If we all buy tax disks online that will be another round of post office closures then.
Disgraceful, isn't it.
My local blacksmith closed when everybody stopped using the stagecoach.
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My local blacksmith closed when everybody stopped using the stagecoach.
Shows lack of lateral thjnking! Mine now makes Juliette balconies, ( and other useful items).
pmh
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>> If we all buy tax disks online that will be another round of post office >> closures then. >> Disgraceful isn't it.
Indeed it is. Many older people don't have a computer, and are dependent on the Post Office. You're lucky to have been brought up in a computer-savvy era. Have some sympathy for others not as fortunate as yourself.
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>> >> If we all buy tax disks online that will be another round of........
>> Indeed it is. Many older people don't have a computer and are dependent on thePost Office. You're lucky to have been brought up in a computer-savvy era. Have some sympathy for others not as fortunate as yourself.
I do most things via t'internet but draw a line at ordering a tax disc which may or may not be delivered, by our declining postal system, especially as wrong deliveries might mean that my tax disc is behind someone's door, after the postman has yet again misdirected my mail to a person who has just gone on a long holiday.
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Keping the Post Office going; well I used to think that too, till I found out a) how easy and quick the on-line service is, and b) how much it saves me in time, hassle, parking and petrol.
My local post office is in the middle of town, two miles drive each way and costs at least a quid to park; I could get lucky and find a 30-minute on-street slot but since I know darn well that I'll be queuing for nearly an hour, not worth it. Also have to ensure I've got the MOT and insurance documents, wouldn't be the first time I've turned up with the wrong insurance certificte, since each of my 4 bikes has a seperate one. Then you have to stand in the queue and suffer all the old biddies who've been taxing cars for donkeys years and STILL don't know what's needed!
I've started doing me bit for the environment and do 'em all on-line now;BTW, if you happen to own a classic car or bike which qualifies for Historic Vehicle status, it's even more satisfying. Not only do you get your disc for free, but those nice people at DVLA post it to you, so effectively the year's road fund costs you -27p or whatever a second-class stamp is these days.
Something for nothing from the government; that's a rarity! ;-)
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We had three post offices near-by and only one has car tax. One and only one has passports. The other which was most convenient and had neither service has now closed. Parking outside free and had good access for the less able.... one that remains open has three steps.
I tried to support the post office and it's shop (still open for now) but alas it's likely to go. I have to admit I get my car tax disk in the post - via the lease company though.
The nail was in the coffin when benefits were paid into bank accounts directly.... which is a benefit to the recipient.
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I get paid on the 29th of the month. It is therefore simplest to buy my disc at the PO counter, as postal delays would always mean I had no valid disc for the first few days of the month, especially if a weekend intervenes.
Visting the PO costs me nothing, other than a brisk walk in my lunch hour, so paying on line would not even save me anything.
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I also do my tax discs online for ease- all local offices shut so long queues at the remainder and hassle in parking.
If the Govt wanted to save the Post Office, which they obviously don't want to do,they could have turned it into to the Govt bank, put All Northern Rock etc, deposits etc into one account and started in the mortgage trade.
Also other banks could have agreed with the P.O. that when they shut branches in towns and villages, monies could be deposited at the P.O- but no those palces were left high and dry
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Nothing to stop you posting your documents to the local PO(or just putting them thro' their letterbox).I do this and get them back by post the next day.
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If we're discussing the closure of PO's, the trouble started when competitors were allowed to cherry-pick the profitable parts of collection and delivery. Not surprisingly the PO was left with the obligation to deliver to all addresses, while TNT etc. could poach the bulk collections. Daft and short-sighted.
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I think you may be confusing the Post Office with Royal Mail.
Most of the Post Office's problems began, for instance, when the government decided to cut costs by commencing paying pensions and other benefits into bank accounts and stopped accepting payment for utility services bills in PO branches.
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Yes - we're discussing Post Office Counters, aren't we? (Bean Counters, perhaps)
Edited by Andrew-T on 23/10/2008 at 12:24
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A lot of people aren't aware that the Government is the major shareholder in the Post Office......
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Taxing your car online has the side-benefit of checking that the insurance and MoT databases are correct and up to date - you won't get a tax disc otherwise, whereas the counter clerk will only check the validity of your bits of paper, and not the databases themselves.
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I might start taxing my car online; I'm getting sick and tired of them trying to foist other products on me whenever I go into the post office (a main town centre one).
If you tax your car they ask if you want car insurance, you say no but they force a leaflet upon you anyway.
Alternatively you get hassled with, "Do you have a credit card? When is your home contents insurance up for renewal? When are you next going on holiday?
Some of the staff take ages before "no thankyou" sinks in, talk about hard sell.
You have to queue up for ages and half the queue is old ladies wanting to take £20 out of their bank account but they have forgotten how to do it, or they dont trust high street cash machines.
(Sorry, rant over!)
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.......... half the queue is old ladies wanting ....... but they have forgotten how to do it
One day your wife/partner may become an old lady who forgets how to do things!
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One day your wife/partner may become an old lady who forgets how to do things!
I know, the last sentence was slightly tongue in cheek. Its the P.O.'s fault, they ought to have a dedicated counter for cash withdrawals.
"Help the aged, cos one day you will be old too..." as Jarvis Cocker sang..
;o)
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You don't, it would seem, necessarily have to take your "bits of paper" to the Post Office any more - the last time I renewed my road tax at the PO I forgot them, but the renewal form (IIRC) had the bar code indicating that insurance and MOT were up to date and I had no problems.
Incidentally I hear on Sky News that over the last six months Royal Mail has doubled its operating profits to £177m whilst, at the same time, delivering two million fewer letters a day....
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A lot of people aren't aware that the Government is the major shareholder in the Post Office......
Curious then to learn recently that savings in the Post Savings Bank are apparently guaranteed by the Icelandic government rather than our own.
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It is curious, although we mustn't forget that the additional support from the government for savings etc has only arisen in the last week or so due, as we all know, to the "credit crunch" aftermath.
Most of the additional services provided by the Post Office such as broadband, insurance etc are virtual services i.e. they are provided by a specialist third party on behalf of the PO.
Similar to the method used by Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and other big retailers.
Edited by Stuartli on 23/10/2008 at 15:47
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savings in the Post Savings Bank are apparently guaranteed by the Icelandic government rather than our own.
You mean Irish, not Icelandic.
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=118...3
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I don't buy this "You have a moral duty to use the post office so it can stay open for pensioners" stuff, anymore than I use the buses to keep them viable for people who don't drive.
They have to go into town to do their shopping once they have drawn the pension, so it could be just as easily paid into a bank or building society, of which there are plenty on every high street even in these troubled times.
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