That a Vodafone shop wouldn’t accept cash in payment and it pissed me off?

[Inappropriatefemale]

So as the thread suggests then AIBU because a branch of Vodafone wouldn’t accept cash and it pissed me off?

I went into a Vodafone store around 4 weeks ago to buy a £20 memory card and I was aghast when the sales advisor told me that they didn’t accept cash because it was ‘a hassle’ and that paying by card was easier for the shop, it wasn’t the end of the day or anything like this where they had counted all their profits for the day.

I didn’t have my debit card with me that day so I went elsewhere to buy it but I was really pissed off, what if I was purchasing a brand new iPhone 8, or whatever the latest one is, at over £700 then would they have been happy for me to walk out their shop and spend that money elsewhere.

I have always suspected that actual cash will be done away with one day but not for a good few years at least and not in a Vodafone shop.

I didn’t look into this, I was just pissed off and wondered if any of you ladies/gents had experienced this and if so where, when and for how much?

My local pub near work has gone cashless a year ago. A former manager was helping himself to the till and undercharging favoured customers (including me), once the owner realised and fired the manager the best solution was card only. It has caused little problem apparently.

I rarely use cash but wouldn't want a cashless society, it puts the full control of your money into banks and the government if allowed to happen

SachaStark I didn’t go shopping, I specifically just had to get one thing, it wasn’t a spree and I had cash so didn’t think I needed my card!

I paid in cash at curry’s a few weeks ago and they had to get a second person to came and check the cash as it was unusual apparently to pay in cash

Believe it or not this happened to us just over 20 years ago, in Comet. Dad wanted to buy me a new cooker and it was around £450; he always used cash as had advanced Parkinsons and found it very embarrassing to try to write/sign things in front of other people. They rather less than nicely told the poor old boy that he could be a money-launderer and they wouldn't accept his payment method.

Walked out. Drove five minutes up the road, went to Currys and found the same cooker £20 cheaper, plus they were willing and able to take cash after I had a quiet word with the manager.

So, no. Sadly not entirely new.

Cashless is a trend, and a terrible one.

Anonymity will be a thing of the past. Parts of China are already using privilege points to allow access to certain shops and transpory. And, of course, if you ‘misbehave’, this ‘privilege’ can be taken away.

Our leisure centre is cashless, we go after hours once a month for a family Sen swim so only pay for the children not carers. It massively annoys me to have to take cards etc for a 5 purchase and even more so for the £1 for the locker.

I think that Apple stores are card-only. I'm not an Apple fan (or of a cashless society, come to that) but they seem to be doing ok with this policy.

Cash is a huge hassle. I used to do the till every day for a garage/dealership . Anyone who wants to pay large amounts in cash is probably dodging the system anyway.

It costs more to bank cash than it does to use a credit card machine nowadays.

We were only allowed to keep so much in safe overnight.
Banks not close by to pay it in anyway, and over certain amount more people needed to escort to the bank.

Fake notes , so every note needs to be checked
In Stockholm there were coffee shops that dont take cash anymore.

I'm more than happy to ban cash these days it's really not necessary

Anyone who wants to pay large amounts in cash is probably dodging the system anyway.

Really? So when we bought our TV and paid in cash, exactly what system would we have been dodging?

You seem to have a very old fashioned view of shopping, cards aren't hassle for shops, quite the opposute, and no one counts their profit for the day

It's up to them what they accept and to still be annoyed enough to start a thread a month later is a little odd imo

1PhilCornwall!
You know exactly what I mean, avoiding tax.

I genuinely cannot remember the last time I paid for anything in cash.

Also, if I wanted a memory card I would have ordered one online from my phone for much cheaper than likely in a bloody vodaphone shop. I'm genuinely surprised they are still in business.

Quite a few bars and restaurants are now cashless. It's safer for them and their staff as no point robbing them as no cash on site. Plus the going to the bank paying it in side of things.

I've seen a few shops and cafes that are now card only. I prefer it personally.

There are plenty of cafes in London that don't take cash. In Sweden there are towns that are virtually cashless. Cash withdrawals from ATMs are falling very fast, if I remember correctly the fall was 12% last year and it's expected to carry on falling at that rate. If you look at the footfall in bank branches a lot of smaller branches are virtually empty outside 10 to 2. It's use it or lose it.

• 1PhilCornwall! You know exactly what I mean, avoiding tax.*

So if I wanted to purchase something from you in cash and it was a considerable amount, you would think this?

A few years ago we had new windows fitted to our house. When invoiced, I paid them in cash, if you worked for them, would you again think I was dodging tax?

Yes! phil
Also money laundering laws re cash are there for a reason

People are sleepwalking into becoming a society that is reliant solely on technology, and once that process is complete we will be easy meat for the fraudsters and con artists out there. Look at Travelex - they've had to go back to paper-based accounting because their systems have been locked by ransomware. Banks and shops think it's less hassle - well, it might be in the short term but in the long term it will come back to bite them - in fact, it's already begun.

My local pub’s gone cash-free. They said they’d had a spate of break ins and it was safer for them not to keep any cash on the premises so they wouldn’t be a target. But presumably there are other advantages - losing the hassle of cashing up, avoiding employee fraud, making it easier for people to spend more over an evening without thinking about the cost.

There’s a scandi brand called Newbie who don’t accept cash because the parent company are cashless. When I asked the sales assistant she said that mainly it’s a security thing, they can’t be ripped off with fake notes if they don’t accept them. Obvs card fraud is rife but I can see their point.

Could it be your memory card is tonnes cheaper online and they made an excuse to not take the money off you for it knowing this?

I am currently setting up a business that will be cashless. There are so many reasons why. Banks charge you for taking your cash from you, staff make mistakes giving change, staff can steal, it makes it easier to cash up, the venue isn't a target for armed robbery....

And yes I’d strongly suspect (though not definitely assume) that someone paying for a large piece of building work in cash was doing so because they’d been offered an incentive by the builder to do that in order to dodge VAT.

Wonder if this is anything to do with stopping county lines dealers paying cash for anonymous burner phones? Just heard something about it on the radio.

I'm aware of quite a few local stores and bars that do not take cash.

I can easily believe that the time saved in not handling/banking cash, and reduced risk, outweighs any lost business from the policy.