Ghost Transactions

matttye

With regards to the petrol station:

1. They can't stop her from leaving.
2. Making off without payment is only an offence if the person is dishonest in doing so. If you leave and go home in order to get an alternative payment method, then return to pay, no crime has been committed.

If I found myself in that situation I would offer to leave a security at the petrol station while I went home then return.

matttye

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

There are people in this country who are on such tight budgets they can barely eat how would they have a secondary method of payment?

Mind you I trust the banks less and less and 9 times out of 10 shop with cash myself and always try to keep a bit of emergency cash in if we can, but a few years back and we have been digging around down backs of sofa's and collecting up coppers to go any get some extra nappies and we ran out the day before benefit pay day (OH was made redundant twice in 2 years). We had budgeted and used our limited budget to buy the nappies we normally needed, but a bout of illness for the little one used them up faster.

Some people live literally penny to penny so this type of stupid computer "glitch" can really impact on SOME people. To us now? Probably not an issue if it was a small amount.

So I agree with the idea, but the reality is for some its just not an option.

Ali x

Sure it is - just split your pennies between two or more different accounts.

bambos

Hmm this is somewhat concerning as I no longer have a credit card ( cut up) and I'm usually down to pennies in my account before pay day ( it was 0.20pence the day before pay day last month) with regards to the petrol station I filled up last year at BP and when I looked in my handbag for my purse I had left my purse at home they made me fill in a form which gives you seven days to pay and if you don't they pass on your details to the Police. They also wrote down my driving licence details on the form.

They can't physically keep you at the petrol station and if they called the Police they would probably ask them why they hadn't given the person a chance to go home and get the payment.

PeacefulWaters

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

There are people in this country who are on such tight budgets they can barely eat how would they have a secondary method of payment?

Mind you I trust the banks less and less and 9 times out of 10 shop with cash myself and always try to keep a bit of emergency cash in if we can, but a few years back and we have been digging around down backs of sofa's and collecting up coppers to go any get some extra nappies and we ran out the day before benefit pay day (OH was made redundant twice in 2 years). We had budgeted and used our limited budget to buy the nappies we normally needed, but a bout of illness for the little one used them up faster.

Some people live literally penny to penny so this type of stupid computer "glitch" can really impact on SOME people. To us now? Probably not an issue if it was a small amount.

So I agree with the idea, but the reality is for some its just not an option.

I get all that.

But for the overwhelming majority of people it is possible to do.

And it's not just a case of doing so for the risk of a bank's computer being unkind. What if a relative was taken seriously ill and you had to travel? Or the fridge came to the end of its natural life? Or your employer messes up the payroll and you get paid three days late?

Even the tightest budget needs some crisis slack in it.