GOING automatic

WE’RE INCHING CLOSER TOWARDS A CASHLESS SOCIETY

You can’t understand why Automatic Teller Machines are being closed down around the country. Surely the reason bank staff are being laid off is because of the swing to automation? Yet wouldn’t that mean ATMs would increase in number, rather than decrease? One of the main reasons

ATMs are closing down is the undeniable move towards a cashless society. Because we are using plastic cards more to pay for our purchases, there is less need to withdraw or deposit cash. I can foresee the time where there will be no need for ATMs at all. The other reason why some ATMs are not being used so much is that we are no longer being charged to use a machine from one bank to withdraw cash from another. Suddenly there are far more ATMs available for us to choose from, without being charged. Some banks are finding that certain ATMs are no longer used enough to justify the cost of running them. Hopefully, this won’t mean that any towns or commercial areas are left with no ATMs at all any time soon.

You have joined a gym on a three-month contract, but have also booked a three-week holiday in Europe. Should the gym give you a three-week fee holiday, given you won’t be training there over that time? I am aware of a smaller gym that will extend your contract for the amount of time you are overseas on business or on holiday. But I expect this is a rarity among gyms, particularly the big name operators. Should they? I don’t see that they have any obligation to do so. It’s your call when you take your holidays and if it’s a business trip, then you should more properly be seeking out compensation from your employer. The time to take up the issue of holidays or business trips with your gym is when you’re signing a new contract. It may be that you can negotiate fee holidays prior to signing up. It would be reasonable for a gym to take into account a lengthy planned holiday when you can’t attend, especially if the contract was reasonably short. But I think it really comes down to good will rather than obligation.