TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 385.canada@1:2320/105 287e0dd1   
   REPLY: 2:292/854 19051e5f   
   PID: Synchronet 3.19c-Linux master/cb76b1463 Feb 20 2022 GCC 7.5.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.14-Linux master/cb76b1463 Feb 20 2022 GCC 7.5.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   WD>I haven't used cheques for a payment since ... can't remember.   
   WD> At least 25 years.   
      
   Hi, to clarify I'm from Canada as well. I only use about 2 cheques a year   
   but it's usually almost unavoidable. I can easily and virtually instantly   
   tranfer up to usually $3000 between financial institutions but, any more   
   that that, and your options are a Bank Draft, a pain and maybe not free,   
   or write a cheque. Cheques work fairly well for me since the larger sums   
   are generally investment oriented and, since the investment itself acts   
   as collateral, an uncertified cheque can be accepted and used instantly.   
      
   But banks are fairly careful with cheques such as you can't simply cash   
   a cheque written to you even at the cheque writer's bank. It must be   
   deposited into an existing account so the banks can verify things first.   
      
   AA> Wrt cc cards being re-activated every 6 months - I never heard   
   AA> of that. Perhaps your source of information is outdated.   
      
   As August mentioned elsewhere, credit cards here have an expiry date   
   on them, often 3 to 5 years in the future, and new cards are sent out   
   to you several months before the old one expires and that one has to   
   be activated before use, usually a quick and easy process.   
      
   I have several credit cards and lines of credit, some which I go for   
   years without using. Often after a few years the account is made   
   dormant and there's some minor hoops to jump through to activate it   
   again, virtually instant at the bank itself but could be a delayed   
   or refused if you tried to use the dormant card elsewhere.   
      
   I think the biggest problem these days, and one of the things that   
   cause the service charges in banks to be so high, is how quick they   
   are to give large amounts of credit to people who often can't afford it.   
      
   Example: Once I was offered my credit card limit in cash at 0% interest   
   rate for 6 months. I took my limit out in full to invest in something   
   so I could make a profit on that money. An error in knowing how they   
   timed a small service charge caused the card to go over its limit,   
   which resulted in a $25 service charge that month. I phoned them to   
   explain my error and 'suggested' that a $25 charge over a $5 error   
   seemed a bit extreme to me.. A supervisor was called and they agreed   
   to drop the $25 charge..  Then they 'punished' me for my overdraft by   
   increasing my limit on that card by $3500 so I'd have  a higher limit   
   to borrow even more money in the future. Apparently the only reason   
   people go over their credit limit is because the limit is too low..   
      
   I have an impeccable banking history, my Credit Score often over 890,   
   so I should be a good risk in theory. But at times I've had enough   
   instant credit available, where I could take the cash without talking   
   to a live person or getting approval, and the total of that available   
   credit has been as much as 20 times my then current annual income,   
   one single credit card limit was as high as 7 times it.   
      
   And they wonder how some people get totally buried in debt..   
      
   ---   
    * SLMR Rob  * Laughing stock: cattle with a sense of humor   
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 105/81 106/201 116/17 18 129/305 153/7715 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 111 112 113 275 307 317 426 428 470 664 700 282/1038   
   SEEN-BY: 292/854 317/3 320/219 322/757 396/45 712/848 2320/0 105 401   
   PATH: 2320/105 229/426