I need to pay for an item I have bought by a postal order and have never used this method before !

How does it work ? Are they just like a cheque where you write out the persons name on it and post it to them ? :help:

Thanks
Lea

Pretty similar, put the persons name on it who the postal order is for. If you cross it then they will have to pay it into a bank account. If you don't cross it then they can cash it straight away at the post office thus not having to wait for it to clear.

You buy them from post offices, and they do make a small charge for supplying them.

It's an old fashoned thing though!

Originally posted by Andy
You buy them from post offices, and they do make a small charge for supplying them.

It's an old fashoned thing though!

Don't knock 'em!

For folks who don't have a bank account that supports a cheque book for any reason - and I've been there - they're a God-send.

Crosisng them makes them more secure, btw, against being 'borrowed' in the post. If crossed they can only be paid in to a bank account. If uncrossed they can be cashed at a post office.

Most banks clear them like cheques - you wait about 5 days before you can draw on them. Ages ago they used to be treated as cash by my bank but they don't any more.

Joe

do you HAVE to have the name of the person on it?

I use PO's a lot to pay fro Ebay stuff, they are safer than cash and faster than cheques.

Originally posted by scottf
do you HAVE to have the name of the person on it?

No - only if you cross them.

Then the name needs to match the bank account they're going in to.

I think. :)

I always put the persons name on, I assume that they have to prove who they are at the Post Office when they cash them ?

Originally posted by nick2
I always put the persons name on, I assume that they have to prove who they are at the Post Office when they cash them ?

Dont assume anything. I dont think there is any requirement for the payee to prove who they are; if it's crossed and marked a/c payee only then it must go in to the a/c payee's account and if you add "not negotiable" that means the PO cant be transferred to another payee.

I've been paid by postal orders before for things I've sold on ebay. If my name is not put on then I do it myself, take it to the post office, sign it and no questions asked.
If the sender puts my name on and crosses it then I have to take it to my bank and pay it in there and wait for it to clear just like a cheque.

Originally posted by wendygs
if you add "not negotiable" that means the PO cant be transferred to another payee.

No need to do that - if they are crossed "Account Payee" then they are not negotiable by defenition.