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I am posting this thread in order to vent my frustration rather that actually ask for any help!
Earlier today we went shopping in Morrisons, we only needed a few bits, around £20 worth for dinner and some nappies etc. As it is the end of our financial month my partner wanted to pay with a cheque. Cleared funds will be available in the account tomorrow morning so no problem there.
We arrive at the till and hand the checkout operator the cheque (to print) and the guarantee card. Whilst I am finishing the packing I notice that she is having a really good look at the card, I ask if everything is ok and she tells me she is looking for the account number. My partner shows her the account number at the bottom of the cheque but apparently it should also be on the card!!
She calls her manager and by this time the obligatory queue of frustrated customers has formed behind us, all craning their necks to see what is causing the hold up! Meanwhile the checkout operator and manager are examining the card with such suspicion that even I began to feel like we were doing something wrong. Anyway, we were abruptly informed that the card could not be accepted as it didn’t include the account number. We would need to find alternative means of payment. Having no other means of payment available at the time we were forced to leave the shopping and take the very long and embarrassing walk out of the store.
So, for those that are unaware, the guarantee card that your bank issue along with your cheque book is not acceptable in Morrisons unless it has your account number printed on it.
RBS Maestro cards do not, nor do cards from Natwest and I suspect many other banks!
They appear to have rather strictly enforced a rather common policy, which is to ensure that all information on the card and cheque match, not just the signature. This is due to a massive increase in cheque fraud. However, I agree that it is wrong what they say, especially if the printed name was the same as the name on the card.
As a point of note, this is one reason I hate Natwest - the layout of their cards is horrendous!
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
I went to pay by cheque last week, something that I've done a few times over the last 2 years at my local morrisons to be told that they no longer take cheques at all, as it takes to long. (Chip and pin still going)
This really annoys me - I like the flexibility of cheques and use them regularly but many shops now dont take them. I also often feel like a fraudster just because I want to pay by cheque.
This may seem like a stupid question, but what advantages to cheques have at all?? I have never used one in a store, as I cannot see any benefit to them over either my debit card or cash.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
Cleared funds will be available in the account tomorrow morning so no problem there.
Usually to defer payment by a day or two
I am happy to offer helpful advise in many consumer problems based on my retail experience. I do not represent any company, and any advise I do offer is my opinion and how I understand the law. I have no authority to create any terms for any company I do work for and will just nudge you in the right direction without breeching their trust.
2) The card tied to the cheque book by name and sort code.
3) We have paid with a cheque in that very store sometime in Jan.
4) They say this is to avoid fraud......so, by my reconing someone would have to find a chequebook from branch x then find someone with exactly the same name banking at the same branch and steal their guarantee card....because if the criminal is using a cheque and guarantee card that belong together then the only way of avoiding the fraud would be ID verification.
This really doesnt make sense to me at all. I am most frustrated with the attitude of the staff in dealing with this situation. We were both made to feel like we were in the wrong somehow.
I certainly will not be shopping at Morrisons for a long time, if ever!
"If you owe the bank 100 pounds, you're the one with the problem. But if you owe a million pounds, the bank's the one with the problem."
Lord John Maynard First Baron Keynes of Tilton.
"If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem; if you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem".
Although I rarely use cheques requiring the guarantee card these dyas, I should point out that for ny lloydstsb account, my cheque guarantee card is my LlloydsTSB Mastercard.
There is no correlation of account number, sort code. etc. Only the account holder's name (and that is not a direct match as the bank account is joint but the card is not)
The Mastercard has a £100 hologram and a statement that it will guarantee cheques.
I have never had a problem.
BTW, my som works in a BP garage and whilst they state that they do not accept cheques, in reality they will if you state that you have no other means of payment. Furthermore, they have little choice if any notice is not visible on or from the pump as you are filling up.
Complain to Morrisson's Head Office. Most Cheque Cards issued by UK banks DO NOT have the account number. The official rules issued by APACS state that in the case were no account number is shown it is the Sort Code that needs to match, and the account holder's name.
A cheque is a lawful method of payment as long as the shop accepts it.
Shops are not under a legal obligation to accept any form of payment - including cash! What forms are accepted is a part of the contract you form with the shop when you offer to make a purchase and they accept your offer, subject to the conditions that you both put in place.
More and more places are stopping to accept cheques at all, seeing them as a redundent method of payment. They also have a high fraud rate when using them.
A shop can recind the offer of a contract until it has been either mutually accepted or payment has been taken (which is an acceptance), for any reason as far as I am aware (as long as its not on grounds of racism etc)
I am happy to offer helpful advise in many consumer problems based on my retail experience. I do not represent any company, and any advise I do offer is my opinion and how I understand the law. I have no authority to create any terms for any company I do work for and will just nudge you in the right direction without breeching their trust.
...as an aside, from working in a well known store that also no longer accepts cheques, you'll find on the majority of cards (certainly HSBC debit) that both the sort code and account number form part of the card number in the following format...
xxxxSSSSSSAAAAAAAA (where 'S' is the sort code and 'A' is the account number)
Just an aside, I remember using a cheque a few years back but used the wrong card. Operator still accepted it and it got cashed by the bank. I don't know whether I should have been miffed or not!
Just an aside, I remember using a cheque a few years back but used the wrong card. Operator still accepted it and it got cashed by the bank. I don't know whether I should have been miffed or not!
I don't think it matters from your point of view. The shop is the only one who could have lost out, if the bank had refused to pay them for insufficient funds. If the funds are in the account then the guarantee card doesn't affect it.
Morrisons refuse cheque guarantee card
Maestro cards do not, nor do cards from Natwest
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Re: Morrisons refuse cheque guarantee card
Originally Posted by gyzmo
