[Lilly]

Originally Posted by claytonender

I suspect it is not consideration for people having to climb steep streets. Anyone who lives in the Church Kirk area faces a very steep climb to the Dill Hall Lane Post Office. If you live in Huncoat or Belthorn (both places are within the borough of Hyndburn), you will face a very long journey to your nearest Post Office.

Having your pension etc paid into a bank account is all very well, if you can access your money easily, but if there is no cash machine in the area in which you live you will not find it very easy to get at your money. Also not all cash machines are free, many charge to take out money. Many older people do not like using cash machines (fear of being mugged whilst you are taking out your money is one concern), also lots of shops now will not accept cheques as a form of payment. I do feel that large supermarkets, such as Asda are being penny pinching in this instant - they do not have to pay any cheques into the bank so do not incur bank charges.

It is all very well saying that pensions and other benefits can be paid into bank accounts, but not everyone is able to open a bank account (because of problems with having enough ID etc), and people with very low income are not the people most banks want as customers. Banks are only interested in how much profit they can make from customers, by selling loans/credit cards etc to customers. People with low incomes do not match the profile of customers they want to attract. Even if people have bank accounts, not everyone can use services such as online banking, because not everyone has access to the internet. If you have a low income the cost of a computer and internet access would not feature very high on your list of essential household items.

Excellent post, Claytonender. Karma on its way.