Payment by cheque at PEO

[imranb]

I am applying for ILR at Solihull PEO next week. My current immigration status is Tier-1.

The Set(O) form mentions that we can also pay by cheque. Has anyone ever paid by a normal bank cheque? My amount is quite large - £3375, as I have 3 dependants as well. That makes me a bit nervous about paying by debit card, as the bank might reject the transaction or might query too many security questions which might void the transaction at the PEO.

Isn’t paying by bank cheque a more straight-forward option?

I haven’t seen any experiences posted on this forum about someone paying at the PEO with a normal bank cheque. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Imran

[linkers]

I don’t think so you can pay by a normal personal cheque. It has to be a banker’s draft.

You can also pay by debit or credit card, but you need to inform your bank a night before (and also on the morning of appointment to be on the safe side) that you are going to make a large transaction.

[imranb]

I don’t think so you can pay by a normal personal cheque. It has to be a banker’s draft.

You can also pay by debit or credit card, but you need to inform your bank a night before (and also on the morning of appointment to be on the safe side) that you are going to make a large transaction.

Hi,

I would be very grateful if someone who has actually paid by personal cheque at the Solihull PEO share his experience. The set(O) form seems to have a very clear section for putting cheque details, so why do people not use this easy option. I am worried as I fear that my bank will block the £3375 transaction (for me and 3 dependants). Though I have enough funds, when I called up the bank (lloyds), they have refused to take any such instruction to commit that the payment will not be obstructed.
Any advice would be appreciated.

[imran22]

Hi,

I would be very grateful if someone who has actually paid by personal cheque at the Solihull PEO share his experience. The set(O) form seems to have a very clear section for putting cheque details, so why do people not use this easy option. I am worried as I fear that my bank will block the £3375 transaction (for me and 3 dependants). Though I have enough funds, when I called up the bank (lloyds), they have refused to take any such instruction to commit that the payment will not be obstructed.
Any advice would be appreciated.

The cheque option is for postal applications. When you apply by post using the cheque your application is considered when the cheque gets cleared and that is why they use to mention in the forms that applications where payment is made by the cheque will take longer.

I am quite sure that PEO will not accept the cheque payment for same day service as they won’t be able to find out if the cheque will be honoured or not until it gets submitted to the bank.

But if you are still adamant then you can call UKBA and they will be able to guide you.

Also there are many members who suggest to call the bank a night before, I personally think that this doesn’t work as Financial institutions have algorithms that block certain transactions based on past spending behaviours and where the money is being spent and as you suggested that Lloyds hasn’t accepted your offer when you called them.

I personally think that you should keep more than one cards with you just to be on the safe side.

[linkers]

I would totally agree with Imran. I have myself never heard of UKBA accepting personal cheques for POE appointment.

You need to take your debit card which is generally fine but again as Imran suggested, it would be nice to have another card (could be a credit card) with you as a backup.

[imranb]

Hi,

I would be very grateful if someone who has actually paid by personal cheque at the Solihull PEO share his experience. The set(O) form seems to have a very clear section for putting cheque details, so why do people not use this easy option. I am worried as I fear that my bank will block the £3375 transaction (for me and 3 dependants). Though I have enough funds, when I called up the bank (lloyds), they have refused to take any such instruction to commit that the payment will not be obstructed.
Any advice would be appreciated.

The cheque option is for postal applications. When you apply by post using the cheque your application is considered when the cheque gets cleared and that is why they use to mention in the forms that applications where payment is made by the cheque will take longer.

I am quite sure that PEO will not accept the cheque payment for same day service as they won’t be able to find out if the cheque will be honoured or not until it gets submitted to the bank.

But if you are still adamant then you can call UKBA and they will be able to guide you.

Also there are many members who suggest to call the bank a night before, I personally think that this doesn’t work as Financial institutions have algorithms that block certain transactions based on past spending behaviours and where the money is being spent and as you suggested that Lloyds hasn’t accepted your offer when you called them.

I personally think that you should keep more than one cards with you just to be on the safe side.

Thanks imran22 and linkers for your responses. I did call up the UKBA today, and they have said that they will accept cheques only if I can produce a cheque's guarantee card. After calling up the bank and doing a bit research, it appears cheques guarantee card is now aobsolete and withdrawn by almost all banks. So I guess you are right, personal cheque is not an option. Thanks again for taking the time to respond and advice.

[REGISTRATION]

I feel it right as well that cheque is for postal payments

but another question if i am going for PEO do i need to fill the very first page with payments details,

I think i dont as I am paying by card and its not postal application, but please confirm / advise


Thanks

[linkers]

You still need to fill the first page. That’s the reason there are options for both postal and PEO payments on the first page.