Check 21: Quicken agent told me that banks won't accept non-compliant checks after January 31, 2006. True or False?

Not sure about whether or not Intuit is trying to hide its call center
location, but why does her name cause you to think this?  Is there a law
that women in India can't be named Margaret?


I live on Quicken and Outlook wrote:

On Thu, 08 Dec 2005 18:59:53 -0500, BRH <BRH> wrote:


The "smug" part comes from other people, really - not you, in this
newsgroup, who declare that India "won" and there is no reason for any
of us in the USA (or other Western societies) to have any issues or
concerns.

ILOO

TALK to your bank.  They ought to be able to give you the straight
scoop.

I will.  But doesn't anyone in this group know for sure?

What Intuit was obviously trying to do is pressure me into an upgrade
to Q2006, having scared me into buying Check 21-compliant checks.

 By the way, what is the difference between a non-compliant and a
compliant check?

ILOO

Re: your original question -- I would think that the deafening silence
speaks volumes.

Re: compliant v non -- that NOT a short answer.  It primarily has to do
with fonts used and placement.  I'd suggest that you check out the Fed
(FRB.gov) or google "check 21" for a complete answer.

Dan

Exactly.  See my followup to my own earler posting.  

Short answer:  there is no such sunset for non-complant checks any
time soon.

Can you at least describe the format and fonts, etc, of a compliant
check?

Doing a Google search was hopeless.  Way, way too many hits.

On the NY Fed's web site, I got 2242 hits for "check 21."  After about
50, I gave up.

On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 23:16:34 -0800, I live on Quicken and Outlook


This is the OP again.

Well, I just got off the phone with my bank (Citibank).  I got a very
nice support guy (Citigold Services) who was clearly stumped by my
questions.  He told me he _never_ gets questions like mine.  

He went offline once to check internal resources - came up blank. He
also called Quicken in Mountain View.  (their WW HQ).   No real info
from them either.  Then he went so far as to call the same Quicken 800
number that I had called to order wallet checks.  After a few minutes
he came back on the line and told me that he spoke to an order agent
who had not told him anything about  a January 31, 2006 sunset for
non-compliant checks.

So my takeaway is that I got an overzealous agent.

I had my doubts about this "story" from the get-go.  How could all
banks refuse to accept non-compliant checks without giving consumers
__years__ of warning?  With lots of publicity.   I think if I had
gotten anything from Citibank along with my monthly statement, I would
have remembered,

Case closed.  (I hope).

I live on Quicken and Outlook wrote:

Regarding "Margaret":  A few months ago, 60 Minutes did a story on how
Call Center operations for MANY companies have been outsourced to India.
  It showed how the employees there work hard to lose their accent (Some
are more successful than others) and also how they are encouraged to
assume American names when on the phone lines.

Quicken is far from alone in this regard.

If you really want read an eye-opening book that covers this sort of
thing (among others), check out "The World is Flat" by Tom Friedman.
You'd better get used to dealing with someone in India for Customer
Support - no matter what the company.

Hi, BRH.


I haven't read that one, but I read this one about 5 years ago:
The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution Is Changing our
Lives
by Frances Cairncross

As I recall, Ms. Cairncross is an editor for The Economist.  Her ideas were
eye-opening then, and are becoming more pertinent with each passing year.
The book has two copyright dates, 1997 and 2001; I'm not sure which edition
I read.

I also recall a Reader's Digest story several years ago about a Japanese
student's struggles, working very hard and overcoming serious obstacles, to
prepare for a career in the IT world.  I told my son, who was majoring in
Computer Information Systems then, that it was not enough to do better than
his classmates here in the US.  "You must prepare to deal with that guy, and
with millions more just like him in many countries around the world, who
will be competing with you for the computing work that you hope will provide
you with a lifetime income."

Complacency has brought us this far (down), and it will take us further
(down) unless we wake up.  Competition is not bad.  It's good.  And we must
compete if we expect to win - or even to hold our own.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
(Retired - no longer licensed to practice)
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net

You take one lousy week off to join Thorax at the Elvis concert, and this
15:26:46 -0600 in alt.comp.software.financial.quicken :

    Short form of "The World is Flat" is that even in Timbuktu, they have
Internet access.   Thanks to that high speed fiber optic network, small
ER's can ship the X-ray to some part of the world where it is "normal
hours", a radiologist already "at work" can look at it, and make the
diagnosis; rather than the ER have to wake one up and have him come in.
    Ex.#2 :Your Toshiba laptop has problems, you call Toshiba.  They tell
you send it in by UPS.  UPS picks it up, takes it to their hub, fixes it,
and sends it back.  Yes, UPS has the Toshiba Laptop repair service
contract, located near their shipping hub.  Toshiba is "outsourcing" their
repair services.
    And in 2004, the Bank of India outsourced their back office to HP.

    The downside is that these same technologies allow for the malevolent
to apply them to their ends as well.
    
    [snip]


    And not just the Japanese, but everyplace else with reliable
electricity.  There are more Chinese students of English than there are
native English speakers in the US.

    First, we're going to have to recognize that the train wreck in on the
way.  Grad students in the Sceinces are not made their senior year of
undergraduate work.,, They are made in the 4th, 5th & 6th grades, when kids
lay down the fundamentals of math & science.
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

Stubby wrote:


If this is supposed to be directed to me; you are inventing
things in your mind.  I am voicing my opinion; if you think that
is "controlling" you've got a lot to learn.


I did not tell you what to think; if you don't understand what I
say, ask me.  Don't make up your own meanings.  One thing you
can bet your life on: I will voice my opinions.

--
John Pollard
First initial underscore Last name at mchsi dot com
Please reply to newsgroup

You take one lousy week off to join Thorax at the Elvis concert, and this
is what happens: BRH <BRH> writes on Wed, 07 Dec 2005 20:20:59 -0500 in
alt.comp.software.financial.quicken :

    And it is starting to include the drive through at McDonalds.

--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?