Where do you buy your road tax disc?

[Ricky2]

Would love to see the range of views on this one!

I know I'm a cynical old b***, but everything seems to be geared to putting our Post Offices out of business.

First the TV license business was taken away from them, now the road fund license can be bought on-line "for our convenience". Yea right.

Whilst I am perfectly able to get mine on line I make a point of going to the Post Office for all of ours if only to keep the number issued at the PO as high as possible and not give our gov't any more reason to close them down.

 

[Diyisfun]

But why try & keep a post office anymore than you try & keep a corner shop. (oh maybe you do).
Its only a business, maybe years ago it was a service if they cant compete then they have to go.

 

[JohnD]

Post office. get the disk immediately. and the cheque takes a few days to clear.

 

[Bahco]

Very public spirited of you Ricky but year on year will see changes in all walks of life in the interest of saving money.

This will always be the case.

 

[bernardgreen]

Very public spirited of you Ricky but year on year will see changes in all walks of life in the interest of saving money.

This will always be the case.

Not always. In some cases it is not saving money to reduce losses in order to stay in business but saving costs to increase profit for (often) reduced services.

 

[Sparky Jim]

On this I am of the opinion that the Post Office and Royal Mail should be state owned and controlled for the benefit of the nation. It is right and proper that businesses should have a range of possible delivery services for parcels etc, but I do honestly feel that the general postal service should remain part of the establishment.

In this I agree, that the PO should be able to sell all types of licence as they once did, but I would also advocate that they should be able to be ordered online for those whose busy lives make access to a post offcie dificult.

The Postal Service, of which the Post Offices are an integral part, should not be primarilly about a profit, it should be about providing a safe and secure set if socially required services for the community.

 

[tim west]

Unfortunately Thatcher put paid to state ownership and any attempt to prop up antiquated services will just be a burden on the state.

We can't take backward steps anymore otherwise as a nation we will fall far behind the others and who knows in a few decades we may become the third world?

 

[Bahco]

The Postal Service, of which the Post Offices are an integral part, should not be primarilly about a profit, it should be about providing a safe and secure set if socially required services for the community.

I agree, but in the real world everything has to be paid for. Your suggestion would be another expense for the taxpayer.

 

[Steve]

What is it with writing cheques to the post office??? Why dont people just use their debit card???? This especially applies to older people. I HATE cheques, They are a dreadfully slow, inconvenient and unreliable way to pay and people who use them at Post offices should have their cheque books burnt.

The same goes for all the pensioners who go down the post office every week and get ALL of their pension out. WHY DO THIS??? "I dont trust the bank" FFS get a grip. Do you trust all the theiving low life scum you're going to walk past outside the post office?

Many Post Offices are old-fashioned decor-wise. With cheap hardboard panneling and bits of shop fixtures dotted about, and a single fluorescent striplight lighting the place. Yuck. Younger people simply dont want to go into these places. This applies especially to the outlying post offices, which unsurprisingly are taking least money.

Then again even Doncaster central post office, a large one with 20 counters, is dated and in need of a refit. Theres a stamp dispenser that looks like it hasnt worked in years (yet it does), the ceiling has dark streaks of dust across it from the air vents, it has big wooden doors to get in, and its generally shabby and run down.

And the stupidest thing about post offices is . . .

QUEUES!!!!

Older people might not mind queueing, they've got **** all else to do, but everyone else have lives to live!!!! Lets get these queues shifted!!! Its car tax / pension day, letrs get more staff on!!!!

Unfortunately Post offices are backwards thinking. While their head office and marketing depts are thinking of new ways and making the image of Post Offices better and more modern, many Post Office branches are still stuck in the 80's WRT decor and service. Ugly and Slow.

TV licensing was moved to PayPoint because they are simply cheaper. I still dont get why people dont pay online or by direct debit.

If all POs were closed tomorrow where would one buy stamps and post parcels? They cannot do this. Some POs will inevitably stay open and be busier than ever.

As for the car tax, I think i'll get mine online this year. Only £35/year for me.

 

[tim west]

You have to give leeway to the old, for one thing they come from an era when you got paid in cash not into a bank and as you rightly say they don't trust banks so they like to get access to their cash as soon as possible without thought of any danger from muggers outside.

Not all pensioners are PC literate and would be frightened to use online services.

 

[Steve]

Not all pensioners are PC literate and would be frightened to use online services.

And I appreciate this. At no point did i suggest that i expected pensioners to go out and buy a PC! The thought fills me with dread, all those poor grandsons having to teach their grandparents how to use their now PC!!! (been there, done that!)

 

[Ricky2]

[quoteAnd I appreciate this. At no point did i suggest that i expected pensioners to go out and buy a PC! The thought fills me with dread, all those poor grandsons having to teach their grandparents how to use their now PC!!! (been there, done that!)]


Think that's all changing
The Silver Surfers now spend more time on line than anyone else..................because they can! [/quote]

 

[RF Lighting]

If it were not for the weekly trip to the PO many of the pensioners would rarely leave their houses.

To the elderly the PO is more than just the place they go to collect their pension.

Yes, some have dated decor, but is this not true of all types of shops? I have worked in co-ops which look asif they have not been touched in 20 years.

Crafty, you seem to forget alot of the elderly people who go and collect their pension every week have never had a bank account, and can not cope with the form filling and general confusion of trying to setup and manage a bank account at this stage in their lives.

I'm not entirely sure why you single out the PO for cheque writing?

Yes people do still write cheques in POs, but the quantity of cheques is falling rapidly, as it is in the majority of retail outlets.


Without the PO, where will you go to apply for a passport or a driving license? or to redirect your post?


The post office network is trying to keep up with the times. They offer more than just pensions and stamps.

Insurance – travel, car, home.
Passports, and travel money cards
Medical care abroad
International driving permits
Vehicle tax and driving licences
Credit cards and personal loans
Money transfers and bill payments
Gift vouchers and postal orders
Stamps
Standard, urgent and valuable mail services
Instant and five year savings
Child trust funds
Savings stamps
Phonecards and mobile topups
National lottery
Rod fishing licences
Foreign currency is available over the counter
etc....


P.S. I hope your tax disc is late or incorrect or there is some other problem with it, and you cant find a friendly PO to pop into and get it sorted.

 

[nelsy]

I find it very difficult to use my post office. It is in the middle of a busy road, where it is impossible to park. Double yellow lines everywhere and even in the nearby side roads. Plenty of cameras waiting to earn some money from someone daring to chance their luck. If I wanted to support my local Post Office, I would need to park my car in the nearest carpark some 10 minutes away (by car) at a supermarket and then wait for a bus to take me down there. Even if this was acceptable, I would never manage to get there when it was still open.

I would like to see a Post Office inside a supermarket, keeping later closing times and open the hours that suit people who work during the week.

 

[Sparky Jim]

You have to give leeway to the old, for one thing they come from an era when you got paid in cash not into a bank and as you rightly say they don't trust banks so they like to get access to their cash as soon as possible without thought of any danger from muggers outside.

Not all pensioners are PC literate and would be frightened to use online services.

I am 78 years old, and to be honest I get really annoyed when I hear people of my generation banging this drum. It is a simple cop out as they refuse to embrace the changing world we live in, in fact I have concluded that the majority of people of my generation are waiting to die, nothing more. From the neck up many have been dead for years.