Letters

Go cashless? We’ll end up having to barter

Issue 633’s ‘Question of the Fortnight’ (‘Why do we force the elderly to always use apps?’) rang a bell for me. Some time ago I wanted to use the car park at one of our local country parks, only to find that all the pay-by-cash machines were out of action and that you had to pay by phone. I followed the complex instructions scrupulously, only to find that my payment was refused at the very last stage. Other frustrated people were experiencing the same difficulty.

I managed to locate one of the park’s rangers, who explained that the machines had recently been vandalised and large amounts of cash had been stolen from them. For the time being, it seemed, paying by phone was the only option, but I found myself unable to do so. The friendly ranger said it wasn’t really his problem, but that in any case nobody was checking, so I could stay as long as I liked (which I did). This solved the immediate problem,