What's going on with Banks?

[dottypotter]

Had to go into the bank today and went to the counter to wait my turn.

Was approached by a man with an I pad and when I told him what I wanted to do, he told me one of the staff who floats around with an ipad would have to do it. I couldn't do it at the counter.
Why wait till your in the queue to tell you?
Where are the signs telling you where you must wait for different things?

Anyway told me to take a seat and someone would come along but nobody did.

He took me out of a queue I was in, just to sit and wait for longer.

Eventually got seen and business done on I pad.
Have no switched bank accounts.
What is it now
with staff now with I pads?
Why aren't they behind the counter?

Shambles.

Right so you're saying she won't be around in 10 years to send money to family? How very rude of you

it’s not rude in any way. She’ll be 96 and the average life expectancy is 76. They can’t keep hundreds of bank locations open for a few people. Saying the older generation will die isn’t rude. I don’t understand how you think it could be!

Your comment was very hurtful.

You have upset another previous poster on here too I've seen.

My point being that plenty of people are in this situation, who may need banks to stay open.
Whether they are in their 60s/70s/80s or even younger.
Who are not tech savvy. Who are housebound.
Who does not wish to bank online.

I went into the bank a few years ago (it's closed now 🙄) to pay cash into a business account. The cashier told me they couldn't deal with cash. WtF??
They also couldn't deal with a direct debit enquiry from another customer, so everyone had to queue up for a different cashier while the useless one talked to their colleague about their favourite milkshake!

Metro Bank seems to be the only bank with user friendly opening hours

Your comment was very hurtful. You have upset another previous poster on here too I've seen

I’m sorry but i fundamentally disagree that it’s hurtful to state an 86yr old will die at some point.

My point being that plenty of people are in this situation, who may need banks to stay open. Whether they are in their 60s/70s/80s or even younger. Who are not tech savvy. Who are housebound. Who does not wish to bank online.

if you are housebound, surely you need to bank online??!!!!

98% of people bank online. My 78 year old parents bank online. It’s not an anomaly. Branches will die out and 100% online will be the norm. Which benefits those less able and rural people surely?

I took DS into Barclays to open a teen account and we were told we needed to book an appointment for three weeks hence to achieve this feat. Needless to say we opened him an account at another bank online. Took 15 minutes.

I've read another one of your comments on this thread.

'why would I need to pay in cash'

Because people do use cash? It's legal tender.
I work in retail and 3/4 transactions are paid in cash.

Stop making assumptions based on your own personal experience.
Not everyone is like you.

Wow, big woop you haven't been in a bank for 20 years..
(Which I find hard to believe personally)

Think of other situations, other people's live experiences, situations.
Where they need to speak to people in branches, where they need to pay in cash.

Your comments have been quite insensitive. Please think of a bigger picture before posting.

Where you can discuss your issue in front of the rest of the queue for the "teller" then be sent back as they can't actually solve your issue. The mind boggles

Telephone banking is a thing.

I think it's better to describe those with disabilities who require the assistance of a branch.

Because people do use cash? It's legal tender. I work in retail and 3/4 transactions are paid in cash

are you genuinely saying three quarters of transactions are cash? Because I just googled it and it’s about 15%. Irrespective of this we’re talking about personal not business banking

In the shop I work in yes, it is. A well known shop too.

Please think of other people's personal situations before posting.
Do not assume everyone is like you, in your situation.

Please think of other people's personal situations before posting. Do not assume everyone is like you, in your situation

I don’t. But my situation is the vast majority of the UK. They can’t have branches on every high street to cater for the 2-5% of people who had branches. That’s just business surely?

There was no online fraud before the internet was invented at all.

Because people do use cash? It's legal tender.
I work in retail and 3/4 transactions are paid in cash.

They really aren’t. There is actual facts to prove that.

https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/press-release/contactless-makes-third-all-payments-while-cash-use-falls-again-in

I had to use cash a couple of days ago as I was somewhere and the card machine wasn’t working. Other than that it was the first time I’d used cash in the U.K. in the last 5 years or so. I know my experience isn’t everyone but I do know that the two places I spent money today are card only and my two nearest pubs are card only too.

I like it when an iPad person moves people out of the queue who have a longer request. It makes it shorter for those of us who want to do something quickly. If you're paying a cheque in, it's a pain if the person in front wants to open an account for example.

I can't see a problem with being moved out of the queue to wait on a chair, if the staff at the front of the queue can't help you. You're in the wrong place and need to be moved to the right place. Maybe that means a slightly longer wait, because you've got a longer request or transaction.

Why on earth would you queue up in branch to withdraw £100 cash?? That’s exactly the sort of shit they are trying to redirect.

@LuciaMimi *I have internet on my phone but I can't afford the data, I'm on cheap plan meaning I can only use my phone for calls and texts.

I have to have wifi at home because of my voluntary unpaid work. Which I do for my mental health. I can't do a 9 to 5. And being disabled I shop online.
But after my Wi-Fi bill and my basic mobile smartphone bill and all the bills for my care etc I can't afford a more pricey mobile plan.*

Sorry but how on earth does this mean toy ‘can’t’ bank online?? You literally said you have Wi-Fi at home and shop online. If you can shop online you can bank online, it doesn’t require a pricey mobile plan at all.

Yes online is great until you are locked out of your account and no one is answering the phone at your bank.

How soul destroying for the iPad wanderer - knowing that they are showing the customer how to do their job for them online, so they'll stop coming in store, so their job can be got rid of and the branch closed.

I've been trying to open an account for my child but you have to go in to make an appointment to go back in, and I have to do each during annual leave - went in hoping I could get an appt in the summer holidays but I can't and I'm not off until Christmas now 🤷🏼‍♀️. And by then his photo ID will have expired so we won't be able to do it anyway!

I have to pay a cheque in once a year & they always try to get me to use the machine - but to use the machine I have to pay the cheque into one account, wait on it to show up (takes about 3-4 hours), clear then move it to the account I actually want the money to be in.

Now I just tell them I don't know the PIN number for the card so I can pay it in at the counter to the right account - which is true because I never withdraw cash from the account & other than the cheque never physically pay anything in because I do all my banking for that account online.

DH and I bank online and I find it much easier and more convenient but there are circumstances when it's necessary to go to a bank.
DH is self employed and is occassionally paid in cash (need to go to an actual bank) or cheque. The Barclays app is very hit and miss about paying cheques in and it only works on cheques of a certain amount. So any cheque exceeding (I think) £1000 needs to be paid in at the bank.
I take my kids to the bank to pay in birthday money or in DDs case baby sitting money.

When a relative died suddenly I went into the bank to freeze/close their account. They took copies of my id there and then at the bank. I imagine I could have done over the phone but I'd have probably had to listen to 25 multiple choice options snd some lift music before I got to speak to an actual person and then possibly email a copy of my ID.

These are a few of the reasons I've used the bank in the past year - I'm not doing day to day banking there and I would always rather sort out via the app but I'm highlighting instances when even if you use online banking you may have reason to visit a bank.

And somehow manage to post on here, which I assume isn’t being done by carrier pigeon.

My bank doesn’t do paying in cheques online so I post them. All you do is post the cheque to the bank with a note asking them to pay it in to the following sort code and account number.

In my place of employment in retail, yes 3/4 transactions are paid in cash.

I should know, I am the one who serves the customers.

Why do you find that hard to believe?

Life's going to be so wonderful when all the old people are dead, isn't it? none of those dinosaurs trying to hold back the brave new world.

Oh wait. One day that's you not being able to keep up with tech because of eyesight or arthritic hands or not being able to understand the logon process of whatever it is.

I have only ever had a bank account with the Co-op so that's for about 25 years. They hardly ever had branches so no, 20 years ago I wasn't needing to go to one frequently.

I occasionally needed to pay in cheques. I used to pop to a branch when I worked near one of theirs but otherwise posted them or paid them in at a Post Office. I haven't had to do that for maybe 15 years now.