Problems getting UK bank account.

Off topic question:

If writing cheques is considered an extension of credit, how are bills paid from an account? Sorry if this seems a stupid question, but since all my banking experience is from the US I really don't understand this. I usually have to write a few checks every months to pay a few bills (i.e. water bill, life insurance policy, medical bills, etc) so how are bills paid in the UK?

I pay most of my bills by direct debit/standing order or by online payment on the company's website.

My rent is paid by standing order and I pay the TV licence and Virgin Media (TV, phone, internet) bills by direct debit. For the other bills (gas, electricity, council tax), I just log into my account on the gas/electricity/council tax websites when the bill is ready to be paid and pay it online.

As cheques aren't really accepted anywhere anymore, I don't really write them these days... in fact, I don't think I've even seen my cheque book for about a year; I have no idea where it is .

Utility bills can usually be paid by monthly direct debit or quarterly.

If you pay quarterly, your bill wil be based on usage.

If you pay monthly, the company will estimate how much they think you should be paying over the year, based on your previous usage, and then even it out so you are paying pretty much the same amount each month. They will check your usage periodically and if it goes up or down, they will adjust your monthly bill accordingly (notifying you in advance, of course.)

You will still get quarterly bills (my water company bills semiannually), so you can check them and see if there are any errors.

I switched from quarterly to monthly billing recently and I find it is  much easier to budget.

The company will provide you with a bill so you can check for mistakes.

We pay most of our bills as Sweetpeach and Ksand24 describe.  Pretty much the only things we write cheques for are my daughter's playgroup fees and her dance lessons. Oh and my driving lessons when I was taking them.  Alex still keeps an eye on the online statements (or paper bills from Argos).

Thought of another one - NCT Nearly New Sale.  I definitely write cheques for those as at the moment they aren't taking debit at our local  branch (couldn't get the machines for the next sale as the NCT only has like 10 available to use nationwide).

DH always went into the bank with the payment slip and paid it at the bank until he met me and the internet