Text 26824, 49 rader
Skriven 2012-03-16 11:52:14 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 26821 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: Nicholas Kill's name
============================
Ward Dossche wrote to Robert Bashe on Friday March 16 2012 at 11:12:

RB>> In Germany, the law is that a bill is considered paid the minute you
RB>> send the check, not when it is cashed and the money deposited to the
RB>> recipient's account. In contrast, a bill is only considered paid when
RB>> the money is credited to the recipient's account if you use an
RB>> account-to-account transfer. Naturally the law is obsolete, but it
RB>> still applies here.

WD> So you still have the Eurocheque system there? Or are we talking
WD> something different?

Something else. No Eurocheques anymore, these are just plain personal checks. I
get them (still) for free from my bank. No guaranteed amounts or anything, just
my signature. The check will bounce if the amount exceeds my permitted
overdraft, but I make sure that never happens.

WD> Cheques are quite unusual here and only used in exceptional cases
WD> involving larger amounts ... like buying a new car etc ... something
WD> where a substantial cash-transaction might make you look suspicious
WD> and a bank-transfer or debit-card payment would not work.

Nobody uses checks here anymore, except for me ;-) When you buy a new car, you
make a cash down payment and pay the balance by account transfer. As far as I
know, there's no limit to domestic account transfers in the EU. And you only
have to report the transaction (that is, your bank does), when the amount sent
to another country exceeds EUR 15.000. In Germany, people generally pay cash.
Using plastic is still fairly unusual, although the "lower classes" have
started to use bank (debit) cards (_not_ credit cards) to shop, for example at
Aldi. Most people pay cash, though.

However, some meanwhile use credit cards for gas stations.

WD> The latter I had happening to me when I bought a new camera, only then
WD> did I find-out my card had limits for daily and weekly expenditures,
WD> even if there was a million Euro in my account.

I pay cash for such stuff, except when I buy in the Internet, where I use a
credit card - I have several, so that's no problem.

The limits you refer to sound like you used a bank card instead of a credit
card... the bank cards here have similar restrictions. My credit cards just
have a maximum limit, which generally can be increased if you've been a good
customer and always paid your bills.

Cheers, Bob

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