You know you’re getting older when……

[Bald Rick]

Years ago. certainly in January and maybe later as well, you used to see signs by supermarket checkouts saying something like 'When writing cheques please note that we are now in 1992'.

Talking about Cheques!

 

[Killingworth]

Years ago. certainly in January and maybe later as well, you used to see signs by supermarket checkouts saying something like 'When writing cheques please note that we are now in 1992'.

Which reminds me that every cheque was scrutinised by 2 people at your bank. If you put 2025 on a cheque in 2026 it was liable to be returned as 'out of date'. That said most practical bank branches used common sense and wouldn't return a cheque in the first month but anything over 6 months old would, and still will, be returned.

And that reminds of tricks often played by those short of money. They'd deliberately post date or back date a cheque so it would be returned for the technicality rather than for lack of funds - the dreaded 'Refer to drawer'. Other ruses could be used. Words and figures differing. Alteration not confirmed by an initial. Mutilation - cheque torn in half and taped back together. Anything to get the cheque bounced without the dreaded RD stigma, and a charge. Those games must have largely stopped with the demise of cheques but there'll probably still be occasional deliberate uses of these tricks.

 

[contrex]

Which reminds me that every cheque was scrutinised by 2 people at your bank. If you put 2025 on a cheque in 2026 it was liable to be returned as 'out of date'. That said most practical bank branches used common sense and wouldn't return a cheque in the first month but anything over 6 months old would, and still will, be returned.

And that reminds of tricks often played by those short of money. They'd deliberately post date or back date a cheque so it would be returned for the technicality rather than for lack of funds - the dreaded 'Refer to drawer'. Other ruses could be used. Words and figures differing. Alteration not confirmed by an initial. Mutilation - cheque torn in half and taped back together. Anything to get the cheque bounced without the dreaded RD stigma, and a charge. Those games must have largely stopped with the demise of cheques but there'll probably still be occasional deliberate uses of these tricks.

Two can play at those games. Quite often staff in the mailrooms of certain big organisations were coached to get a pen the same colour and make a stab at imitating the sender's writing for missing date, initials, amount in words or figs, and possibly most controversial, the signature... a scrawly stab at the account holder's name. Don't ask me how I know. The cheque would be one of hundreds of thousands scanned to the bank all at the same amount, and boxed up and sent to deep store. Whether the payment bounced or went through, was the punter going to say anything? Other things got the cheque sent back, of course, like a date that couldn't be easily fixed up.

 

[AM9]

On a different note, I remember, I think in the '80s when some businesses insisted that those paying by cheque wrote their home address on the bank, - despite a bank guarantee card being presented that covered the value of the transaction. Generally if I refused to do so, the assistant would just shrug their shoulders and complete the purchase. Very occasionally there would be somebody that refused the cheque arguing that it was an additional security measure against fraudulent cheques or bouncing cheques. I would judge whether the inconvenience of not making the purchase at that time and place was worth standing my ground. One such instance was in a supermarket in Fareham where this manager insisted that it was the store's policy and he knew best and how to prevent cheque fraud. So I took the cheque and scribbled and address on the back, the cashier rand up and I had the receipt and walked to the exit. I suggested that he might check up on 'my' address he turned back to the cashier. On the back of my cheque I wrote: 10 Downing Street, London SW1. I didn't know the full post code of that address.

 

[PeterC]

Which reminds me that every cheque was scrutinised by 2 people at your bank. If you put 2025 on a cheque in 2026 it was liable to be returned as 'out of date'. That said most practical bank branches used common sense and wouldn't return a cheque in the first month but anything over 6 months old would, and still will, be returned.

And that reminds of tricks often played by those short of money. They'd deliberately post date or back date a cheque so it would be returned for the technicality rather than for lack of funds - the dreaded 'Refer to drawer'. Other ruses could be used. Words and figures differing. Alteration not confirmed by an initial. Mutilation - cheque torn in half and taped back together. Anything to get the cheque bounced without the dreaded RD stigma, and a charge. Those games must have largely stopped with the demise of cheques but there'll probably still be occasional deliberate uses of these tricks.

In my days as a bank clerk only one person scrutinised cheques unless pulled for lack of funds. During my time the bank got so fed up with post dated cheques that we started charging the same fee as for lack if funds.

 

[Killingworth]

In my days as a bank clerk only one person scrutinised cheques unless pulled for lack of funds. During my time the bank got so fed up with post dated cheques that we started charging the same fee as for lack if funds.

I'm talking of an earlier time when banks didn't charge to return cheques. Hard to imagine nowadays.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

And that reminds of tricks often played by those short of money. They'd deliberately post date or back date a cheque so it would be returned for the technicality rather than for lack of funds - the dreaded 'Refer to drawer'.

A few years ago, someone working at my bank mentioned that they would simply put a post dated cheque through normally and pay it as if it was current dated. They wouldn't return it, or hold it until date. I'd guess all the big banks would have been doing the same by that time.

 

[contrex]

A few years ago, someone working at my bank mentioned that they would simply put a post dated cheque through normally and pay it as if it was current dated. They wouldn't return it, or hold it until date. I'd guess all the big banks would have been doing the same by that time.

I was told that banks can do that 30 years ago, and that it was foolish to expect them to honour a post-date.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

On a different note, I remember, I think in the '80s when some businesses insisted that those paying by cheque wrote their home address on the bank, -

I have emboldened the final part of the posting above, as I cannot recall any branch of my bank having home addresses of customers written on either the outside or the inside walls of the bank premises.

 

[D6130]

I have emboldened the final part of the posting above, as I cannot recall any branch of my bank having home addresses of customers written on either the outside or the inside walls of the bank premises.

 

[The exile]

Much like schools. Farewell ‘Mr….. Head of Mathematics’ with a PhD, hello ‘Doctor….. Director of Learning, Mathematics.’

Or indeed “students in Year 7”.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Mar 2026 ==

Years ago. certainly in January and maybe later as well, you used to see signs by supermarket checkouts saying something like 'When writing cheques please note that we are now in 1992'.

I find the “danger zone” starts in about the third week of January. Not that I’ve written a cheque in years…

 

[gg1]

Another cheque related one.

In the 90s, some shops offered a cheque cashing service (if you had a cheque guarantee card) for a small fee. The one I used a few times when I was at uni charged 30p to cash a £10 cheque, handy if for example you knew money would be deposited into your account on Friday but you needed cash on Thursday.

 

[The exile]

Another cheque related one.

In the 90s, some shops offered a cheque cashing service (if you had a cheque guarantee card) for a small fee. The one I used a few times when I was at uni charged 30p to cash a £10 cheque, handy if for example you knew money would be deposited into your account on Friday but you needed cash on Thursday.

Do any shops still offer “cashback” when paying by card?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I had to stop using cheques when I developed dystonia in my right hand in 2020 at the age of 75 and was unable to produce a recognisable signature that was acceptable to my bank.

 

[bleeder4]

Do any shops still offer “cashback” when paying by card?

The big supermarkets still do, I get cashback from time to time, but I don't know of any of the smaller shops that do. Quite often, when you ask for cashback the person at the till is fresh out of school and doesn't even know what cashback means!

 

[Gloster]

I had to stop using cheques when I developed dystonia in my right hand in 2020 at the age of 75 and was unable to produce a recognisable signature that was acceptable to my bank.

As I am likely to have a similar problem, my bank has advised me that they can arrange to provide a stamp to allow me to continue using cheques. As I haven’t got there yet, I don’t know what this will involve or whether it will cost anything (of course it will, it’s a bank).

 

[PeterC]

I'm talking of an earlier time when banks didn't charge to return cheques. Hard to imagine nowadays.

I was referring to the 1970s.

 

[Dai Corner]

Or indeed “students in Year 7”.

Or 'learners', which was a popular term amongst 'education professionals' when I retired from my (non-teaching) school job a decade ago.

 

[pdq]

When I was at York uni in the early 90s, one of the local supermarkets - a regional one, maybe Jacksons? - had a policy that all cheques had to be pre-authorised before starting to shop. This was for all customers not just skint students. By this time, the bigger shops were just starting to take Switch, which I guess was one of the earliest nails in the cheque coffin.

 

[Purple Train]

I'm still technically paid by cheque. (Not of my own volition, I hasten to add - awful faff.)

I don't feel old - at my age that would be absurd. However, I do check the football news rather less now, because I haven't heard of half of the big players, and the young things I remember from when I was a big fan are now in the twilight of their careers...

 

[Killingworth]

I was referring to the 1970s.

Thread title 'You know youre getting older'

I was speaking from the 1960s.

 

[The exile]

Or 'learners', which was a popular term amongst 'education professionals' when I retired from my (non-teaching) school job a decade ago.

Don’t have a problem with “learners” as it is what they are supposed to be doing, after all. “Students” should for the most part, be engaged in independent study, with someone there to guide them when the student needs it. I know universities have lectures and seminars but, at least in my day, no one “took the register” at the former and even missing the odd one of the latter wasn’t the end of the world if you did it politely and did the requisite work on time.

 

[Western Lord]

Don’t have a problem with “learners” as it is what they are supposed to be doing, after all. “Students” should for the most part, be engaged in independent study, with someone there to guide them when the student needs it. I know universities have lectures and seminars but, at least in my day, no one “took the register” at the former and even missing the odd one of the latter wasn’t the end of the world if you did it politely and did the requisite work on time.

When I was at school I was a pupil, students were at university. I never heard anyone describing us as "learners", which seems to be confined to people learning to drive, hence "L" plates.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

You know you are getting older when you remember the good old days when the football results were read out in a clear and concise manner, unlike what now seems to be the norm by the current presenter of the sports programme on the BBC TV on Saturday afternoons.

 

[Howardh]

You know you are getting older when you remember the good old days when the football results were read out in a clear and concise manner, unlike what now seems to be the norm by the current presenter of the sports programme on the BBC TV on Saturday afternoons.

When three channels was more than we have today!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

When I was at school I was a pupil, students were at university. I never heard anyone describing us as "learners", which seems to be confined to people learning to drive, hence "L" plates.

The term "slow learners" seemed to be in vogue in the 1950s/1960s as a phrase used by the teaching staff.

 

[Steddenm]

You know you are getting older when you remember the good old days when the football results were read out in a clear and concise manner, unlike what now seems to be the norm by the current presenter of the sports programme on the BBC TV on Saturday afternoons.

You can still have them read by AI though. The BBC ended them in 2022.

https://x.com/i/status/2035404934577856612

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

You know that you really are getting old, when you realise tha the year you passed the 11+ examination and started secondary education at St Bede's College, Manchester, was in 1956, . seventy years ago.

 

[Western Lord]

The term "slow learners" seemed to be in vogue in the 1950s/1960s as a phrase used by the teaching staff.

In that sense the phrase meant a pupil who was learning slowly rather than a "learner" who was slow.

 

[52290]

You know that you really are getting old, when you realise tha the year you passed the 11+ examination and started secondary education at St Bede's College, Manchester, was in 1956, . seventy years ago.

Or in my case when I failed my 11+ in 1955.