Stockpiling...

[loveallthingsitalian]

****** hell! Arrived in Belfast city centre at 9.02 am usually people around but many shops don't open until 10 am. Hoards of people queuing up outside Primark, Dunnes, Zara, Next etc. The SA in the M&S food hall said it was manic in the store yesterday people buying Xmas gifts.

The number of people was more like a Saturday afternoon.

I think people are buying now because they aren’t sure there will e another chance.

I’m just opting out of everything.

 

[llloyd]

I decided to pay some cheques into my bank the other day, a Branch was open so why not?The Cashier said we shouldn’t be doing this, admittedly in a lighthearted tone.Why? Well lockdown, only essential transactions, mine was not e.g if you were going overdrawn and needed to pay money in, I was not overdrawn so no need to pay in.I came away not knowing if this was a joke, especially as ‘ I might get a letter’ was mentioned! No mention of ‘ only essential transactions allowed’ on the website, bank? HSBC.been with them and their predecessors for nearly 60 years.

I received a cheque recently & was not looking forward to the treck to bank it.
Looked on my banks website & could pay in by taking a photo of cheque. Took me a while but it was showing in my account the next day.

 

[Sazza]

****** hell! Arrived in Belfast city centre at 9.02 am usually people around but many shops don't open until 10 am. Hoards of people queuing up outside Primark, Dunnes, Zara, Next etc. The SA in the M&S food hall said it was manic in the store yesterday people buying Xmas gifts.

The number of people was more like a Saturday afternoon.

Not really surprising given most of the shops will be shut again in NI from end of week.

 

[Silver Fox]

I received a cheque recently & was not looking forward to the treck to bank it.
Looked on my banks website & could pay in by taking a photo of cheque. Took me a while but it was showing in my account the next day.

Yes I appreciate that Lloyd and I use internet banking and could work out how to pay Cheques in online.However as I decide to make rare visit to a branch not thinking of the response.Many in my age group will not entertain internet banking, it is like Doctors ‘ go online to www.—-‘ some people cannot do it!

 

[Sazza]

I received a cheque recently & was not looking forward to the treck to bank it.
Looked on my banks website & could pay in by taking a photo of cheque. Took me a while but it was showing in my account the next day.

Many banks don't have this facility yet so still have no option but to go to branch.

 

[Vienna]

It`s ridiculous how so many businesses now refuse to accept cheques. I sent something off to London to be repaired and when they rang to say the item was ready to be sent back I offered to either pay by card over the phone or to mail them a cheque. They wouldn`t accept either method and I don`t do online banking so I had to traipse to the bank and ask them to do a bank transfer for me. I wouldn`t care but the company could have held onto the repaired item until either the cheque had cleared or the card payment had gone through.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Haven’t been in bank branch since before lockdown - wonder if the chute thingy for lodgements is still operating.

The last time I was in they had taken all the counters away, no tellers just a bare space with lodgement chute, if you wanted to speak to a human you had to duke behind a wall in the hope of catching someone’s attention and that was pre Covid. Changed days from when our small town actually had 2 branches in the same street down to a blank space!

 

[SusieSue]

I often have to bank the store takings and it is amazing how often I have to queue for service when I'm the only person waiting and there's two cashiers behind the screen chatting to each other and completely ignoring what's going on the other side of their screens.

Just before last Christmas I needed float, it was mid-afternoon so I fill out the form, plod to the bank which takes about 15 minutes gets to the counter only for the cashire to tell me in a bored voice we've run out of pound coins I will have to give you £120 in 50ps.

I think she noticed the steam coming out of my ears because she said I'll check the safe.

They had pound coins!

 

[llloyd]

Many banks don't have this facility yet so still have no option but to go to branch.

I was amazed when I looked online that there was such a thing to be honest.
Wished I’d have known about it when the cheque came from QVC, it’s gone out of date twice.

 

[stratobuddy]

Very frustrated, as explained in this post on my FaceBook timeline - - -

Have spent months looking for a superseded hi-fi to bring it back into use.

Found it about 3 days ago, but the mains lead was not with it, so have been searching for that ever since.

Was elated when I found the lead today and plugged it in.

Then realised that there are no on-board controls on the hi-fi, so everything has to be done from the remote control.

And guess what?

The remote is missing, and has not turned up after a 2 hour search this morning.

And just to add insult to injury, I was using a torch to look into dark corners, and now I've lost the torch as well!

Searching for things is the story of my life!

And my most regular comment to OH is "I just don't know where else to look".



BTW people on ST.com know I am into gadgets, and I have managed to find at least 50 remote controls, but not the one I want The same thing regularly happens when trying to find the correct wall-wart for a gadget.

 

[Silver Fox]

There will not be many bank branches left in existence in the not too far distance future like so many things we are pushed in to going on line.For me I can do it, but I do sometimes like to interact with another human being.If like me you have had a phone call ‘from the bank’ not, it is reassuring to go into the branch and talk to a member of staff.The fraudsters will capitalise on this line of communication not being available.

Very frustrated, as explained in this post on my FaceBook timeline - - -

Have spent months looking for a superseded hi-fi to bring it back into use.

Found it about 3 days ago, but the mains lead was not with it, so have been searching for that ever since.

Was elated when I found the lead today and plugged it in.

Then realised that there are no on-board controls on the hi-fi, so everything has to be done from the remote control.

And guess what?

The remote is missing, and has not turned up after a 2 hour search this morning.

And just to add insult to injury, I was using a torch to look into dark corners, and now I've lost the torch as well!

Searching for things is the story of my life!

And my most regular comment to OH is "I just don't know where else to look".



BTW people on ST.com know I am into gadgets, and I have managed to find at least 50 remote controls, but not the one I want The same thing regularly happens when trying to find the correct wall-wart for a gadget.

Make life as simple as possible Strato, anything with a stress factor is out of the window! HSBC take note!

 

[Boris Bear]

I very rarely have cheques to pay in and they are only ever relatively small amounts (£10 to £25), so when I do have any I bung them in an envelope with a paying in slip and post them through the letter box when the bank is closed. I’m sure you’re probably not meant to do this but I’ve never had a problem.

 

[Lemonpop]

We lost our TV remote a few years ago. We took all the cushions off the settees,moved the settees and searched every cupboard and drawer. We sent away for a new remote and the day it arrived OH moved a cushion on the settees and the old remote was there. Spooky!!

Very frustrated, as explained in this post on my FaceBook timeline - - -

Have spent months looking for a superseded hi-fi to bring it back into use.

Found it about 3 days ago, but the mains lead was not with it, so have been searching for that ever since.

Was elated when I found the lead today and plugged it in.

Then realised that there are no on-board controls on the hi-fi, so everything has to be done from the remote control.

And guess what?

The remote is missing, and has not turned up after a 2 hour search this morning.

And just to add insult to injury, I was using a torch to look into dark corners, and now I've lost the torch as well!

Searching for things is the story of my life!

And my most regular comment to OH is "I just don't know where else to look".



BTW people on ST.com know I am into gadgets, and I have managed to find at least 50 remote controls, but not the one I want The same thing regularly happens when trying to find the correct wall-wart for a gadget.

 

[stratobuddy]

We lost our TV remote a few years ago. We took all the cushions off the settees,moved the settees and searched every cupboard and drawer. We sent away for a new remote and the day it arrived OH moved a cushion on the settees and the old remote was there. Spooky!!

Mine costs £60 to replace, only available from the makers.

Mine is not "lost-lost", I KNOW it is in the house somewhere.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

I spent all day looking for our passports!

I was looking for a savings pass book and suddenly realised the passports weren’t with them and I always keep them in the same place. Not having used them for holidays this year I racked my brains wondering if I had used them for identification purposes so trawled through every handbag, box, drawer and cupboard only for Mr L to find it in its original place but wedged in. I’m at a loss as to how it stayed put as I hauled the stuff in and out umpteen times .

Can go anywhere any time now!

 

[donna255]

My credit union when lifting out your own money or getting a load they print a cheque for the amount. Then you sign it and they either give you cash or a deposit into your bank account. I find it very weird as they operate like a bank open 5 days a week from 10 am - 5 pm apart from Saturday when they close at 1 pm.

I do own a cheque book shoved into a drawer and I think the last cheque was written way back in 2014! There are a few businesses which do still take cheques but they are very few and far between.

 

[Silver Fox]

I spent all day looking for our passports!

I was looking for a savings pass book and suddenly realised the passports weren’t with them and I always keep them in the same place. Not having used them for holidays this year I racked my brains wondering if I had used them for identification purposes so trawled through every handbag, box, drawer and cupboard only for Mr L to find it in its original place but wedged in. I’m at a loss as to how it stayed put as I hauled the stuff in and out umpteen times .

Can go anywhere any time now!

Yes, I am being optimistic and hoping I am blowing the dust off my passport sometime next year! I spent so long looking for mine it had disappeared into thin air then I had a lightbulb moment and as I had been sorting out papers and filled the bag for shredding, could it be? Yes there it was awaiting the shredder, one where you seal up the bag and take it to Office World or the likes!

 

[Toril]

My passport expired in 2014 and I’m not renewing it. I’m no doubt in the minority but, having been abroad a lot in the past, I’ve no desire to join the “I must go abroad” fraternity once this pandemic is finally over. In the unlikely event I do have to go abroad, I’ll get one of the short term passports, assuming they still do them. If they don’t then I’m more than happy to stay in England.

 

[Vienna]

My passport expired in 2014 and I’m not renewing it. I’m no doubt in the minority but, having been abroad a lot in the past, I’ve no desire to join the “I must go abroad” fraternity once this pandemic is finally over. In the unlikely event I do have to go abroad, I’ll get one of the short term passports, assuming they still do them. If they don’t then I’m more than happy to stay in England.

I could be wrong but I think all passports are now valid for 10 years and short term ones aren`t available anymore. I know if your passport is stolen, lost or damaged and it`s essential to travel or if the loss/stolen happens abroad then you can apply for an emergency passport for that particular trip home but if you`re booking ahead for something like a holiday then you`re expected to apply for a full passport. Mr V renewed his last year and considering he`ll be over 80 when it expires I doubt he`ll apply for another.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I could be wrong but I think all passports are now valid for 10 years and short term ones aren`t available anymore. I know if your passport is stolen, lost or damaged and it`s essential to travel or if the loss/stolen happens abroad then you can apply for an emergency passport for that particular trip home but if you`re booking ahead for something like a holiday then you`re expected to apply for a full passport. Mr V renewed his last year and considering he`ll be over 80 when it expires I doubt he`ll apply for another.

That's an interesting one. They were scrapped when we joined the EU Passport standardization, I think. Going it alone might enable them to be reintroduced, as long as the Gov't can get other countries to recognize them again. They were so useful!