Procedure for postal orders

Jayob10

I got a postal order today in the post office in order to pay someone by post.

Do I need to write anything on the postal order....i.e the recipients name? or do I just send it as it is?

Will the recipient be able to cash it as it is with no name written on it??

any help you could give me would be great

mondeo

Put the recipients name on it otherwise any tom dick or harry can cash it. Make note of the serial number on it aswell.

Jayob10

can I just do that with biro yeah?? can i write the name anywhere on the postal order?? sorry for the silly questions

I just hope its not spoilt by me doing that. Will someone in the post office ask the recipient for ID then or what??

emanresu

Jayob10 wrote: »

can I just do that with biro yeah?? can i write the name anywhere on the postal order?? sorry for the silly questions

I just hope its not spoilt by me doing that. Will someone in the post office ask the recipient for ID then or what??

As mondeo said, it's important to put the recipient's name on it before you send it.
Yes, you can write it with an ordinary biro.
Write the name on the line just after where it says "PAY/ÍOC".

It will not be spoilt by you writing the recipient's name. You should do it. If you take a chance and don't write the name, they will have to do it themselves anyway before they can cash it or lodge it.

"Will someone in the post office ask the recipient for ID?"
I don't know the answer to that question. Maybe it depends on the amount. They probably have some kind of ID anyway, and if they don't, the cashier should be able to advise them what to do.

If they have a bank account, they can also go to the bank with it instead of a post office.

There is also a line "AT/AG" where you can write in the name of a town, and if you do so, the postal order can only be paid in that particular town.

One time, postal orders could be paid in cash if they were not "crossed".
If they were "crossed" by drawing two slanted parallel lines with the characters "& co" between the lines, then they could only be paid into a bank or post office account, and could not be paid out in cash.

I think that the postal orders now are pre-printed as crossed, but I'm not sure about this.

The cost of the postal order depends on the amount.
For example, €10 and €15 postal money orders both cost 80c.

emanresu

I just re-read original post and realised you have already bought the postal money order, so the last part of my reply regarding the cost is irrelevant.

emanresu

By the way, are there two parallel short black lines printed on your postal order, either vertical or slanted, i.e. is it "crossed"?
I send them all the time myself, but I am not very observant so I can't remember if they are already printed as crossed.

dudara

Moved to Banking & Insurance & Pensions

OP - you need to write the name of the recipient on the postal order - otherwise it could be cashed by anyone.

dudara