am I the only person left who doesn't

[disneymom3]

I work in a toy store. We use a system that electronically deducts the funds from the checking account-kind of like a visa debit card except it takes the same amount of time to clear as the actual check would. So when people are getting out their checkbook, we have this little speech of "We use an electronic checking system here. All you have to do is give me the blank check and your driver's license and your voided check will be returned to you." Talk about driving you insane!!! People actually say, "Yes, I know." And continue to write out the whole dang check. And then, before they give you the DL, they do the math in their check book. HELLO! Do you realize it's the Christmas seasona nd there are 20 people in line behind you? And then there are the people who get really mad at us....Sorry, but if that's a stolen check, we really don't want to be out the $300 in toys it just cost us. Had a guy in last week who tried to write a check for two $250 gift cards. Check didn't go through. Too many bad guys out there.

 

[fireplug]

Okay I have to ask, cause I live out here in the sticks where we still use checks, How do you all pay those Credit card bills if not with a check. I know that you can pay somethings online but didn't know you can pay everything online

Steve

 

[Mishetta]

I write a check for everything BUT I do have it all filled out (except for the amount of course) by the time my order is done. I hate to carry cash & I don't like to use my CC.

 

[Silky]

Steve, our credit card bills are paid online directly out of our checking account. I just go into our Amex or Visa site, click-click, and it's done . All other bills which I would normally pay through the mail are handled via on-line banking. No postage. No hassle.

 

[Scarlett & Rhett]

I hate being behind someone who writes a check, they take to long.

 

[Silky]

Scarlett and Rhett, I promise that when we eventually are stranded on a desert island togther, checks will NOT be allowed . You'll be able to pay for my "services" with coconuts

 

[Pee Wee Herman]

Originally posted by Silky
Scarlett and Rhett, I promise that when we eventually are stranded on a desert island togther, checks will NOT be allowed . You'll be able to pay for my "services" with coconuts

Can I come too

 

[Silky]

Originally posted by Pee Wee Herman
Can I come too

Sure, when they let you out . Don't get any ideas, however, about climbing into my hammock .....

 

[browneyes]

I can write a check and balance my checkbook faster than anyone could swipe their credit/debit card and wait to sign their name. I'm a speed writer.

 

[jipsy]

Here's a hint: Don't go shopping if you are in a hurry. You will ALWAYS get behind someone who wants to write a check or pay with all the change in their pocket or has 45 coupons to be scanned. If you are not in a hurry to do your shopping, then you can just enjoy the experience. Try striking up a conversation with someone in line - hey! Maybe even the little old lady writing the check! You'll probably make her day.

Some of you make it sound like people who still like to write checks are lower class citizens or something.

What does frustrate me is people who use a debit or cc, and it takes them five minutes to figure out how to swipe the damn thing. There is a picture showing you which way to turn it.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Originally posted by jipsy


How does using a credit card vs. writing a check help you catch mistakes before they happen as items are being rung up?

If I am filling out the check while the items are being rung up, I can't watch the prices.

Does that help?

 

[disneychrista]

I think I write ONE check a month and thats for rent, everything else I use my Disney Visa or online bill pay, for the few that I can't use a Visa for.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Originally posted by jipsy
Here's a hint: Don't go shopping if you are in a hurry. .

I won't speak for anyone else, but if I waited for a unhurried shopping trip, I would never go shopping!

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I don't see why anyone would use a check. If you use a debit card the money comes out of the same place.. and if your bank is charging you for debit card use? Get a new bank!

 

[browneyes]

I like writing checks. Besides, I have free checks with some side benefits added in with the club I'm in at my bank.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
I don't see why anyone would use a check. If you use a debit card the money comes out of the same place.. and if your bank is charging you for debit card use? Get a new bank!

I plan to change banks. We've been shopping around and I think we've found an insitution without fees, finally.It seems like all of the banks around here are merging and changing name every other month. Our bank merged a year and a half ago and I've really disliked the new organization since the change. Fee for this, fee for that. Ridiculous. Our original account had no fees and they switched us in to an interest bearing account. I don't know why, the most I've earned is less than 20 cents per month, less than $2 for the year in 2002.

I pay a few bills online through the company websites, others I still write check and deliver locally, very few are mailed. I hate writing a check at a store. I can't use my dc at the dept store where I work because I forfeit my employee discount- a cost saving measure since the fees are like $2 per transaction. We can pay by any other means than VIsa/MC or Disc, they don't accept Amex period. I'm trying to pay off the dept store cards I have so I will have more money in my pocket, for more trips to WDW.

 

[believe]

I usually have cash, but tonight I will be writing checks. I do not have a debit card and I will not be switching banks in order to get one without a fee...my bank has too many other advantages to switch. I will say that at the places I use checks, when I do, they fill the check out...I only have to sign the bottom of the check. It takes the same amount of time as using a credit card or debit card. I would hate to see how upset you get when individuals are having price checks completed.

 

[kramer_clan]

A lot of people do not realize that if they have a check/debit card (with MC or Visa emblem on it), they need to use it as a credit card in order not to receive bank fees.

I do not use my check card because I basically use a secondary electronic account to pay for groceries, haircuts, etc..... I can't use the debit/check card because it comes out of the primary account which my husband manages to pay bills.

However, I often tell people in the grocery line to use it as a credit card to avoid bank fees.

Vicki

 

[ahutton]

Although I don't agree with it, I can answer why some banks are starting to charge fees if you use your debit card but not if you use the same card as a credit card. If you use a credit card there is a percentage fee the retailer absorbs as part of their cost of being able to accept credit cards, if you use a debit card there is no fee. That is why many retailers will ask you if you have a PIN if you swipe a VISA card - it saves them from having to pay the percentage fee if it is a debit transaction. And the bank will encourage you to use your card as a VISA so the retailer does have to pay the fee.

I heard a funny commercial about bank fees the other day. It is a phone call where they teller is giving a customer a hard time because she hasn't had any fees billed on her account, so they are going to charge her a Fee Avoidance Fee... I believe it is an add for Washington Mutual who is now doing Totally Free Checking.

 

[clkelley]

I havn't written a personal check in over 10 years. I use my debit card or Diner's Club for everything, pay some bills through their internet sites, and the rest through my online banking system. They will mail a hardcopy check for those merchants that they don't have an electronic agreement with. I only pay $1 per month for all of this. The best thing about my online banking is if I key it in 5 business days before the bill is due, if it gets lost, the bank will negotiate to waive the late charges or pay them for me!! If I mailed a check and it got lost in the mail, that wouldn't happen. They also have the system available by phone as a backup, incase I can't get to a computer

Every once in a blue moon, I have to get a money order for some odd thing, but with PayPal, I've even managed to avoid some of that.

Carol