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Companies causing distress by removing traditional payment means

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  • dw89
    dw89 Posts: 59 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    eskbanker said:
    https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/your-water-bill/payment-options/ certainly isn't very specific and definitely doesn't mandate that any customers have any right to insist on continuing to pay by preferred methods for reasons of maintaining traditions:

    Your company should offer you a variety of payment frequencies so that you can choose the one that suits you best. This will vary between the water companies. Typical examples include paying the bill in weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments or in full at the beginning of the charging year.

    Many companies will consider special arrangements at the request of individual customers. Your company will discuss a realistic payment plan with you to make sure that any instalment plan agreed is achievable and can be maintained.

    You should also be offered a choice of payment method.

    Your water company is also required to offer a range of locations where you can pay your bill.

    Visit your water company website for further details on the payment options it can offer you.

    Thanks for that. She pays via cheque, on bill receipt, bi-annually. I get the special arrangements thing stated in your post quote (thanks I can suggest she call them up to maybe see if they can continue it somehow). Again, just personal experience here, CS agents tend to go via hymn sheets and only have options they’re told about so such things aren’t always easy when policies mandate changes within companies. Otherwise DD seems like the best option in the circumstances for her (it’s country like p00hsticks said).

    Still, can try. Much appreciated:)
  • dw89
    dw89 Posts: 59 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker

    Personally, and it’s just that, I don’t think cash or paper should ever be removed. Things fail, paper doesn’t. Still, what can you do lol.
  • dw89
    dw89 Posts: 59 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hoenir said:
    dw89 said:
    dw89 said:
    Very interesting to hear all of that :) I take it all on board and don’t have an issue myself, I use apps like most, but although I hear your points clearly, don’t disagree with them, it’s just not applicable to all…choice or not. If it’s consumer led then fair game but in my experience it often isn’t even if it’s presented as such.

    Just a qu but is not a bill, paid in arrears, a debt? Therefore shouldn’t any legal tender be applicable?

    Anyway, just thought I’d ask as I didn’t know and I can relate whatever back. 

    Thanks all for replying
    No, because it has a very specific application.

    https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender
    Got it. Thanks all, DD will be my suggestion though. The reticence, as I understand it, is more to do with their control of their finances and paying as and when as opposed to having money automatically taken. Again, a generation thing.

    All appreciated. 
    Direct debits have been around for approaching 5 decades. Hardly a new form of payment. 


    I agree. Again, I see it as a generation/control over finances thing. However I do see her point on it because I’ve had issues myself before. The DD guarantee is there, and works, but companies now work more and more via automated services and it can go wrong very quickly. I had an automated system more than double an energy bill, incorrectly, and when I sent them the correct amount and reversed the DD they freaked out and went to cancel the contract even though it was their mistake. Stuff like this happens more and more now and causes a lot of hassle that, without doubt, Pensioners can’t deal with like I or you may be able to. That’s all.
  • DullGreyGuy
    DullGreyGuy Posts: 18,613 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    dw89 said:
    It’s a large Utility provider that is the only supplier, they removed all options that she uses, namely Cash, Transfer and Cheque. The only things that remain are storing cards (credit/debit), DD, or Apps. There’s also some pay thing (don’t know what it is myself but something to do with yet another card which can’t apply to her). If this is objectively against some regulation or law I’d be interested to know and I’ll try doing something about it. 

    My issue is that there’s no choice to go elsewhere so it should be inclusive and not the opposite. Surely people would be on board with that idea? We all get old and we shouldn’t have to pay to play where we have no choice in the matter with a Utility.
    So it's a water company, we are starting to narrow in here, given gas/electric/phone etc you can change suppliers (though good luck with finding one that takes cash). 

    If we knew which water supplier it would help too, I mean I've checked the first 3 pages of water companies that appear on Google and all have multiple ways to pay most including cash at the post office, bank and/or some form of paypoint card

    dw89 said:
    Very interesting to hear all of that :) I take it all on board and don’t have an issue myself, I use apps like most, but although I hear your points clearly, don’t disagree with them, it’s just not applicable to all…choice or not. If it’s consumer led then fair game but in my experience it often isn’t even if it’s presented as such.

    Just a qu but is not a bill, paid in arrears, a debt? Therefore shouldn’t any legal tender be applicable?
    Depends where you are in the UK, coins are legal tender everywhere, there is no other legal tender in Scotland, however there are limits, 1p and 2p coins are only legal tender for a demand up to 20p. In E&W Bank of England notes are also legal tender. Cheques, debit cards etc arent. 

    If you pay your debt in legal tender to the court you can then not be sued for non-payment. 
  • 2childmum2
    2childmum2 Posts: 249 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 17 January at 5:40PM
    My parents are in their 80s and simply cannot get their heads around online banking, anything on their phone past a text (mum only) or a call (with difficulty). It's not that they won't change, they simply don't understand how it all works however much time I patiently spend explaining. So they are gradually losing their independence. Thankfully they are with Nationwide, and they can get to the branch. Staff there are really understanding and sort out anything they need. Not all elderly people can adapt easily.

    Ageuk are campaigning about services all moving online and how this is affecting older people. Scroll down on this page to see how many this affects

     
    https://www.ageuk.org.uk/our-impact/campaigning/offline-overlooked/

  • MacPingu1986
    MacPingu1986 Posts: 238 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    dw89 said:

    Personally, and it’s just that, I don’t think cash or paper should ever be removed. Things fail, paper doesn’t. Still, what can you do lol.
    Paper can absolutely fail - much easier to be lost, much more vulnerable to theft, it has to be counted, banked, unbanked etc...

    For all the talk of cards or other electronic payment methods failing I genuinely can't think of a single instance in at least the last 10 years (and I use my card for everything) when this has ever created a problem for me. 
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 22,519 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    Paper bills can go missing in the post and not be delivered.
  • DullGreyGuy
    DullGreyGuy Posts: 18,613 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    My parents are in their 80s and simply cannot get their heads around online banking, anything on their phone past a text (mum only) or a call (with difficulty). It's not that they won't change, they simply don't understand how it all works however much time I patiently spend explaining. So they are gradually losing their independence. Thankfully they are with Nationwide, and they can get to the branch. Staff there are really understanding and sort out anything they need. Not all elderly people can adapt easily.

    Ageuk are campaigning about services all moving online and how this is affecting older people. Scroll down on this page to see how many this affects
    A home telephone became the norm in the 70s when your parents would have been in their 30s... how are they not comfortable making a call? 

    That doesn't sound like not being able to cope with change but a degeneration in faculties which personally would make me worried about them trying to go into the bank and do anything on their own. I'm not implying the bank staff would be wanting to do something bad but if they've forgotten how to use a phone after 50 years of using one do they understand what they're asking the bank staff to do? My great aunt was sending money in envelopes to her long dead nephew for years before someone caught and stopped her. 
  • la531983
    la531983 Posts: 3,111 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    dw89 said:
    It’s a large Utility provider that is the only supplier, they removed all options that she uses, namely Cash, Transfer and Cheque. The only things that remain are storing cards (credit/debit), DD, or Apps. There’s also some pay thing (don’t know what it is myself but something to do with yet another card which can’t apply to her). If this is objectively against some regulation or law I’d be interested to know and I’ll try doing something about it. 

    My issue is that there’s no choice to go elsewhere so it should be inclusive and not the opposite. Surely people would be on board with that idea? We all get old and we shouldn’t have to pay to play where we have no choice in the matter with a Utility.
    So it's a water company, we are starting to narrow in here, given gas/electric/phone etc you can change suppliers (though good luck with finding one that takes cash). 




    I would be very, very surprised if there wasnt a single water company in the UK where you could NOT take a bill down to the petrol station/supermarket and pay in cash via the PayPoint yellow machines.
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