Lloyds Bank local branch

Tokmon

SevenOfNine said:

Tokmon said:

SevenOfNine said:

I'd like to keep our local Lloyds branch, it's been there years, but it seems the staff feel differently, clearly happy to end up out of work!

I pop in because I need a cheque book to distribute inheritance funds to beneficiaries.  First I'm grilled on why I want one (the a/c is in my name as Lloyds were reluctant to open an executor's a/c & it only holds estate funds). When I politely explain it's time to pay beneficiaries, she adopts a rather haughty tone & tells me I "should do bank transfers".

A bit taken aback I then explain that I need to transfer £91k each, to 3 people & don't want to spend a week doing it in £££ bits as I can't exceed Lloyds daily transfer limit. To that she replies "well cheques will take a week to clear anyway".  I resort to my own frosty tone & tell her to please request one because I want one.

Moving on from that unwelcome exchange. I pop in to pay in a small cheque, the auto machine isn't working so I go to the cashier (a different one).  She asks if I bank on-line, to which I reply I do for some things.  Then I'm asked why don't I have the Lloyds app as I can pay-in the cheque via that.  She's friendly & polite but now I'm obliged to explain that I don't want the Lloyds app, I don't want to bank via my mobile phone, I don't want to access my bank a/c via it even to just look at the a/c.  I do some banking on my home PC & a some in branch - because that's how I like to bank. 

So when the branch has seen off all it's customers, it can close & the staff can join the unemployed scrap heap - everything everywhere automated & ripe for an electronic meltdown. Rant over.

Why would you want to waste your free time going into a bank on multiple occasions to do things like requesting cheque books and paying in cheques that can be done in a couple minutes from the comfort of your own home?

Why would you waste your 'free time' being bothered enough to comment on my choices.
As stated, I requested a cheque book so I could PAY BENEFICIARIES their inheritance from what was the estate account. Alternatively, you're correct, I could do that from home by bank transfer, £91K per person,  £25K + £25K + £25K + £16K, same for all 3 people taking 11 days to complete. So much more convenient than a stroll to the bank to get a cheque book...NOT! 1 cheque each to go with a copy of the accounts & a short note stating that cashing said cheque would be taken as confirmation that the accounts were in order (not legally binding but they don't know that).

As for paying a small cheque in, I don't care what you do, try not to care what I do, my 'free time' is my own to spend as I like, it doesn't need your approval, perhaps you've got a bit too much.  For the record it was cheque BOOK & paying in a CHEQUE - neither has an 's' on the end making it multiple times.

Well I find reading and commenting on forums an amusing thing to do so that's why I chose to write that comment on here... but it didn't sound like you enjoyed the bank experience at all and considering you didn't need to go there in the first place it sounds like a waste of time to me.

Where did I mention paying by bank transfer in my post? I said you can request a cheque book online instead of wasting time going to the bank to do it. 

It's ironic how you are complaining about my use of wording in my post when you didn't even read it properly and somehow thought I was talking about bank transfers when I never even mentioned that...
Plus you also seem to be annoyed that I'm commenting on your post and giving my opinion on a discussion forum. If you don't want people opinions or only want people to say certain things then your best having a conversation with yourself and not posting on here.

SevenOfNine

For clarity, I could not request a cheque book on line, so I was obliged to go there. Possibly because banks no longer want to issue them, but for now they still do.

Of course, it is impossible for opinionated people not to feel the can give their opinion on any topic, particularly those with a superiority complex perhaps. 

It might be beneficial for you to do a bit of 'in bank' banking. A nice stroll in the fresh air, chat with a few acquaintances along the way, bit of window shopping. Stuck at home on-line doesn't do much for social skills. Just my opinion of course.

Tokmon

SevenOfNine said:

For clarity, I could not request a cheque book on line, so I was obliged to go there. Possibly because banks no longer want to issue them, but for now they still do.

Of course, it is impossible for opinionated people not to feel the can give their opinion on any topic, particularly those with a superiority complex perhaps. 

It might be beneficial for you to do a bit of 'in bank' banking. A nice stroll in the fresh air, chat with a few acquaintances along the way, bit of window shopping. Stuck at home on-line doesn't do much for social skills. Just my opinion of course.

That's a strange policy of theirs; I've never had to go in branch to get a Cheque book on a new account and i would have thought banks would at least allow you to do it over the phone if the option isn't online.

I'm not sure why your so offended by me asking why you wanted to waste time by going to the branch when other options are available to you? and i have no idea how that means i have a "superiority complex" lol

I agree being stuck at home online isn't very appealing and that's the big benefit of having a smartphone where i can do all my financial admin and anything else online from anywhere i want whenever i have a spare few minutes. 
I have no interest in making a trip to the bank just to get out of the house, i would much rather be going for a nice walk and spending time with my family or other things that are far more interesting. 

MattMattMattUK

IvanOpinion said:

I read an article a while back that basically said that branches were a profit drain on banks.  Basically a loss making part pf the business, so it is in their (and their customer's) interests to minimise interactions so that they can focus on more profitable and used areas.  In particular cheques are an expensive way for a bank to do business (cost measured in £'s rather than pennies for electronic).  From a staff point-of-view maybe they want to be employed in more modern areas of the business and don't want to be stuck behind a counter servicing fewer and fewer customers.  You may not be doing them a favour by insisting on using branch facilities.

I am inclined to think that, within the next decade, today's branches will simply become advice offices with limited ability to transact .  Those customers that still need to use face-to-face interactions will use consolidators like the Post Office (who will offer minimal services).

Branches are a huge cost for banks and a cost that really is not needed any more. They require premises, rates, insurance, staffing, maintenance etc. 

Depending on the survey/data used between 80-90% of adults visit a bank branch less than once a year, with 4-8% of people visiting once a month or more. In addition to that less than 10% of those interactions could not be conducted via standard online systems/apps (usually those involving paying in cash) and that was pre-Covid, where now many places have stopped accepting cash entirely is is not far from being dead. I bank personally, I run a business, I have not been to a bank branch for many years now and pretty much everyone else I know is the same, pubs I drink in (or at least in the garden) have stopped taking cash and no longer need cash services. If services cost more to provide than they generate in revenue then they will be phased out, as is already happening, if there is real demand for them then that will be provided at a price, but that price will probably inspire the refuseniks to chance their ways. 

Jaybee_16

Living close to a very small town a couple of years ago Lloyds were the latest bank to close. When asked by the local paper for the reasons for closure, Lloyds said that branch was averaging six counter customers per day.