Dread of paying in a large cheque

Machines outside (or at least in the foyer) seem to be one of the things Canadians can be trusted with, but we cannot. Like right turns on a red light (here it would be left turns). Then again, we can obey 'Yield' signs, but Canadians have to be ordered to 'Stop'.

I usually have problems with the people not the machines. The people somehow 'know' that I must be up to something. Why they 'know' that is beyond me. Must be something about my appearance, I suppose!

Do you remember Zimbabwe Annuity Bonds from soon after their independence. Paid back in full over the five year period. At the time you could insure your capital at Lloyds . Derek

You can't even buy a stamp at the Post Office nowadays without them offering you one of their other services:-) Derek

Well, you can't blame them, with those flailing arms of yours. ;-)

When was the last time you saw a 'Yield' sign in the UK?

In message , Ian Jackson writes

Never. They are 'Give Way' signs,

Gordon H wrote in uk.finance

Assuming we're talking about standard ATMs [1] here where you place your deposit into an envelope and insert it into the ATM, is it not the case that the deposit envelopes are opened in the presence of 2 members of staff, in order to prevent fraud?

[1] Well, standard if you are/were a BSoc or the much-missed TSB, the technology clearly being too advanced for 'traditional' banksters..

Having said that, my banking provider introduced even-fancier lobby ATMs where you could just insert cash or cheques directly (it would even print a scan of your cheque onto your receipt). This was fine until on one occasion it took a bank note, got confused, spitznsparked and then spat out my card without crediting my account or returning the bank note. After a bit of grumbling via online bank messaging, I did get the note credited to my account reasonably promptly, but since then I've gone back to using the more primitive ATM with the envelopes..

David.

For Canadians, that would be what poorly constructed bridges do.

Sometimes I wish banks would tell you about better ways of getting returns on your money (and ways that don't involve dodgy stock investments which is all they're interested in when you see a financial advisor).

A few years back I had a sizeable balance in my Natwest bank, in a deposit account, which seemed sensible enough. Then I discovered that a building society account would pay even more interest.

It turned out I was losing out on some £30pw of interest, for a year or so, by having the money in the wrong sort of account.

But I suppose it's too much for the bank to suggest transferring the money to a competitor (although a genuinely independent, commission-free advisor ought to be able to do so I'd have thought).

(And I've also had bank counter staff asking me, when I happened to have a

5- or 6-figure sum in my current account (usually en-route from one savings account to a better one) whether I'd any plans for the money. And this was during a totally unrelated transaction!)

The Post Office credit card is one of the best cards to have if you travel abroad or make credit cards payments in foreign currency for any other reason.

IME Banks are even worse that just not telling you. They actively go out of their way encourage you to invest in an account that pays you the least

tim

But I wanted stamps.

Yes, the ones that annoy me are those with a highish interest rate for the first 6 months to "hoik you in" as the advert went, but information on what it becomes after the 6 months is hard to find. Then a new account with a fancy name starts up (when will they run out of names?) on the same basis. Of course, you can move your money when you find out about it, but you're losing interest in the meantime. I now have a host of out-of-date accounts, each with a few pence in them because electronic banking will only transfer in pounds. To be fair, though, the 'phone callers from the bank do tell you about these new accounts, and one way to make them feel wanted and go away is to get them to close the pennies accounts.

Chris

In message , Yellow writes

I hope you bought them before the new financial year? I always stock up each year..

In message , chrisj.doran% snipped-for-privacy@gtempaccount.com writes

I switch my ISA every year just before the bonus period ends, into their latest offer. An irksome task which takes me several minutes online.

Switching may not take very long but finding out where the best deal is takes me ages.

In message , Mark writes

I don't sweat the small stuff, and interest rates are small stuff these days. :-(

Better to spend your money (if you have any that is) ;-)