Re the article on banking:
http://www.uk-yankee.com/ukinfo/banking.phpI see a couple of things which might benefit from a comment.
A sample cheque, note the pounds and pence are both written out and ended with "only". With some cheques, there is no line for the signature, but it still goes there. Any account or other reference numbers are written on the back, and generally are not endorsed (signed on back) as was in the US. Pounds and pence are both written out, finishing with "only".
So long as the pounds are written out in full, the banks seem to be happy. Many people write the pence as just figures, e.g. "Four pounds & 95 pence" and add "only" only if it's a round number of pounds, e.g. "Ten pounds only."
I've never had a query using my preferred method of writing pence as fractional pounds either, e.g. "Twenty-five 75/100 pounds" for £25.75.
I've come across instances where cheques are to be "Crossed Account Payee Only". I still don't know what this means exactly, and no one I ask knows much either, so if you know, please comment.
It is supposed to be a safeguard which allows the check (cheque) to be deposited only into the account of the specified person.
The older British checks were more like U.S. ones, just with "Pay ______ or Order" and no cross lines. The recipient could then endorse the back to pass it on to somebody else, if required, e.g. "Pay to the order of Mr. John Doe" followed by his signature. John Doe could then deposit the check into his account. Or of course, the original recipient could just endorse the back with his signature and either deposit it to his own account or cash it.
By crossing the check with vertical or diagonal lines and adding "A/C Payee Only", the check can then
only be deposited to the account of the specified payee. He cannot cash the check, or endorse it over to a third party.
These days, the banks supply checks which are pre-crossed and marked "A/C Payee Only" as standard. If you look closely, you'll see that they no longer have the "or Order" part after the payee's name either. It is still possible to get uncrossed checks to special order (at least it was a few years ago), although I think with the present paranoia about money "laundering" and identity theft most banks are somewhat reluctant to supply them.
Credit is another story, strangely, as they don't use an equivalent of a Social Security number here, part of the information that they use to evaluate your credit applications is your address. I find this grossly unfair, if you've just moved into a residence where the last occupant had bad credit, it may affect your ability to aquire credit.
Unfortunately, the credit check is indeed on the address as well as the name, and I agree that it is grossly unfair. I actually ran into this when moving to my present address and transferring telephone service, even though I have an excellent payment record with BT going back many years (and in fact I used to work for them!).
It's particularly annoying when you see the question "Previous address if less than 3 years at present address" on a credit aplication, because anyaddress you put down will be run through the creit bureau as well. If you've only just moved, no problem, but if you've been away a couple of years that's ample time for somebody else to have gotten a bad credt listing for that address.
