In article >, Brooklyn1 says...
>
> On Thu, 7 Jun 2012 20:25:42 +0100, Janet > wrote:
>
> >In article >, Brooklyn1 says...
> >>
> > Most people incur a fee with a personal check.
> >
> > Must be an American thing; no fees are payable for bank cheques here (so
> >long as the account is in credit).
> >
> >
> > Janet UK
>
> I don't know what you mean by "the account is in credit"...

In the black, not overdrawn. In credit means there's enough money in the
account to cover the outgoings.

If an account is overdrawn, there's a charge for cheques drawn on it.

here in
> the US a checking account is required to maintain a minimum balance or
> the account will be closed, but still folks have to buy their check
> books and pay the bank a fee per check used.

Usual practice here is for banks to offer credit-worthy customers an
automatic overdraught limit so the customer needn't seek consent to over
draw (to the agreed amount) and is confident the bank won't stop debit
card payments or bounce cheques etc.

Here cheque books are free so are use of cheques; direct debits and
standing orders (regular bills paid automatically by the bank), use of
debit card, telephone and online banking, and a monthly statement.
(This is for individual accounts; business accounts do face charges).

> Because of the fees
> fewer and fewer people have checking accounts anymore, they've
> switched to plastic and the occasional money order.

UK banks wanted to go the same way and announced they were going to phase
out cheques and chequebooks; but there was such an outcry from irate
customers they have abandoned the idea. Like most, I use few cheques these
days but I like to keep the option...there are still small businesses that
don't accept plastic (and big ones, like smkts, that won't accept
cheques).

The only
> exception I know of to have free checking is if one maintains a rather
> large minimum bank balance.

Here so long as an account stays out of the red /in credit, all
transactions within the UK can be managed completely charge-free.

Janet