Please Don’t Abbreviate the Year ‘2020’ on Checks and Legal Documents
frequentbusinesstraveler.com
frequentbusinesstraveler.com
Sigh.
I've started using it as much as possible now. But I am but one man.
https://openargs.com/oa347-pennhurst-and-the-voter-purge-in-...
and
(2) legal documents should always have the full date (spelled out) on them anyway, so if you just use '20' then that would have been wrong anyway, but 11/Dec/20.
Want to buy some land? Get ready to write a check to some person or government agency along the way.
Want to transfer money from your account in bank to another with zero fees? Write a check.
Want to start a business? Expect to write a check along the way.
Want to stay in a hotel in some of the world's most interesting places? Cash or travelers checks. Credit card, if you're lucky, but then with a big fee, and they might not have internet.
The real world isn't all online. It isn't all electronic. It isn't Star Trek.
Any serious contract / deed / legal doc I have signed so far has followed that convention, the century being the optional one. The fact that there are always multiple signed copies of such documents, other supporting documents (communications, email) and that fraud in writing is punished quite severely seems to have kept me safe so far.
I always find it interesting how people of a certain age, and especially in technology bubbles, enjoy restricting their options so much, as if there is some kind of nobility in giving themselves fewer choices and less freedom in life.
Best tool for the job is on Windows? No way, I only use bespoke FrotzOS distributions on a laptop I built myself from parts I reflowed in my co-living oven.
One of the best movies of all time is on TV tonight? No way, I only watch video if it comes in an internet stream, and only from services I have to tunnel through three VPNs to reach.
Write a check? No way, I only use the Spltzit app for finances, even though it's not accepted everywhere.
Checks are a thing, and will remain a thing for many more decades, or even longer. Get used to it.
There is absolutely no reason why the United States could not do the same, in fact it would be easier there. Payment systems in the United States are archaic and error prone. They also tend to offload the risk of fraud onto the consumers/merchants and I suspect that plus the fees are the bigger reasons why the banks are reluctant to get their act together.
Tell that to the French hotel my wife stayed in 15 months ago that only took cash or American Express travelers checks.
And chip-and-pin and likely also credit cards but they tend to not advertise that fact because they hate the fees and the slow settlement. That's why in France every cab driver ever has a sign on their back seats stating that 'unfortunately, their credit card processing machine just broke down' (by law they have to accept them but if the machine broke down on that day they get dispensation for that day so this loophole is immediately abused, if this happens to you simply stick to your guns and sooner or later it will turn out that the machine works just fine).
I spend a ton of time in hotels in France (and elsewhere in Europe) and have yet to see one that did not have a wide selection of payment options.
This page:
https://about-france.com/banks-payment.htm
has this passage on it:
" France is a country in which the use of cheques is also widespread. However French traders, shops, hotels etc. will not usually accept payment by cheque unless the cheque is on a French bank; some places accept cheques in Euros on banks in other Eurozone counries, but most do not, given the increased risk and the possibility of bank charges. It is generally impossible to pay for anything using a cheque on a bank situated outside the Eurozone."
Even that seems a bit archaic to me because I haven't seen checks (or rather: cheques) in France in a decade or more but American Express travelers checks may be the exception, but this post from 2014 basically says not to bother:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/don-t-b...
"
Brought Amex travellers cheques in Euros on our trip to France only to discover NO ONE, not even banks take or cash them. Have tried paying with them in hotels, restaurants, and stores-no takers. Exchange bureaus (even Ria which is recommended on American Express website in Lyon) would not cash them. Spent a good couple hours wandering and visiting the following to no avail: La Poste (used to cash, but not any more), BNP Paribas, LCL, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Bank Populaire, CE.
Take note: don't bother with travellers cheques-will never use again. BRING a debit card, credit card with chip/pin technology, and some cash."
Which pretty much mirrors my own experience.
But you can easily confuse 01-02-2020 or 03-01-2020.
Because the I in ISO means International, so it's automatically better on HN.
It's why the people on HN go to International House of Pancakes so much, but wouldn't be caught dead in The Pancake House.
If I refer to 12th of January during Christmas, do I refer to the one that is just a few weeks away or the one that is in the present year?
If you typically refer to all days of the year past when the upcoming one is very close then you'd probably make that plain with some note on context. If not you might find yourself with an unscheduled party on your hands :)
Thoughts?
1. Most contracts don't exist in isolation. They'll be associated with some sort of supporting event. Emails, text messages, etc.
2. Similarly, when a contract actually matters (under legal evaluation), it isn't evaluated in isolation. That includes establishing the validity of the contract. If the parties disagree on the date, that should raise red flags.
3. You should retain a copy of the contract no matter what.
4. Last, but not least. Anything of importance should (1) using the full date - perhaps even spelling out the month to avoid format differences (2) consider involving a 3rd party witness like a notary.