Esther is right on curse of the apps
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY support Dame Esther Rantzen’s criticism of firms that consider older people to be dinosaurs because of their lack of digital knowledge. I applaud her call for a Minister of Older People. The economic downturn has highlighted the fact that the Government sees pensioners as being a thorough nuisance to society and regards them as second-class citizens to be ignored. The financial and retail sectors should wake up to the fact that a vast majority of the ageing public are not computer or smartphone savvy. We find the advancement of online technology to be frustrating and time-consuming, yet our protests are dismissed as mere grumbles of no importance. some supermarkets offer savings and money-off coupons only if you download their app, so shoppers without smartphones lose out. Why can’t firms recognise that not everyone is up to speed with technology?
KARL SHERIDAN, Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, E. Yorks.
I AM in my 70s and consider myself tech savvy, but like Esther Rantzen I find it galling that I need to download a different app for nearly every car park I use. I have four apps just for parking in my home town. My sister was going to a restaurant and used a nearby car park without realising there was no other means of payment other than downloading an app. It was dark and there was minimal lighting. after 20 minutes of attempting to download the app, she gave up and parked elsewhere. a few days later she received a £60 fine, which she paid online immediately. I contacted the parking company on her behalf to try to gain some recompense due to the circumstances, but they would not hear of it because she had not contested the fine at the time of paying it. Why can’t there be an alternative method of paying for parking, such as using a debit card? some older people will simply not bother going out if they fear having to deal with this problem. The younger generation tend to be tech savvy so may feel smug about their ability to deal with apps, but they need to remember they will be old one day. Will they still be able to cope?
PETER WOOLLEY, Derby.
ESTHER RANTZEN described her frustration over apps for parking, but what about theatre tickets? I am booked to go to a concert, but now find I need to download the tickets to my mobile phone. I have no idea if my phone can even do this. If it doesn’t, then what do I do? It’s proving impossible to speak to a human to give me advice. Far from saving time, it takes me far longer navigating online booking websites. Downloading tickets to a phone is a step too far for me. Thanks for sticking up for us, Esther.