]

It means that the days of checks are numbered. Banks want to kill them and just go electronic. Gov wants to track.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[cwtebay]

As a business owner, I would love to take cheques with impunity. But at a 16% NSF rate - I stopped taking them from anyone that's not been a client for more than 3 years. I cannot count how many hours were spent chasing down bad cheques and the tens of thousands of dollars that were never collected. The country attorney stopped help several years ago, and that was the hint that I needed.
Kind of a not so funny aside on the subject - I put up a bulletin board with each and every NSF cheque in plain public view inside of my business, I got a letter from a (former) client's attorney that I was defaming those fine folks and demanded they be removed from view. My attorney agreed that I could be liable so I took it down.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Mk42gunner]

As a business owner, I would love to take cheques with impunity. But at a 16% NSF rate - I stopped taking them from anyone that's not been a client for more than 3 years. I cannot count how many hours were spent chasing down bad cheques and the tens of thousands of dollars that were never collected. The country attorney stopped help several years ago, and that was the hint that I needed.
Kind of a not so funny aside on the subject - I put up a bulletin board with each and every NSF cheque in plain public view inside of my business, I got a letter from a (former) client's attorney that I was defaming those fine folks and demanded they be removed from view. My attorney agreed that I could be liable so I took it down.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Sad that a deadbeat would rather pay an attorney to make threats than pay to pickup the bounced check.

Between paying my own bills along with Mom's, I usually write less than ten checks per month anymore.

I would rather pay cash, that way I know exactly how much money I have to spend. No more green stuff, no more new toys.

I have had a debit card number stolen recently, fortunately the bank caught it and it didn't cost me anything except inconvenience.

Robert

[Bmi48219]

I write checks on occasion as a way to prove I paid a bill. Don’t see much difference risk-wise between checks and Debit cards. After all a check has your name, address, signature AND your actual checking account number on it, debit cards don’t have your address, if you do have to sign often as not it’s with your finger on an electronic screen and the card number is not your actual account number. Banks usually let you off the hook for fraudulent card charges. Most places that accept cards don’t look at your signature on back of card anymore. Instead of a signature I write ‘CHECK ID’ on back of my card, but no one does.
I’ve been in businesses lately that don’t accept cash! Like I’m going to use a card to buy a coffee.

[cwtebay]

Sad that a deadbeat would rather pay an attorney to make threats than pay to pickup the bounced check.

Between paying my own bills along with Mom's, I usually write less than ten checks per month anymore.

I would rather pay cash, that way I know exactly how much money I have to spend. No more green stuff, no more new toys.

I have had a debit card number stolen recently, fortunately the bank caught it and it didn't cost me anything except inconvenience.

Robert

Yep, crazy the rights folks have when they are being a deadbeat or the money they can seem to come up with when it suits them.
The term "in forma pauperis" is one that really infuriates me. Just sue everyone that you've ever met or done business with, the defendant has to respond to avoid summary judgement, doesn't cost a dime and most law schools will actually help with the suit for nothing to boot. You're bound to hit paydirt eventually!

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[legend 550]

Around here you don't even fill out the check if you don't want to. They run it through a scanner and it just works like a debit, deposits the money in their account and cancels the check and they give it back to you.

[Huskerguy]

I would encourage everyone to check out who our president is proposing to head our money/banking systems in the U.S. She is from Russia and was a Lenin scholarship award winner. Read her comments and this of some other political elites and you will see where this is headed.

We pay some bills with checks, some with automatic pay. Prefer to pay some.businesses cash so they can make more money from not having fees. If I am not mistaken, it used to be you had to shoe ID to use a check or a credit card but I am.showing my age. If the business knew you, they didn't enforce it. Then businesses got lazy and credit cards/banks absorbed the losses through fees.

[StuBach]

Have to agree with the earlier post from the business owner. As a business consultant to over 30 business in the past 5 years I cannot in good conscience advise anyone accept checks. It takes too long for a check to bounce and by than who knows where the person is.

I used to run a business, major chain brand retailer, where we had a list of local patrons that were regulars we would accept checks from. Maybe 25 people on the list. I still had over a $1000 in bounced checks in the last year we allowed them. Each and every one of them ended up paying collections to get the amount cleared but then collections takes their cut before you get pennies on the dollar.

Unfortunately, people don’t know how to manage money any more and businesses have had to take steps to protect themselves which inconveniences those who can be trusted.

Our country is headed towards a time when cash will even be looked down on. If you look at what’s happened in the pandemic, no one wants to deal with accepting currency/checks, too easy to allow the system to process it for you and, on a side note, easier to manage theft within your business too. Cash is too hard to track, cards are easy.

Sad commentary on the trust ability of some of our fellow Americans.

[farmerjim]

I write about 8 checks per year. Everything else is electronic or cash.
In my farming sales of vegetables to customers I have not gotten a bad check in 25 years.

[Nazgul]

One problem with a check is it has all your info on iy. Check acct #, usually imprinted with name, address, phone #, etc. Personally I use my credit card from an airline. Get points when I pay it off every months, and a free flight on occasion. No interest and an itemized statement where the money goes. Easy to check and correct wrong charges.

Don

[Lloyd Smale]

dont carry a check book anymore. Use my debit card for about everything. Keep a couple hundred in cash is my wallet for just in case. Most of my bills are on auto pay. I have two that i write a check for every month but thats about it for checks. Still remember the days before computers when i had to keep a pen record of my checks in the check book. Dont miss it a bit.