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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that banks should be open longer hours?

75 replies

SemperIdem · 17/04/2018 17:22

I find it really irritating that banks still close at 5pm mon-sat and are completely shut over sundays.

Should they not be moving with the times, as have other industries?

OP posts:

Wonkydonky1 · 17/04/2018 22:35

Staff not state!

MrsMoastyToasty · 17/04/2018 22:37

It really rattles my cage when it still takes 4 working days to clear a cheque, which is the same length of time that it took when I was a bank clerk in the 1990s.

Emma198 · 17/04/2018 22:43

Not for long Toasty with cheque imaging coming through!

Ivebeenaroundtheblock · 17/04/2018 22:50

Everyday banking available 24/7 where I live. Online for most. Machine for cash or deposits including pesky tiny refunds.

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 17/04/2018 22:55

YANBU. My bank has terrible hours, especially if you work, 10am-4pm Monday-Friday & 9am-1pm Saturday. Major town not a backwater. DHs bank isn't any better 9:30am- 4:30pm Monday-Friday closed weekends but it is in the village so we should really count ourselves lucky it's not been closed.

tabulahrasa · 17/04/2018 22:58

Mine is only open Monday to Friday 9.30 - 4.30 and they close for an hour for lunch as well...

And no, I can’t pay in or withdraw coins online...

italiancortado · 17/04/2018 23:02

I get paid in cash so regularly need to use a branch to pay into my account. Paying in through the post office is useless as it takes days to actually reach your account. Sometimes I need to pay money in to use immediately or to cover direct debits the next day. It's a 30 mile round trip for me to get to the main branch in the city, my local breach opens at 10 and shuts at 4 so absolutely no use whatsoever to people who have to work during the day.

Timtims · 17/04/2018 23:03

Mine is closed on Saturdays. I have birthday cheques from DCs grandparents banging around the house for MONTHS as I work FT.

Timtims · 17/04/2018 23:04

And the local post office is closed at lunch time and on two afternoons each week!

chocoshopoholic · 17/04/2018 23:10

The Halifax app lets you pay in cheques to your account by taking photos of it.

SecretIsland · 18/04/2018 10:53

Paying in through the post office is useless as it takes days to actually reach your account

I do it all the time and it's instant, using your debit card.

Just change banks if the service you get at yours is so poor, you have plenty of choice.

worridmum · 18/04/2018 10:55

why are not normal offices open at the weekend? why not instead of a couple of industries having to open at the weekend lets abolish the concept of the weekend so everyone has saturday and sunday as a normal working day? So workers move with the time would that not be grand?

RedDwarves · 18/04/2018 10:59

Banks are only open Monday-Friday 9-5 (some don't open til 10) where I live. We all manage just fine. Virtually everything is done online anyway.

I am not an advocate of reducing peoples' work-life balance regardless of the sector.

veggiethrower · 18/04/2018 11:25

I live abroad and the banks are only open in the mornings - 8 am to 12 noon. I'm lucky in that I work part time, mainly in the afternoons, so I can usually fit in a visit.

Most things can be done online though and they have a foyer where there is a machine to pay in coins and notes and a machine (which I never use) to do bank transfers using the weird bank transfer slips we have here. That can be done online.
The only thing I actually use the bank for is ordering foreign currency (they have the best exchange rates and cheapest charges here) or if I have a query about something on the account.
My DP works full time and it is almost impossible for him to get to the bank but he does everything online.

Banks have increasingly switched over to online services. My bank here now charges a fortune for over the counter services in addition to the monthly fee - so each transaction costs quite a bit - if you do it online you have a certain number of free transactions per month included in the monthly bank charges you pay. Paying in coins and notes is free if you use the machine and costs 1.5% if you pay in at the counter.
They don't want us going in to the branch - they do everything to discourage it.
It's cheaper for them if they don't have to be open as long and don't have to pay for so many hours of employees' time.
And inconvenient for those who need to use services not available online or can't use internet banking for whatever reason.

CarrotVan · 18/04/2018 12:13

10-4 for my branch, and closed on Thursdays and Saturdays.

And when you're sorting out power of attorney stuff you need to go to a branch and can't change to a more convenient bank.

There's always a queue waiting to go in

italiancortado · 18/04/2018 13:37

Paying in through the post office is useless as it takes days to actually reach your account

I do it all the time and it's instant, using your debit card.

Just change banks if the service you get at yours is so poor, you have plenty of choice.

The service I get at my bank isn't poor

ny20005 · 18/04/2018 16:28

How do online only banks manage for business accounts that need coins & to deposit cash ?

Fairyliz · 18/04/2018 16:40

My mum passed away last year and I am executor for her estate. She was one of those people who didn't really trust any bank with her money so over the years she deposited small amounts in loads of banks/building societies.
This means over the last year I have dealt with 10 different banks and they have generally been a nightmare, with the notable exception of the Nationwide who were brilliant. Most of them will not let you deal with things over the phone/internet but want you to go into branch. Unfortunately some of their branches are 40 miles away and only open whilst I am at work.
I am currently thinking of raising a claim with the small claims court as it might be easier to get the money that is rightfully mine.

ny20005 · 18/04/2018 16:58

@Fairyliz

It's a nightmare ! Systems generally aren't set up for power of attorney or executor accounts & then throw in the added complication of staff not knowing what to do

CuriousaboutSamphire · 18/04/2018 17:10

We used to have 2 banks. One closed, the other sent out a press release, promising they would not... less than a year later, having gained a lot of the local business accounts, they closed. Thanks Lloyds, thanks Barclays.

Now our nearest bank is 10 miles away - we are a market town. Happily the local traders have come to an arrangement about making change for each other and the Post Office does a stirling job!

I'm lucky, my business is mostly paid by BACS and in October HSBC will also allow cheque imaging via its App.

DianaPrincessOfThemyscira · 18/04/2018 17:31

They should stop closing the smaller branches that people rely on.

Fluffyears · 18/04/2018 17:45

I refuse to use the deposit machines after £400 went missing that i was paying in to use on holiday. Took ages to sort out. Each time they say to me when i’m in the queue ‘you can use our quick deposit machine..,’ I actually get angry all over again!

Gottagetmoving · 18/04/2018 17:47

When I started work in a bank aged 16, they were open 9.30 to 3.30 Monday to Friday. They were a lot busier then too.

GinThereDoneThat · 18/04/2018 17:51

I worked at a bank for a while and we went from 9:30am-5pm 5 days a week to 10am to 4pm 3 days a week... it was hell on earth for us as we had to squeeze everyone in very limited space! No amount of complaining to head office worked and it made our lives very stressful, so have to agree with you on this one 🤦🏻‍♀️

itstimeforanamechange · 18/04/2018 17:56

I have banked for about 20 years with an online-only bank.

However, I do get cheques from time to time, and it's useful to be able to walk into town and use a branch. If I get a cheque I just pay it into DH and my joint account which is with a building society which has a reasonable high street presence.

Anything else you want to do you can do online. Or you appear to need an appointment for - I remember trying to open a savings account and being offered an appointment in about 2 weeks' time so I didn't bother and opened one online instead. However, it is important to remember that there are quite a few people who are not online. And I wouldn't use a telephone service if I had to pay stupid levels of call charges to use it.

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