4 ms·

“Checks were not cashed in a timely manner or just lost altogether” only in the US of A, or movies from 70s, something like this.

petercooper 3y ago
To be fair, my mother is in a protracted situation with one of Europe's largest banks and the UK government's savings scheme. She made a transfer of a sum of money to the savings scheme but the bank refused for various reasons, yet the savings scheme acted as if they had received it. She now has the lump sum in both the bank account and the savings scheme with both of them claiming everything is fine and refusing to investigate further unless she files an official complaint at having 2x the money(!) If a global bank and the UK government can't figure this stuff out, I can certainly see how a company like Fisker might drop the ball.
- mvdtnz 3y ago
  OP was commenting on the use of cheques, which is comical in the rest of the world. Banking errors can happen anywhere.
  - bigiain 3y ago
    Yep. I remember having a chequebook. Pretty sure it was around the mid 1990s. I don't remember ever using one, or ever renewing the chequebook. I don't think I've seen an actual paper cheque since the job I quit in 1998. (I'm from Australia.)
- 0cf8612b2e1e 3y ago
  Guess she should close the savings account and see how much they send her?
- throwway120385 3y ago
  "Bank error in your favor. Collect $200."
  - RajT88 3y ago
    An extremely accurate way to describe it. $200 back when Monopoly was made is equivalent to ~$4500 USD.
- foobarian 3y ago
  Heh. Couple months ago my mortgage company applied a payment to two consecutive months, also paid by paper check. Maybe check processing skills are getting lost from the workforce.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    I am now trying to set up direct deposit in an investment account I own. Despite being able to buy and sell online in that account, to enable direct deposit I need to mail them a paper form, with notarized signature, and include a voided blank check. I have not written a paper check in years and I'm not even sure I have any.
    - jfray2k22 3y ago
      Most banks will print a sheet of 3 on demand at a branch. I think they're called counter checks? I haven't used a checkbook in probably about a decade, so when they've been needed for some reason, I just get those.
ClassyJacket 3y ago
Truly. I had no idea anyone was still using cheques in 2024. Why weren't they simply doing bank transfers? I don't know if you even could buy a car with a cheque in Australia. In fact we're ending the cheque system entirely in the next few years. I'm 34 and have never written a cheque, and only received about 4 - none of which were in the last 5 years.
- firecall 3y ago
  You can get a Bank Cheque! I've purchased a car privately this way. Although, very sensibly, the seller met us at his bank and paid the Cheque in to his account whilst we were there. Fake Bank Cheques are a thing. I havent used a Cheque Book since the late 1990s. We used to order take-away food in London and then pay with a Cheque and Cheque Guarantee Card when the driver got to the door! Which of course meant you could buy food on a Friday if you had no money and didnt get paid until Monday! LOL :-) The original BNPL Scheme! ;-) But yes, I dont think they issue Cheque Books here in AU anymore. And if they did, what would you even do with one! Can you imagine trying to pay in a shop with one!
  - bigiain 3y ago
    > You can get a Bank Cheque! > I've purchased a car privately this way. I've done that, for a motorcycle. It was in 1999. I've bought a dozen or so vehicles since, all paid either in cash (for inexpensive ones) or bank transfer (anything over about $10,000). I'm also in AU.
- Talanes 3y ago
  To shed some light on why Americans kept checks for so long: I'm 33 and have never done a bank transfer. I can't even say what the flaws in our system are, because I grew up in a family where it was never considered as an option: money was sent as cash or checks only.
  - usr1106 3y ago
    I moved Finland 30 years ago. Checks for private customers did no longer exist at that time. (Checks for businesses reportedly still existed a couple of years.) Since the pandemic started I have not carried a wallet (paying cash was seen as some kind anti-social behavior with high risk to infect someone) There are zero places where I would need cash. An increasing number of places does not accept cash. For some ten years we have had international account numbers (IBAN). Transfers inside the Euro zone cost nothing (included in every basic account package) and take one banking day. Nowadays there are several transfer apps where the transfer takes seconds or less. I am not using those because I run a Google-free Android and have root on my phone.
indymike 3y ago
I sometimes advise small and midsize businesses that are having financial problems. Most of them have this exact issue: accounts receivable are a mess. Often, it's because they try outsourcing it to their accountant, who means well but doesn't quite understand that trading money for services/products is the core function of most businesses. Often, instead of buying billing/POS software that fits the business, the accountant has everything being billed out of quick books, and no one but accounting has access to it. * Sales can't price products accurately and quickly and eventually get frustrated with being stuck with quota pressure and no way to sell the product. Eventually, they start doing bad deals. * Cash and payment handling is not disciplined. So think PCI nightmare and easily pilfered cash and checks. * Eventually, the issue becomes, "Where did all the money go?" This problem is usually really easy to fix as long as the financial problems haven't turned malignant.

petercooper 3y ago

To be fair, my mother is in a protracted situation with one of Europe's largest banks and the UK government's savings scheme. She made a transfer of a sum of money to the savings scheme but the bank refused for various reasons, yet the savings scheme acted as if they had received it. She now has the lump sum in both the bank account and the savings scheme with both of them claiming everything is fine and refusing to investigate further unless she files an official complaint at having 2x the money(!) If a global bank and the UK government can't figure this stuff out, I can certainly see how a company like Fisker might drop the ball.

mvdtnz 3y ago
OP was commenting on the use of cheques, which is comical in the rest of the world. Banking errors can happen anywhere.
- bigiain 3y ago
  Yep. I remember having a chequebook. Pretty sure it was around the mid 1990s. I don't remember ever using one, or ever renewing the chequebook. I don't think I've seen an actual paper cheque since the job I quit in 1998. (I'm from Australia.)
0cf8612b2e1e 3y ago
Guess she should close the savings account and see how much they send her?
throwway120385 3y ago
"Bank error in your favor. Collect $200."
- RajT88 3y ago
  An extremely accurate way to describe it. $200 back when Monopoly was made is equivalent to ~$4500 USD.
foobarian 3y ago
Heh. Couple months ago my mortgage company applied a payment to two consecutive months, also paid by paper check. Maybe check processing skills are getting lost from the workforce.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  I am now trying to set up direct deposit in an investment account I own. Despite being able to buy and sell online in that account, to enable direct deposit I need to mail them a paper form, with notarized signature, and include a voided blank check. I have not written a paper check in years and I'm not even sure I have any.
  - jfray2k22 3y ago
    Most banks will print a sheet of 3 on demand at a branch. I think they're called counter checks? I haven't used a checkbook in probably about a decade, so when they've been needed for some reason, I just get those.

ClassyJacket 3y ago

Truly. I had no idea anyone was still using cheques in 2024. Why weren't they simply doing bank transfers? I don't know if you even could buy a car with a cheque in Australia. In fact we're ending the cheque system entirely in the next few years. I'm 34 and have never written a cheque, and only received about 4 - none of which were in the last 5 years.

firecall 3y ago
You can get a Bank Cheque! I've purchased a car privately this way. Although, very sensibly, the seller met us at his bank and paid the Cheque in to his account whilst we were there. Fake Bank Cheques are a thing. I havent used a Cheque Book since the late 1990s. We used to order take-away food in London and then pay with a Cheque and Cheque Guarantee Card when the driver got to the door! Which of course meant you could buy food on a Friday if you had no money and didnt get paid until Monday! LOL :-) The original BNPL Scheme! ;-) But yes, I dont think they issue Cheque Books here in AU anymore. And if they did, what would you even do with one! Can you imagine trying to pay in a shop with one!
- bigiain 3y ago
  > You can get a Bank Cheque! > I've purchased a car privately this way. I've done that, for a motorcycle. It was in 1999. I've bought a dozen or so vehicles since, all paid either in cash (for inexpensive ones) or bank transfer (anything over about $10,000). I'm also in AU.
Talanes 3y ago
To shed some light on why Americans kept checks for so long: I'm 33 and have never done a bank transfer. I can't even say what the flaws in our system are, because I grew up in a family where it was never considered as an option: money was sent as cash or checks only.
- usr1106 3y ago
  I moved Finland 30 years ago. Checks for private customers did no longer exist at that time. (Checks for businesses reportedly still existed a couple of years.) Since the pandemic started I have not carried a wallet (paying cash was seen as some kind anti-social behavior with high risk to infect someone) There are zero places where I would need cash. An increasing number of places does not accept cash. For some ten years we have had international account numbers (IBAN). Transfers inside the Euro zone cost nothing (included in every basic account package) and take one banking day. Nowadays there are several transfer apps where the transfer takes seconds or less. I am not using those because I run a Google-free Android and have root on my phone.

indymike 3y ago

I sometimes advise small and midsize businesses that are having financial problems. Most of them have this exact issue: accounts receivable are a mess. Often, it's because they try outsourcing it to their accountant, who means well but doesn't quite understand that trading money for services/products is the core function of most businesses. Often, instead of buying billing/POS software that fits the business, the accountant has everything being billed out of quick books, and no one but accounting has access to it. * Sales can't price products accurately and quickly and eventually get frustrated with being stuck with quota pressure and no way to sell the product. Eventually, they start doing bad deals. * Cash and payment handling is not disciplined. So think PCI nightmare and easily pilfered cash and checks. * Eventually, the issue becomes, "Where did all the money go?" This problem is usually really easy to fix as long as the financial problems haven't turned malignant.