It won't take effect until 2018. We stopped using cheques here in Germany in 2002 when the Euro came into daily use and I can't say I've missed them.
I do still have an English Bank Account and used a cheque just a few weeks ago when I sent my neice one for her Birthday.

I paid my hairdresser by cheque this morning.

At the moment the only thing I pay by cheque is my milk bill.

So how will Camelot pay me when I win the Lottery? A framed statement of bank transfer hanging on the wall just won't be the same!!

Lets not pretend this is for our good, it is for the convenience of the banks. However lots of small businesses and thousands of clubs and societies will find it very difficult to operate without cheques. When one of your kids goes on a school trip will you send them in with a big wad of cash or will you need to take time off work to take your credit card into school, always providing the school can take plastic (I don't know of any that do) or perhaps you will pay through the school website? Just type your number and details in the box please?

we pay through Parentpay now for trips, excursions, school uniform and just about everything else to do with the school! It seems to work okay and I have had no problems with it

Paid with cheque this week at my grandaughters nursery for precious moments DVD. My daughter had forgotton to take the money in to Nursery in the morning...or so she says
I still use cheques to pay the papers, because I usually forget to pay each week and then it has grown to some ridiculous amount. .
Good job I have an understanding shop keeper.
M

I think the only time I use a cheque is with my Hairdresser I don't carry lots of cash and she is a sole hairdresser so does not use machines or anything - so cheques suit us both.

I am a partner in a small business and use cheques all the time. We are almost always paid by cheque too.Hope to have retired by the time they phase them out!

usualy only use 3 chq's every month.....--

1 to pay my amex acc.
2 to pay my c.c.
3 to pay for goods in the cash n carry....

looks like the days of the cheques are numbered....

mind you i have enough unopened cheque books already in the draw to extend well beyond 2018

Eifion.

I wrote two cheques a couple of weeks ago to send Xmas money to my two nephews who live away. That's the only time I use my cheque book. I hardly ever carry cash either and don't remember the last time I set foot in my bank (Use on-line banking) I normally pay by debit or credit card, make a lot of on-line payments and transfers and direct debits. When I need cash I'll get cashback or use an ATM.

Whilst payment by cheque is now only a small part of business I personally consider it a backward step. For many years I have been saying that not everyone has the internet. Not a silly comment. My wife for instance bought me a computer back in 2000 when our youngest went to Australia for a spell. The idea was we could keep in touch. Well that was the idea but in the event we finally got an email about a week before he came back. But whilst we have had the internet all that time she has never ever wanted to know about it. A computer to her is where she can look at the photos we took on holiday. She would not even know how to switch it on. She is not alone in this as we know many people, including those much younger than us, who do not want to know about computers. People who use computers at work often have no interest in doing so at home.

Whilst we have online banking my wife is only interested in looking at the statements that come through the letter box.

I suspect that whilst the idea is to drop the service it will not take place quite as soon as they say.

On the holiday front I said a while back here on HT that whilst people can get a good deal from the TOs when booking online there is a large number of people who cannot access these deals and are disadvantaged. Elsewhere on HT many people extol the idea of DIY but the travel agents will still be in business for a long time.

fwh

Interestingly enough I have got an email from Thomson reminding the balance is due for our holiday to Turkey in May . They state - Please note that we no longer accept personal cheques. Yet they will accept building society cheques and bankers drafts. No problem as I have the money, but would normally have just posted a cheque to them tomorrow - balance is not due until 13th March.

fwh

And if you don't have a building society account I'm guessing you have to pay for a bankers draft - although I don't know for sure. I also do not like the idea of filling out my debit cards details including expiry date and security number on documents and sending them by post