East Dulwich Barclays to close on December 2nd

[Penguin68]

I do think people need to recognise that whilst old people may be able, in theory, to 'work' IT, poor sight (cataracts anyone?) and e.g. annoying things like Parkinson's can get in the way of readily using what can appear 'fiddly' things like smart phones. I'm lucky, in my early 70s that I'm still sufficiently fit that these are not yet a hindrance, but I'm aware that they may become so, even though I'm fully able to know how tech stuff works. So 'think about the old' may well be 'think about the people not fully able' - which disproportionately do include the elderly.

Clearly the physically and technically able 'old' may feel patronised by those who plead their presumed problems - but they are not the only ones out there.

And there are technophobes - again of all ages but again disproportionately on the aging side. Who should still be able to bank with some convenience.

[Spartacus]

In answer to Sue, no stats but my and my partners parents both don't use Internet banking, they are all 80 plus and prefer going into a branch to do things

In answer to jen.., I speak for my parents generation so not using elders as a stick to bash with

In terms of paying in via the post, the issue there is that I have to request a paying in slip to be sent to me which takes about a week then whilst I could post it, with the state of deliveries recently and the additional cost of stamps it's not a great option.

Simple solution is not to close all banks in a town and work with the population rather than an accountant at head office closing it to save a few Bob

[Moovart]

The day I was in the bank with a long queue, most people were not "old" but they still had transactions that could only be done at the counter of Barclays. You may not need to use the counter often but when you do need it, who wants to travel to one of the last remaining and therefore increasingly crowded branches just so Barclays can maintain their profits and dividends for the more wealthy in the population.

[Pugwash]

My husband helps out an elderly partial sighted friend with mobility issues with her finances. She struggles to write cheques and prefers to pay for many goods in cash. Husband, after a number of attempts, persuaded her to set up direct debits/standing orders for council tax/energy bills etc after she had received bailiffs letters for non payment. She admitted that she could not see to write cheques and her mobility problems plus the closure of Lloyd's bank (staff helped her to pay things) meant that she struggled to get to the ATM at Salisbury's and also could not see the numbers to press. She now rings my husband and he uses her card to get cash for her.

To some people, local banks are a source of assistance as mentioned above, which on line banking cannot provide.

Where my parents used to live in West Sussex, once they were not mobile, they used to ring the local Nat West Branch and the manager would drive over to them with cash and collect their cheques. I have never heard of a bank doing this- so when the local branch went to opening 2 days a week then eventually closing - the nearest bank was 8 miles away. They gave a close friend Lasting Power of Attorney and she was able to use the only ATM in the village.

[Sue]

In answer to Sue, no stats but my and my partners parents both don't use Internet banking, they are all 80 plus and prefer going into a branch to do things

 

 

Sorry to quibble, and sorry that your and your partner's parents will be inconvenienced, but four people you happen to know are not "most" old people!

We have to move with the times, even if change becomes mentally more difficult as we get older. Sometimes it just takes a while to get used to different ways of doing things.

[Spartacus]

Sue

Are you deliberately just being obtuse and failing to see others points of view ?

[SE22_2020er]

My parents are both in their late 80s as are my partners and they all use internet banking and haven't stepped into a branch in years according to them.

Whether we like it or not, banks are profit making organisations and not charities. If they don't think in order to be successful they need bricks and mortar establishments then that's a pretty good indication of whether they are well used by the general population. If they were then it would not be in their interest to close.

I'm interested to understand why people actually go into banks.

I can understand you need them to pay in large volumes of coins, but you can pay in notes / cheques into ATMs (or in the rare occasion I get a cheque I send it via post to the bank). You can open new accounts on line and move money electronically.

Unfortunately, for people who don't like using the internet then banking has moved to being an on-line business now. Must be very frustrating for people who can't use a computer but I doubt that holds much sway with a big business.

[exdulwicher]

You can pay cheques in using the banking app now as well. Take a photo of it within the app, it clears in a couple of days (often faster than paying it in over the counter!)

I guess the anecdotes of "old people" will be as varied as they come - there will undoubtedly be some who can't (or don't want to) use smartphones, there will be some that welcome the fact they no longer have to walk to a branch, stand in line etc for a job that can be done in minutes using a laptop or phone.

I wonder what will become of the building...? Wine bar maybe. There are only about a dozen estate agents within easy reach of it too, maybe we need another one of those... ;-)

[Spartacus]

Ex

See my earlier response on paying in cheques

Not all banks have enabled the feature on their apps (yet) 😮‍💨

[Guest]

I wonder what will become of the building...? Wine bar maybe. There are only about a dozen estate agents within easy reach of it too, maybe we need another one of those... ;-)

 

How about a posh food hall? It would be a good spot for a second branch of Gladwell's, which is in a former bank in Camberwell.

[Moovart]

A posh foodhall??!!!!! Nooooooooo 😭

How much posh food can people eat in ED?

How about a bank? When this one goes there will be no banks in ED. A bank would be really useful to the community!

[Sue]

Sue

Are you deliberately just being obtuse and failing to see others points of view ?

 

No, I'm querying your saying "most" old people want to use bank branches based on a sample of four people!

[Bic Basher]

The main reason for using that branch is that 9/10 I can use the machines inside and withdraw cash in the way I like it, the Post Office doesn't always have all the notes you wish to have them in.

[gabys1st]

I have a severe tremor which stops me from using online, am a wheel chair user and dont drive which means that to visit HSBC I wd have to take a mini cab there and and back. Do have HSBC acount with phone voice recognition but it's service is absolutely awful.

[NewWave]

The main reason for using that branch is that 9/10 I can use the machines inside and withdraw cash in the way I like it, the Post Office doesn't always have all the notes you wish to have them in.

 

Ditto,

I feel safe withdrawing cash in the bank.

[Bic Basher]

Time will tell if I use the PO to collect cash from December or go to Rye Lane to get cash from the machines inside instead, but I think the Peckham option may be the lesser of two evils in December in the run up to Christmas.

[gabys1st]

so now will have to contend with more ques in PO

[Spartacus]

Things that make you go "hmmmmm"

BBC News - Cost of living: People turning back to cash as prices rise

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62437819

[Spartacus]

Even more information on the folly of closing banks and trying to remove access to "cash"

BBC News - Decline in cash use eases after pandemic slump

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62576024

[monica]

Unfortunately it is the sign of the times, branches are closing everywhere, I bank with Santander, and I have to travel Bromley. I live in Shirley, Croydon so its not too bad.

[zenoria65]

I do not understand some people's reluctance to do online banking. I use it all the time. I can see immediately what's going in and out of my account and keep tabs on my household payments for things like gas and electricity which I have a separate account for. I have not used an actual bank in years for over the counter transactions except and only when the ATM is out of service. These days you can get cashback quite easily at most big stores or supermarkets if you need to carry cash. We just have to adapt and move with the times. I'm now 80 years old and much prefer doing my banking from the comfort of my home!

 

It is possible to pay in cheques using online banking, but how do you pay in cash online?

[Spartacus]

Unfortunately it is the sign of the times, branches are closing everywhere, I bank with Santander, and I have to travel Bromley. I live in Shirley, Croydon so its not too bad.

 

Branches are closing because the end users (us) aren't raising enough objections

A branch closure normally impacts those least likely to complain.and one day soon a bank branch will be a display in a museum and like other great services (recyclable glass milk bottles, 1970s electric delivery vehicles and paper (not plastic) bags we will look back and wonder how we let them go

If you want to keep a local bank, vote with your feet and use it 😉

[Bic Basher]

A long queue for the machines at Barclays at 2pm this afternoon. They had two members of staff in there helping customers one who had to be taken to the then closed counter to cash all her cheques in as she couldn't cope with the machine.

An older customer had to be helped as well as he was getting distressed when trying to use the machine, while another asked about withdrawals from the Post Office which are smaller than from a bank. He was told to go to a bank which will be harder when this branch closes in December.

[Bic Basher]

Barclays are closing two more branches in Southwark.

Walworth Road - 13th April.

Tower Bridge Road - 19th April.

This will leave the borough with just two branches, London Bridge and Peckham.

[gabys1st]

Cant do Online Banking cos have severe tremor