When will some business places learn about accepting or not accepting cheques

I am constantly amazed at the different systems some business places seek to put in place for the acceptance of cheques. The latest fiasco has been at gas stations.

Poor attendants!!!It appears they were told at a meeting not to accept cheques unless authorised to do so...fine...but please Mr. Manager you have to put a system in place.

At a gas station on highway 2 a...stickers were being given to customers whose cheques will be accepted. Of course the stickers ran out and customers were told that would not be a problem...

But when customers turned up at the pump and a less than friendly person ask: "Wha you paying wid..cash, cheque or credit cart?" and the customer says "cheque thank you". The gas attendant says.."hole on a minute ". Then he comes back and says the supervisor says "I cannot take your cheque" This has taken about 5 minutes already.

So the customer smiles and in her best voice she says" and why not"..the attendant says" don't ask me ask the supervisor". Well by now , the customer hair is standing straight. However she gets out of the car and goes to speak to the supervisor. To make a long story short, the supervisor says that the manager sent out a memo saying not to take cheques unless they are authorised.
The customer says well how do you go about finding out whether your cheque is authorised. Believe it or not the supervisor says.."I dont' know". Well the customer just pranced out the building and left the gas station.
Come on guys..Surely we can do better than this. I have heard of other gas stations asking you to fill in a form that has on your bank manager's name, your bank account number, etc etc.
Not to mention the supermarkets who ask you for ID even though the cheque is a company cheque.
I know that many businesses are ending up with RUBBER CHEQUES, but guys you make the decision to take or not to take....no matter how much ID and authorization you think you have, the cheque will still bounce and you will still have to go through the tedious process of trying to recover your money...It is something that goes with the territory so deal with it

Re: Consumer Question

Here is a letter received from a consumer and the answers from Consumer Watch are in Red

On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 12:33 AM, Bajan Habab wrote:

I have a couple questions..

I enter a supermarket and purchase a bottled drink for $2.00 at the cashier I am reminded that there is a $0.25 deposit on the bottle, which I pay, search for a bottle opener drink the beverage and take my medication. I then approach the cashier to return the empty bottle and collect my deposit. I am told I will have to carry it to the bottle place outside the next day, this is confirmed by the supervisor/manager in charge.

1) Why am I required to pay a deposit on the bottle?

This is part of the cost of the drink. The cost of the drink should include the deposit. If it does not then there should be a sign in the store indicating that the cost of the deposit on drink bottles is x cents.

2) Why having paid the deposit to A, should I be required sell the bottle to B to get some money back?

You are not . According to the laws of Barbados , the establishment is required to refund you the deposit.

3) If B purchases my bottle for 20cents, and not the 25cents deposit which A forced me to pay, can I force either A or B to pay me the 5 cents difference?

No. What ever is the stated cost of the deposit by the manufacturer is the legal cost of the deposit. However, this is if the refund is done at a retail outlet and not one of the "Bottle Companies" that can be found in some parts of Barbados. A bottle company being a company that deals in bottles i.e. the company does not sell the product.

4) Is A not breaking some sort of agreement with me or some law by refusing to give me back my deposit?

Yes , A is breaking the law

I know it seems small but if the corner shop charges me 25cents deposit and I consume the drink and return the bottle they give me back my deposit.

5) How is a supermarket different? What rules if any apply to the corner-shop that don't to the big boy?

A supermarket is not different. The law stipulates that as long as the establisment sells the particular product, then that business house is required to refund the bottle deposit.

If I visited the same establishment with a bottle, purchased the same beverage and present the bottle which I brought with me to the cashier when the deposit is requested.

6) Would they be correct to refuse to accept the bottle, Must I pay the deposit?

If they are charging the deposit for the drink, then if you take the bottle then you don't pay the deposit.
As a matter of fact , the practise that some supermarkets and retail outlets have of indicating that they cannot give you cash, they can give you a credit note or that you have to purchase items equivalent to the refund is also illegal,

The fact that this happened struck me as odd, so I'm seeking some clarification


Hope that the information was helpful ..Spoke to an officer at FTC and she was extremely helpful..The answers from Consumer Watch are in red ink.

Cheers

Bdos Consumer Watch

It's Your Turn

Hello consumers,

We have suffered for very long at the hands of the banks, the insurance companies, the car dealers, monopolies, etc.

Many unhealthy practices have prevailed and in some cases although there is legislation there is no policing of the legislation. Hence a lot of automarts and supermarkets display goods on their shelves without the prices; which is against the law. I always argue that the customer should not get any surprises when they reach the checkout counter.

It is expected that the three advocates on this blog will bring their own approaches. Mine would be to do the research on the issues raised and present the findings for your assimilation and decision to take action.

Input from visitors are welcomed. Remember that this is a national effort to empower consumers and not continue to simply take all that is being dished out.

The success of this blog depends on you. It is the place where you can get help and education as a consumer. Did you know for example that every gas pump should be calibrated often and that each should carry their calibration certificate with an expiry date that should be clearly visible to customers... and that if a pump does not have the certificate you should not accept gas from it?

So, let' s go!