Why paying with a check is a bad idea and why our company no longer accepts them

[MelindaJoy77]

The only time I pay with checks is when I send bills in the mail; personally I find it easier than paying bills online. I haven't written a check at a store in eight or ten years and that was pretty much only because you could still "float" a check for a day or two at that time. The thing that ticks me off even more is the people who are apparently writing a check in my lane but they need to borrow a pen. Seriously???? If you know you're writing a check, bring a damn pen with you! I have four or five pens in my purse so I'm never searching for one or having to borrow one. Actually, you don't need to fill it out at all because it's pretty much electronic anyway and we give the check back to you. But do they listen when I mention that? No. I always hear the "Jeapordy" music when a customer writes a check in my line.

[Insomnia]

Alas, far too many online payment setups *cost* you several dollars over what a check does.

For example, with my light bill I hsave three choices:
Pay online and pay a $2 service fee.
Pay *in cash* at a deli a mile away and only pay a $1 service charge.
Pay by check in the mail and it only costs me a stamp and an envelope.

Ouch! I can see why you would want to pay by check then. I'm not sure where you live or what electric company you use but in my area we use Ameren and if you choose to pay online or phone you have 3 options: pay by phone ($2.75 fee), online with credit/debit Card ($2.75 fee) or set up an pay account and use a electronic check (free).

I use to use the free method until my bf pointed out my bank has a free "pay your bills" option which will allow you to pay all your bills directly from your bank account manually or automatically each month.

I think most banks have that now. You should ask your bank or login to your account and see. It's really easy to set up.

[cindybubbles]

Back at the restaurant where I used to work as cashier/bartender, we paid our employees in cheques. Then, because said cheques were known to bounce, I had to cash those cheques and hand the cash over to the employees. So their pay depended on the restaurant's revenue of that night.

We also paid cash to our suppliers and any one of the owners or friends who just had to put their hands into the till and grab as much cash as they could. No wonder the two restaurants failed.

[Jack T. Chance]

The # 1 reason many retailers have stopped accepting checks for payment is that there's simply too much check fraud going on. At the tail end of 2005, I started working for Clark's/Bostonian as an Assistant Manager at one of their outlet stores. I was told when I started that the company no longer accepts checks for payment. The reason? During the final fiscal year in which they accepted them, fully 40% of the checks presented to them for payment BOUNCED!

So, yeah, it's just not worth the risk these days.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My best check-writing story happened...not too long ago actually.

I was buying some food for my break and wound up in line behind a lady buying $103 worth of stuff.

She handed the cashier $100 in gift cards of various denominations, and then whipped out her checkbook and wrote a check for the remaining $3.

[Kanalah]

Normally I don't order or carry checks. We have a debit card and mainly use that.

However, my son's school only accepts checks or cash, and also when I want to pay for a craft show booth, I have to send a check in with my application. Very few shows have a paypal option. Even Really Big Craft Show requires a check.

[emax4]

This one lady had a brilliant idea though, seriously..

She buys items, then pays for the items with her store credit card, yielding a 5% discount.
After that, she pays for the amount on her store credit card with a check. Since I knew how to get into the right screens, and as long as there's not a long line behind her, I don't mind doing that for her.

[Pixilated]

I dunno, Canada has pretty much dumped cheques - old people seem to have adapted just fine to their debit cards. And they never bounce

Ya beat me to it. It's pretty much a quaint oddity to find a place here that does take cheques anymore. I haven't used a cheque in I don't know how long ... even the last apartment building I lived in, in the Niagara Region, was about to go to some form of electronic payment for rent.

When I got to My Hometown, I asked the local bank how much they charged for cheques. Answer: $40 and you got 100 cheques. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in those yet-unpacked boxes in the basement there are still a box or three of cheques from My Wonderful Community Credit Union, which will now never be used. There was no way I was going to pay $40 for another 100 cheques.