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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To get really annoyed at Monday morning post office queues?

83 replies

wizardora · 19/01/2011 08:32

Our local post office always has a queue round the block of elderly people drawing their pensions, it takes over an hour to get to the front & drives me bonkers so I always avoid it if possible.

I am genuinly curious, is there a reason why pensioners can't get it direct debited into their bank and use a cash point to withdraw the money?

OP posts:

jinglebelly · 19/01/2011 08:38

YANBU, same were we live, drives me mad too!

sixlostmonkeys · 19/01/2011 08:43

wait until you are that age and are asked to do something so complicated and risky. Oh, and if you go to a cashpoint there is little chance you will get that few minutes "chat with someone" once a week.

snowmash · 19/01/2011 08:47

They may well get it paid into a post office account and be going to withdraw it - ATMs aren't great for access.

MrsPresley · 19/01/2011 08:50

YABVVU

Why the hell cant they get it paid where they want??

notinmypocket · 19/01/2011 08:50

I hate post offices, drab, dull and depressing.

I am NOT looking forward to being an OAP if it means I have to go there every Monday!

cantspel · 19/01/2011 08:51

pensions have to be paid into either a bank or post office account. The days of the pension book are long gone. many who didn't all ready use debit cards opted for a post office account as they can just hand the card over to withdraw the money.
It can be a pain but no worse than being stuck behind a load of ebayers who are trying to work out the cheapest option of getting their tat to it new home.

sixlostmonkeys · 19/01/2011 08:57

If you actually observe some pensioners trying to key their number into the machine to get their money you will realise why it would be ridiculous to suggest they use a atm on the street. Shakey arthritic hands and failing eyesight make the task very difficult and it is only the post master gently reassuring them that helps them get their money.

DizzyKipper · 19/01/2011 09:00

If pensioners wanted to get it direct debited into their bank and use a cash point to withdraw the money then they would be doing so. I'd guess for many of them it might be too daunting and complicated, which is why they opt not to. YABU - they have as much right to use the post office as you and knowing this situation you have the power to avoid it. Just leave them to it and try having a little empathy.

Original poster

wizardora · 19/01/2011 09:06

I'm not saying I don't have empathy, just that I hate queueing for over an hour to post a large letter.

Am genuinly curious as to why they don't use banks, I would have thought it would be easier for them than having to stand in a queue for over an hour

OP posts:

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 19/01/2011 09:12

As others have said, it might not be easier, because of the challenge of new technology. Plus it might be one of their few points of social contact in the week - you can't have much of a conversation with a cashpoint. They might also be worried about the risks of being mugged at a cashpoint, and feel safer in the post office.

For those reasons, I think you are being rather unreasonable, and not showing much empathy at all. There are other days in the week when you can nip into the post office to post your big letter, but the pensioners will probably not be able to wait 'til later in the week to get their money.

onegreenbottle · 19/01/2011 09:12

yanbu, I often wonder the same thing.

It is really frustrating using the post office when you have kids with you, especially when there's a massive queue

MrsPresley · 19/01/2011 09:13

Well the post office might be closer to them for a start.

I know my 76 year old dad gets nervous at an ATM when there are people behind him and prefers the PO because he feels safer, and to me that is more important than someone waiting to post a letter!

Sarsaparilllla · 19/01/2011 09:15

It doesn't annoy me as much as massive queues of people in the post office at lunchtimes, who clearly don't need to be there at lunchtime, when I've only got an hours lunch to dash about and do loads of chores, I'd much rather they were there on a Monday morning!

TandB · 19/01/2011 09:18

YABU - a lot of elderly people live alone and like to go and do things in person as they can have a chat and maybe go for a coffee.

However, if you are discussing my local post office, YANBU. I don't know why there is still a queue there bearing in mind they are so entirely incompetent that they regularly send parcels to the sender's address, put the wrong postage on, claim to have given you the stamps you paid for while the entire queue screams "No! You didn't!" People pretty much pair up to go to the counter in order to watch each other's backs.

There is one woman in particular that is regularly sitting there with no customer while there is a queue as she is so notorious that no-one wants to be served by her. If some poor non-local tries to go to her counter someone else will quite often grab them and stop them.

It is that bad.

wintersnow · 19/01/2011 09:18

YANBU, I agree with you OP and it is easier to use a bank. My grandma does it the bank way as no queues to stand in and you can always withdraw money from the counter like in the Post Office if you like

ledkr · 19/01/2011 09:21

I kind of feel annoyed when they all decide to go at 9 oclock on Monday esp to our little village po,i tend to avoid it but do wonder why they dont go a bit later and stagger it throughout the day,do they have deadlines to keep?My Nan makes a huge song and dance about me going to collect it on Mondays but she has a housefull of food and all her bils on dd and is housbound,whats the rush?

Ooopsadaisy · 19/01/2011 09:22

Sorry but YABU.

They probably think you shouldn't be there either.

I can't even remember the last time I set foot in a post office to be honest, but it's a free country.

Why not go at a different time? Like when Countdown is on? (Don't they all watch that?)

coppertop · 19/01/2011 09:24

If pensioners switched to banks then even more of our Post Offices would be closed down.

Anonymousbird · 19/01/2011 09:25

Don't go on Monday morning??

YAB rather U. It is very annoying, but avoidable.

Anonymousbird · 19/01/2011 09:28

Oh, and our nearest bank is ten miles away and we have no cash point (other than actually at the post office counter) to withdraw money... so if you don't travel, and only use the village shop and services, you won't get to the bank.

SecretNutellaFix · 19/01/2011 09:31

sorry but yabu.

My mother does not have a bank account.
She has never had a bank account. She only ever used to do jobs that paid cash or into her post office account. No bank would give her an account, becasue she had no regular income at one point (the first twelve years of her married life). And even then she had her widows allowance paid by giro book every week.
She is disabled and has very poor eyesight as well. She can get someone to drop her safely outside the post office and wait legally for her to withdraw her money and drive her to some shopping before taking her home.

The banks in her town are a fair distance from car parks for people with mobility problems, they are on corners and I would rather she made people wait than got soaking wet every week in winter.

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 19/01/2011 09:31

I get annoyed by the queues in our post office all the time........however it's not because of the (wide varying in age) people in the queue - it's because they have 8 counter points and the most I've EVER seen on at any one time is 5 (and that was when it was actually really empty).

If the queue is winding all the way around the queue barrier thing and out of the door you can almost guarantee that there'll be about 3 on if you're lucky.

wonderstuff · 19/01/2011 09:33

YANBU to be annoyed with post office queues, yabu to blame the pensioners!!
Since they closed so many of the PO in our local town the ques in the main po are awful all the time. Is awful, and we will never ever get those convient little POs back.

I imagine they all go in at the same time to be social, pensioners can often get quite lonely, my gran goes shopping often, not because she needs stuff, but because she likes to get out.

Quenelle · 19/01/2011 09:33

kungfupanda I think you've got enough material for a sitcom there

BaroqueAroundTheClock · 19/01/2011 09:35

Actually yes - the closer of the other post offices doesn't help - we have 3 post offices in our town - the one in the town centre, and then 2 right on the edge of town that are really only use to people that live locally. So almost everyone that needs to do anything post office related descends on the one place grr

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