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Child Item

B&Q Refusing Cash Tranactions

Nozebleed

I was at my local B&Q this morning..where i queued for 20 mins to get in and then a further 20 mins to pay for my stuff only to be told the no longer take cash transaction in accordance with government guidelines. I was shocked..told the woman i have only cash..i was then asked by the staff member do i know someone with a back card who could pay for the items in question..but she new by the face on me..not to ask anymore questions.

is this legal practice on the part of B&Q?

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Vic_08

Nozebleed wrote: »

I was at my local B&Q this morning..where i queued for 20 mins to get in and then a further 20 mins to pay for my stuff only to be told the no longer take cash transaction in accordance with government guidelines. I was shocked..told the woman i have only cash..i was then asked by the staff member do i know someone with a back card who could pay for the items in question..but she new by the face on me..not to ask anymore questions.

is this legal practice on the part of B&Q?

Yes.

They can require any form of payment they like.

dan1895

Cash is filthy anyway and who knows what sort of infections and illnesses you and I have transmitted due to handling cash in the past. However with a deadly and very contagious virus about this is an act for the greater good.

I'm not sure on the legality of this but most places I've been in since April have had signs up saying they are only taking payment by card or phone.

scooby77

Homebase, at least in Sligo, same policy. Tbh I haven't used cash once since March.

Nozebleed

Vic_08 wrote: »

Yes.

They can require any form of payment they like.

im sure they can request a preferred method of payment but the cant refuse legal tender.

[Deleted User]

Nozebleed wrote: »

I was at my local B&Q this morning..where i queued for 20 mins to get in and then a further 20 mins to pay for my stuff only to be told the no longer take cash transaction in accordance with government guidelines. I was shocked..told the woman i have only cash..i was then asked by the staff member do i know someone with a back card who could pay for the items in question..but she new by the face on me..not to ask anymore questions.

is this legal practice on the part of B&Q?

The can ask for those transactions only if they like as far as I'm aware. Was in my local B&Q a few days ago and the staff member at the queue told everyone it's card transactions only. Ok for me as I can't remember the last time I paid for anything in cash.

L1011

Nozebleed wrote: »

im sure they can request a preferred method of payment but the cant refuse legal tender.

Legal tender only exists for debts. A debt has not been formed by this transaction.

Cash is basically dead now. Lodge what you have left at a lodgement ATM would be my advice.

Get Real

Nozebleed wrote: »

im sure they can request a preferred method of payment but the cant refuse legal tender.

If a business wants to refuse money, they can (although it's not logical in normal circumstances as obviously a business operates to make money)

If I own a newsagents, I can implement whatever policy I want, as long as it's not discriminatory on one of the protected grounds. If it costs me money, that's my business.

The only time you can't refuse cash is if someone is repaying a debt. You can't dictate how they repay it.

cloudhopper19

The retailer can absolutely offer their services/products and request a specific payment method - I got this clarified this morning from a financial services provider.

SteM

I love when people come on to boards to 'ask a question' but then give their own answer when they don't get the reply they want. You should insist in paying them in postage stamps OP.

Febreeze

Pretty sure most buisness now are opting for card payments rather than cash. I know when I go back to work, I'm sure my employer is going to do the same. I haven't used cash since March when it all kicked off.

I know its frustrating but I'm sure you can understand their logics behind it too. There should of been a reminder on their websites or somewhere online informing this as people still use cash. Standing a around for 40mins tops only to be told you cant use cash would flip anyone off. I'm sorry to hear about that OP but I think any business can decide which method of payments they wish to recieve.

Hopefully you won't have to que up for too long next time you go in as I haven notice that ques seem to be a lot shorter in comparison.

Nozebleed

SteM wrote: »

I love when people come on to boards to 'ask a question' but then give their own answer when they don't get the reply they want. You should insist in paying them in postage stamps OP.

thanks bud..go on back to after hours. you child.

L1011

Nozebleed wrote: »

thanks bud..go on back to after hours. you child.

If you have a problem with a post, report it

parttime

L1011 wrote:

Cash is basically dead now. Lodge what you have left at a lodgement ATM would be my advice.

I still use cash everyday.....

Quackster

parttime wrote: »

I still use cash everyday.....

I can't understand why anyone would want to though for the vast majority of transactions.

Hopefully this move against cash will be a dagger to the black economy.

rock22

Quackster wrote: »

I can't understand why anyone would want to though for the vast majority of transactions.

Hopefully this move against cash will be a dagger to the black economy.

Maybe because the banks charge for each transaction and some of us don't particularly want to give our banks any more of our money.

Quackster

rock22 wrote: »

Maybe because the banks charge for each transaction and some of us don't particularly want to give our banks any more of our money.

There are no shortage of free options available.

nothing

Quackster wrote: »

There are no shortage of free options available.

My bank gives me 10c every time I use my card (to a max of €5 a month)

feelings

It says on the 'B&Q Ireland' website: "In store we are accepting card and contact-less payments only"

Also, Revolut? Free and easy to use.

Mrs OBumble

Quackster wrote: »

I can't understand why anyone would want to though for the vast majority of transactions.

Because there are a substantial minority of people who don't have bank accounts.

Some have credit union accounts, and some credit unions offer debit cards.

But there are still a good number of cashbook people.

They are why the supermarkets, at least, prefer cards but will take cash.

Also, there are some transactions where the retailer makes almost nothing if you pay by card, eg leap topup.

OP fyi, Woodies are doing the same.

DuffleBag

Quackster wrote: »

I can't understand why anyone would want to though for the vast majority of transactions.

Hopefully this move against cash will be a dagger to the black economy.

There will be a lot of people worried about the cash under their mattress I reckon

[Deleted User]

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

OP fyi, Woodies are doing the same.

Perhaps varies by shop, but I was in two Woodies over the last two days (Drogheda and Seatown in Dublin) and both accepted cash, and never passed any remarks when I took it out.

Personally, I tend to use a mish-mash of cards and cash, but lately as I've been budgeting a bit more, I've been trying to use cash where possible. So I haven't used Homebase or B&Q, but I can understand why they have those policies in place, nonetheless.

RocketRaccoon

My local b&q have someone standing outside telling everyone who approaches the queue that it is card only transactions. Is there any chance you didn't hear anyone saying that?

Aswell as that worker there are multiple signs outside.

coylemj

feelings wrote: »

It says on the 'B&Q Ireland' website: "In store we are accepting card and contact-less payments only"

That's not much use to the OP. Who spent 40 minutes queuing, only to discover that they were not accepting cash.

If B&Q are to be faulted, it's that the OP only discovered the 'no cash' policy at the checkout. Surely there were signs at the entrance and at various points inside the store? Was there a 'card only' sign visible to people standing in the queue for the checkout? I find it hard to believe that a shopper would only find out when they reached the top of the queue at the checkout.

FluffPiece

Nozebleed wrote: »

im sure they can request a preferred method of payment but the cant refuse legal tender.

As mentioned already, this is only true where a debt has occurred. A restaurant or bar after you have consumed a meal / drinks basically.

B&Q in your case, you haven't consumed the products nor have you taken ownership until they have been paid for. They can request card payment only and it's completely legal in this case.

FluffPiece

coylemj wrote: »

That's not much use to the OP. Who spent 40 minutes queuing, only to discover that they were not accepting cash.

If B&Q are to be faulted, it's that the OP only discovered the 'no cash' policy at the checkout. Surely there were signs at the entrance and at various points inside the store? Was there a 'card only' sign visible to people standing in the queue for the checkout? I find it hard to believe that a shopper would only find out when they reached the top of the queue at the checkout.

A lot of people tend to ignore signage on entry to shops. Chances are there was a sign on the way in. Most large chains that implement these policies to local stores, usually mandate signage be put up also for customer notification.

Toots

I reckon supermarkets are still taking cash because people have to buy food. You can hardly turn around to someone and say "sorry, you've no bank account so you don't get to eat this week" but buying a few bits and pieces in Woodies etc is hardly life and death. In fairness, they should have large signs at the door saying that it's cards only, that way at least people won't have to find out when they get to the top of the queue, but the store are perfectly entitled to refuse to take cash. I was at Harvey Norman collecting something yesterday, and they had signs up saying cards only, but they also had a staff member at the entrance telling people that they weren't taking cash, because people often just ignore signs/posters etc.

Vologda69

Driving Licence service reopens next week. Card payment only

ChelseaRentBoy

L1011 wrote: »

Legal tender only exists for debts. A debt has not been formed by this transaction.

Cash is basically dead now. Lodge what you have left at a lodgement ATM would be my advice.

Cash isn't dead. The establishment want it dead because of their greed and need to undermine the black market in particular.

OP they have a legal obligation to except cash as payment. You had every right to be shocked at their behaviour

ChelseaRentBoy

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Because there are a substantial minority of people who don't have bank accounts.

Some have credit union accounts, and some credit unions offer debit cards.

But there are still a good number of cashbook people.

They are why the supermarkets, at least, prefer cards but will take cash.

Also, there are some transactions where the retailer makes almost nothing if you pay by card, eg leap topup.

OP fyi, Woodies are doing the same.

Woodies as of this morning excepted payment by myself with cash in their Sandyford store so you are inaccurate.

Vologda69

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

My local b&q have someone standing outside telling everyone who approaches the queue that it is card only transactions. Is there any chance you didn't hear anyone saying that?

Aswell as that worker there are multiple signs outside.

Plus it states its no cash policy on the main page of their website.