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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

281 replies

Inappropriatefemale · 10/01/2020 01:13

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?

OP posts:
LakieLady · 10/01/2020 09:39

I'm rubbish about remembering to carry cash. Usually only catches me out in the occasional car park that doesn't have a card reader or an app option to pay.

I've recently come across somewhere where the parking machines for on-street parking don't take cash. Possibly Brighton, but I can't remember.

Doyoumind · 10/01/2020 09:40

For this kind of retailer that is usually selling expensive items or contracts I think it's fair enough. The number of people who would want to use cash in their stores must be tiny and there is a lot of extra work and hassle around handling cash. It makes commercial sense for them not to.

Dollywilde · 10/01/2020 09:43

A lot of local independent shops around our way (Zone 4 SE London) are going cashless, no cash on the premesis seriously reduces the risk of burglaries/theft. I can see how it wouldn't work in a different sort of community but in our area it works really well.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 10/01/2020 09:45

I tend to draw out money each week and use cash day to day because it keeps me accountable in terms of spending what's in my purse and no more - otherwise I have loads of small contactless transactions for meaningless things which add up and I lose track of them. My mum who's in her 70s never carries cash and uses a card for everything though!

LakieLady · 10/01/2020 09:50

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?

I might think that, tbh.

All our bank accounts have a limit of how much we can withdraw in cash from machines (£200 pd for mine, £300 for DP's and the joint account). If we were minded to pay cash for something large, we'd have to get to a branch during working hours to get the cash out. Santander, who we have a joint a/c with has closed their local branch and the nearest one is 12 miles away. With banks closing branches, a lot of people must find themselves in this position (we don't have a Barclays here, either). When we bought our car, and our motorhome (both from private sellers), we paid by doing an online transfer there and then.

So yes, I'd be a bit suspicious that someone who wanted to pay a big bill in cash had themselves been paid in cash to avoid tax.

AmazingGreats · 10/01/2020 09:54

When I got my bag stolen once (with my purse and phone inside it, but thankfully not my passport) I went to my bank branch, withdrew cash, cancelled my card, walked into Vodafone and bought a pay as you go phone to make the appropriate calls. I couldn't use a pay phone because my area had done away with them. I could pay cash for the phone, pay cash for the top up. It meant that within a couple of hours I had basically resolved the situation and that I didn't have to miss work the next day or anything. Would have been a completely different story without being able to pay cash.

LakieLady · 10/01/2020 09:55

I blame her. And her tax-dodging builders. They are breaking the law and she's supporting them in that.

Me too. Bloody hate tax dodgers.

I like the fact that my plumber carries a card terminal around with him and I just pay with my card.

Instagrump · 10/01/2020 09:56

Not to be all tin foil hat brigade here but is no one concerned that with an entirely automated cash free system, every single thing we do will be recorded? Our entire lives potentially monitored? Our spending habits, what we buy, where we buy from and when we buy it? Our whereabouts can be tracked and traced if need be just from buying a can of Coke somewhere? Obviously no one gives a shit about little old me but there is a small part of me that gets a shiver down my spine thinking we humans are going to end up the plot of some dystopian movie style future. We're already constantly listened to by those dear ladies, Alexa, Siri and Cortana.

KittenVsBox · 10/01/2020 09:57

It's fine being cashless, until it doesn't work.
Remember Visa going down? Natwest went down too, I think.
Travelex has been unable to use its computers since Christmas.
Not in the UK, but the entire banking network in our home country went down for 3 days. No ATMs, no card sales. Everything had to be done in the cash you already had. How long would many of you manage like that??

I seem to get through loads of cash. Kids football - cash, kids sports - cash, school mufti days, cake sales, PTA stuff, Christmas fair all cash.
I regularly buy my mid week loaf of bread and pint of milk with a £20 just to get the change (and have been known to do it in 2 transactions, first breaking the £20, then breaking the £10 that was part of the change.)

What's the youngest a bank will give a card on a childs account? 12??? So my 10 yr old cant go to the shop for me???
Whilst cash is definitely on the decline, I'm not sure we will ever become totally cashless.

AmazingGreats · 10/01/2020 09:59

@Instagrump

Yes it does make me very uncomfortable. When I left an abusive relationship I was advised to use cash and change all my passwords as people can follow you through your transactions and debts. I don't feel any more comfortable with the government doing it.

LakieLady · 10/01/2020 10:01

Where I live, if you use the phone app (Ringo) for parking, the charge is 40p. When you're only paying 70p to park for half an hour, that's a lot extra.

SaskiaRembrandt · 10/01/2020 10:11

Remember Visa going down? Natwest went down too, I think

Exactly! That's what I was referring to in my post. I now keep emergency cash with me just in case. When that happened I was stuck in the city centre miles from home. Luckily, I'm a student, and there is an arrangement with a local taxi firm that if you can't pay for a taxi you can leave your student card and then take the money in to the university the next day, so I booked a taxi. As it happened their systems weren't affected so I could pay via their app. But, it is something to bear in mind, using a card is great, but it's a good idea to remember that technology can and does go wrong sometimes.

FruityWidow · 10/01/2020 10:16

I've seen buskers, drug dealers and car boot markets accept digital payments and I think there's been the same £20 note in my purse for 6 months because everywhere accepts digital. I don't see much of a difference between handing over a piece of paper or moving a bunch of numbers from 1 device to another.

Iwantacookie · 10/01/2020 10:16

@bruffin what about 7/8 year olds?
Money on a card is nothing to them.
Far far to easy to spend and contact less is horrendous. I loathe it.

CmdrCressidaDuck · 10/01/2020 10:17

"How will children learn about cash if we stop using it?" is a bit like saying "But how will children learn about bustles if nobody wears them?!" If we as a society don't use cash, they don't need to learn about it.

They'll learn how to manage money cashlessly.

stripeypillowcase · 10/01/2020 10:17

yanbu
where I am (jn forrin) you can sometimes have shops next to each other - one only accepting cards the other only cash Confused

it can be a problem fir children as the minimum age for a bank account/bank card here is 14...

Lifecraft · 10/01/2020 10:27

David Icke has been going on about it for years. Most people didn't listen,

Why would anyone listen, he's a fucking idiot.

SaskiaRembrandt · 10/01/2020 10:45

Yeah, David Icke believes in lizard people, I'm not sure he has much to add to the debate. It's quite sad really, he used to be a well-respected sports commentator.

ItsGoingTibiaK · 10/01/2020 10:48

@MopsRUs

The ones I have seen do have clear signs.

That a Vodafone shop wouldn’t accept cash in payment and it pissed me off?
bruffin · 10/01/2020 10:51

@bruffin what about 7/8 year olds?
Money on a card is nothing to them.
They just learn differently, life changes. Mime kids had a very different world to what I had in 60s and 70s growing up.

Comefromaway · 10/01/2020 10:53

I use cash a lot, especially when I am giving pocket money to ds. He once saved up his birthday money and took £100 cash into CEX to buy himself a second hand games console. He's had debit cards but loses them.

DGRossetti · 10/01/2020 10:53

ItsGoingTibiaK

Something ironic in that photo being of a shuttered store Grin

Comefromaway · 10/01/2020 10:55

My parents gave me £600 for Christmas to buy a new cooker and fridge (I'm moving house). It's a hassle to get to the bank so I will probably use the cash to pay.

aroundtheworldyet · 10/01/2020 11:00

Anyone who only takes cash is a tax dodger

Cashless will be totally normal soon. It makes like SO much easier

vickibee · 10/01/2020 11:03

Makes life so much easier for people in cities but not in rural / remote areas