Cashless society does not suit everyone

THE Cotswold councils have announced that from next year all of their car parks will no longer have cash ticket machines. They will be card/contactless or phone payment.

Where will that leave people with old phones that cannot download apps to pay, or do not want to pay by bank card? Some people do not have bank cards, they have pass books with their bank.

What happens when the systems breakdown, as they have been known to? It is always happening in shops. What if you enter a car park with an exit barrier and you are unable to buy a ticket if you only have cash? We will be parking in the side streets.

The same thing with shops not using cash. Surely they need to sell their stock. If they don’t take cash, then they are disobeying Boris and his mates, as we are supposed to be rescuing the economy by spending as much as we can, cash or otherwise. Finally, why, oh why, do we all have to fall in line just because everyone expects us to?

Our freedoms are constantly being eroded by ‘go on the internet to do things/go cashless’, etc.

I am not a Neanderthal, but I am fed up with being dictated to on how I live my life. Just because things are trending, it doesn’t mean it suits everyone. One size does not fit all. You don’t have to be elderly to prefer cash.

No wonder there is so much stress around as we are being pushed here and there by restrictions created by others to suit them, not us.

The same with Covid. People want us ‘oldies’ to hide away.

You must be joking. When we finally put our noses above the parapet we will be met with a cashless society, knee deep in fly tipping, slavishly attached to their mobiles acknowledging no one in their travels.

We more mature persons are still due respect and consideration. The world needs diverse outlooks, not just modern ones.

Sorry, this is one ‘oldie’ who (although I admit some modern processes are very useful) will not be dragged into a world where all of our actions are decided by others just because it suits THEM.

The funny thing is that the phrase now is ‘you can’t tell me what to do, it is my life’. However, it doesn’t stop them from coercing us!

Mrs T Newman

Gloucester