USE OF CHEQUES

That this House calls for cheques to be accepted by all suitable establishments, including banks, energy companies, utility companies, shops and public bodies; highlights that plans to abolish the cheque in 2018 were scrapped following mass support for the cheque; notes that cheques are the favoured legal tender for many people, the majority of whom are overwhelmingly pensioners; further notes the increasing incidence of businesses refusing to accept the cheque as payment for services; questions the rationale of saving the cheque as a method of legal tender if people are denied the right to use it in many establishments; further notes that establishments refusing to accept cheques make the lives of those who wish to pay by cheque much harder; reminds large establishments that they serve their customers, not the other way around; celebrates that cheques are in some circumstances the safest method of payment; suggests that the use of cheques could be subject to a minimum spend requirement as debit and credit cards are in many establishments; and calls on the Government to work with the Payments Council to undertake a review into possible methods of protecting customers' rights to use cheques in appropriate circumstances.