Why does my post office get uppity about me wanting to buy £1 coins?
Posted by SmellyPubes69@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 499 comments
I'm teaching my youngest lad about the importance of money and earning it and wanted him to recieve physical coin so went to my post office asking politely to "please buy 20 £1 coins on my debit card". The lady asked me a thousand questions, what am I doing with the money, why so much etc etc. Felt like I was under arrest!
Eventually she went and angrily slumped down some bags of coins, but why does she care so much if I buy coins from the post office, do the staff get targeted on how many they end up with or something or was she just being jobs worth?
RiverCat57@reddit
That’s just post office staff in general, they are always absolutely furious about having to do the job they signed up for and are paid for
ace275@reddit
One of them refused to take a parcel that I'd bought the postage for online because it weighed 12kg. "I can't lift that" and just refused to take it because I wouldn't be allowed to bring it behind the desk for her, and she couldn't be arsed doing it herself.
Wasn't particularly big. Weighs the same as a toddler. Ridiculous.
WeatherwaxOgg@reddit
They don’t get paid for dealing with online postage parcels so it makes them angry.
ace275@reddit
Everything makes them angry it seems. Other than one really friendly fella when I went in for an international driving license to hire a car abroad.
The booking was drop-off through Parcelforce so still royal mail group and I'm sure the teller still gets their hourly wage. She was just a knob in particular and had such a horrible attitude about the whole thing.
WeatherwaxOgg@reddit
Kind of refreshing now retail have to suck up to customers and online reviewers. Here’s your stamp now fuck off 😆how British.
GoldStar-25@reddit
Had a rude encounter with a rude woman at the post office a couple of years ago. My husband had to collect his BRP card (visa) from the post office. Went up to the counter to collect it and she basically barks at us that it was delivered over a week ago and we’re lucky because they were “going to send it back”. I was like ok, but we’ve just recently got the email saying it’s ready to collect.
I don’t get why she was so aggressive about it, a simple “here you go, have a nice day” and that’s it 🙄
EmeraldJunkie@reddit
Last year I had to send something I'd sold on eBay through my local post office (well, local to my work). Other than the two members of staff behind the counter, there was only myself and one other person, who was already being served. One of the post office staff came to their desk and started messing with things, I figured they must be coming off of a break or something, so I was patiently waiting to be called while mindlessly looking at the posters absolutely plastered over their window.
Eventually, after about ten minutes of this, she calls me over and goes "I do love being stared at while I'm finishing my lunch", and I reply "You what?", and she repeats, "I love being stared at while I'm finishing my lunch." Confused, I give her a "Riiiight, anyway I need to send-" and she cuts me off and goes "Well? Aren't you going to apologise?" And I ask, "Apologise for what?"
"For staring?" She says incredulously.
"I wasn't staring, I was reading all the posters you've got plastered over your window."
"Of course you were."
"I was"
"Mhmm."
"Can I post my item now?"
"Are you going to apologise?"
At this point, the end of my lunch break was rapidly approaching and the girl besides her was free, so I just asked "Will you serve me instead?" And she nodded, so I shuffled over to her window and sent my item out. Her coworker continued to sit there and mutter about people being rude for the entirety of the 5 minute transaction. It was infuriating.
Brunettae@reddit
Sensational.
On the other end of the scale a Post Office worker rushed out to me at my car to stop me getting a huge box out because they couldn't accept it. I asked whether they couldn't accept it today or ever and the answer was ever (because they didn't have space to store parcels 😂).
KBKuriations@reddit
So...how are you meant to send large boxes, if not through the post office? Surely they don't expect you to drop it in a post box on the street corner.
CraftyCat65@reddit
They do a parcel collection service. Weigh and measure your parcel, buy the postage and book collection (from an address convenient to you) online. They'll even print the label for you (free I think) if you don't have a printer
Postie turns up, grabs the parcel(s) and fucks off with them.
Costs 30p per parcel and its worth every penny for sheer convenience - I just add it on to P&P if it's a sold item.
rogue6800@reddit
That's absolutely fine provided you don't have a job or other responsibilities. And that the postman is capable of finding your property.
CraftyCat65@reddit
I do have a job. I'm at work 10 hours a day (including post office opening hours). That's why I use the parcel collection service.
I just take the parcels to work with me.
I appreciate that not everyone can do that, but you can opt for weekend collections or drop your pre-labelled parcels off (at a time convenient to you) at one of their parcel collection points - of which there are tens of thousands (far more than there are post offices).
One of my colleagues uses a different parcel courier for his ebay sales, & he and also just drops them off at a designated collection point (which is open 24 hours).
Collection from home or work is most time efficient but drop off is still vastly quicker than driving 2 miles to the post office and waiting in a gargantuan queue 🤷♀️
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
Am going to be as polite as possible.
If privatisation was the problem, why are you encouraging privatized services?
CraftyCat65@reddit
I'm not "encouraging" the use of privatised services - I just have no option but to use one if I want to send anything at all, anywhere.
Also being as polite as possible, but are you sure your question/comment was meant for me? Because all I was doing was answering a question as to how to send a large parcel these days.
Whether I like the way that things are never came up, but I'm just navigating the situation as it is, because I have no choice but to do so.
sympathetic_earlobe@reddit
I just can't fathom this. I can't imagine a post office employee moving at speed.
HeavenDraven@reddit
How do you think they move when it's closing time?
Working_Bench_6780@reddit
And they wonder why they are going out of business 🙄
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
They aren't going out of business.
Royal Mail failures are not indicative of post office failures.
alcohall183@reddit
teaching moment to her, don't eat at your desk where customers can see you, even if you have to eat in your car. You'll be looked at as slacking off for taking your lunch.
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
Apart from anything else, when I've worked in retail I want a quiet spot away from anyone to have my lunch.
Realistic-Celery3317@reddit
What kind of person eats their lunch at a customer service counter and then complains because someone may have been looking.
Temporary_Resort_579@reddit
My local seemed surprised when I asked for something to be sent recorded, and then furious that I wouldn't go home and send it via Evri.
SupremeFlamer@reddit
It might be because "recorded" hasn't been a service for years. Its Tracked or Signed For.
DukeRedWulf@reddit
".. furious that I wouldn't go home and send it via Evri..."
If I wanted it to vanish without a trace, then I'd just throw it straight in the bin! XD
dee-acorn@reddit
"Because I want it recorded, but also need it to arrive"
Affectionate_Ad_3722@reddit
What an idea!!
TheScottishMoscow@reddit
I'm still scared by a) having to go tax my car at the post office and b) the look of disgust at me not removing my hat
Ok-Train5382@reddit
Is this a reference I don’t get? Who taxes their car at the post office in 2025
singeblanc@reddit
I have a "classic vehicle", so I need to go and get a £0 tax exemption every year. It never ceases to confuse the fuck out of the Post Office staff, but eventually I end up with a receipt for zero.
Affectionate_Ad_3722@reddit
Do it online. They furiously sent me a "this is your last final chance to pay us £0.00 or else we will crush your bike, your house and your world" letter the other day, but none of the intervening ones.
Two mins to do online.
DukeRedWulf@reddit
.. "this is your last final chance to pay us £0.00 or else we will crush your bike, your house and your world"..
I am wheezing from laughing over here! XD
Confuseduseroo@reddit
I own three classic vehicles and I zero tax them online...haven't done this at a post office for years...
Hot-Acanthisitta8086@reddit
You can do it online now
WanderWomble@reddit
I had to sort my car tax out last year in the post office because it had a disability exemption which the seller hadn't told me about. It was a right carry on and the man "helping" me had an arse on the entire time.
CraftyCoffee22@reddit
If you are switching to or from disabled class then you have to! No choice, was shocked to find out as disabled people are the ones who will find it harder to get out to do it. Plus it’s only certain post offices, obviously not the one with parking outside!
Trebus@reddit
Be grateful you can do it at the PO now. Years ago I bought a car that had been blue-badged previously, I had to go to some DVLA office to get it registered as a non-blue-badge vehicle.
TheScottishMoscow@reddit
Small typo should have been scarred
sosire@reddit
indoors =no hat outdoors = hat, what are you some yankee doodle dandy fuck ? just because trump is half scottish doesnt mean you need to lose your manners
ashensfan123@reddit
Depends on the hat I suppose. If it was a motorbike helmet then being uneasy would be understandable but if it was a top hat I'd instantly assume you were very classy.
TheScottishMoscow@reddit
Perhaps my winter balaclava was not the right choice
Splyce123@reddit
I haven't taxed my car at the post office for at least a decade.
Keenbean234@reddit
I didn’t know you still could!
SiteRelEnby@reddit
They didn't day when it happened, could have been 20 years ago.
TheScottishMoscow@reddit
I said scared, I meant to type scarred, would have made more sense. Indeed this is not a recent thing.
AmarantCoral@reddit
They said they're still scared, implying it's an ongoing problem.
Runaroundheadless@reddit
Good for you! Me too. I f’n love that folk who need help can do it there though. They need their docs unfortunately. I wonder if I’ll ever find out if the PO counter staff can do a full online paperless check for for those that struggle. I’m too scared to ask though in case I get rabbit punched by an irate customer.
Chevalitron@reddit
They were just surprised to see a tartan ushanka
CalligrapherNo7337@reddit
Taxing your car at the Post Office these days is so.... Pedestrian. Do it online, mucker.
RoutineCloud5993@reddit
Then when they do do the job you need to book half a day off work because they're doing it at speeds that would frustrate a glacier
ABandarage@reddit
Right? It’s like they clock in furious and just stay there all day. I just want some coins, not commit tax fraud.
Keepin_It_Real_OK@reddit
Are we saying that the PO is Do Do then?
Still_Wrap4910@reddit
My local branch seems to exclusively employ elderly women who seem to think it's a lunch club or the like, I really don't want to have to stand and listen to them prattle on the other people about inane shit, sell them their stamps and tell them to f**k off like a normal person, some of us actually have places to be 🤣🤣
vinyljunkie1245@reddit
It seems like every time something closes - bank branch, Post Office branch, shop - there's always a chorus of "they don't care about the old people who just want to go in for a chat". I can't help but think no, they don't. These are businesses who are losing money on these sites, and while lonelieness is a huge problem it isn't down to businesses to solve it.
CaptainLilacBeard@reddit
I always want to shake these people and say "some poor bugger on minimum wage doesn't want to be forced to hear about your gout diagnosis, Ethel"
grimm_the_opiner@reddit
Poor Ethel, is it playing her up again. I remember in 19 dickety 12 when colonel the 3rd Jack Snackers gout fighting pomade first hit the hotdog stands. 2 pots for a guinea with a pint of old lecherous thrown in and a go on the town chair if it was quiet... course in those days chairs didn't have legs and were made mostly of macaroni...
grunt56@reddit
Grandpa Simpson?
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
Now, my story begins in 19-dickety-two. We had to say "dickety" cause that Kaiser had stolen our word "twenty". I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles…
mrt2795@reddit
What I love about that argument is everywhere I've lived every month or so a community magazine/advertiser comes through my front door with literally dozens of events and groups all aimed at getting old people to stop rotting infront of daytime TV all day and get 'chatting', all in the immediate area.
pajamakitten@reddit
Which is why GPs are clogged with people who just want a chat.
Lady-of-Shivershale@reddit
If only we could have, say, libraries. People could meet for clubs, learn new skills, and get a bit of warmth in winter.
I don't know about the rest of you, but the library I practically grew up in is gone. No library near my mum and dad's now. It was right next to the GP, the post office, the supermarket, and the bookies.
Swimming pools could do with better public funding and a refurbish, too. I live abroad. My civic swimming pool has a 25m pool that's open all year and a 50m pool that's open for half the year. It has a sauna and steam room. Four large tubs of varying temperatures including ice and lava. And then a hydro massage area with jets. Some of them are massively high-pressure showers.
There are no swimming sessions either. Once you're in, you can stay as long as you want.
A lot of elderly people spend time there, especially in winter, because swimming is gentle on the bones and the warm water helps their joints and muscles.
dannydrama@reddit
Seems to be a trend for first line customer service in every business, get a hawkish old bat pissed off at actually dealing with people, being 2 whole years of being retired, entitled to the max. It's great for keeping patients or customers at bay.
sparkletigerfrog@reddit
I feel that those branches would be fine with giving you £20 in pound coins though. It’s nice to be social 🙂
SiteRelEnby@reddit
You'd like USPS then.
DigitalStefan@reddit
3 and a half years ago I used the local post office’s facility to deposit cash into my bank account.
£5k
It completely threw her off. She struggled to count it to start with. When she reached the point of keying I. The amount to the system, she blanked and asked me …
“How many zeroes are there in five thousand?”
She was just completely rattled and lost the ability to think.
To say I was nervous was an understatement.
Thankfully everything went fine, but then when I next went there I was mildly chastised for “depositing too much money”.
phatboi23@reddit
the temptation to add an extra zero would be hard to refuse haha
dogsoverhumansallday@reddit
That money was just resting in my account!
Grimdotdotdot@reddit
Infinity ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
real_justchris@reddit
00000000005000
thethornwithin@reddit
I think it's 4 zeros, right?
CletusTheFetusEater@reddit
5, actually.
RavenBoyyy@reddit
Nah it's definitely 6
MatsuTaku@reddit
5000.00 yep 6 zeroes.
Sparkly1982@reddit
"I don't think it matters - just keep going!"
WillNotBeAThrowaway@reddit
That's numberwang!
rucentuariofficial@reddit
And remember dont mention the event
BINGGBONGGBINGGBONGG@reddit
REMAIN INDOORS
SnooPoems5171@reddit
What a great reference ahaha 😂
YorkshireRiffer@reddit
Huh, there's me thinking it was 7
mwhi1017@reddit
The poor woman would have had her door put in by Post Office Investigations Department and been convicted for fraud if you did that.
Cheese-n-Opinion@reddit
There's a fair chance they'd have her convicted even if she's completely innocent so you might as well see some benefit.
rubberbandhands@reddit
Lol
mwhi1017@reddit
Fair comment
Electronic_Heart458@reddit
Technically it’s 5 0’s…. She never asked where the . Went
RavenBoyyy@reddit
Worth it
AliveAd2219@reddit
Here.. give me the keyboard. I’ll put the numbers in!!
371_idle_wit@reddit
In many systems it would actually be 6 zeros because you need to consider pence as well tbf
AikidokaUK@reddit
Are you actually sure?
I actually thought it would be 5 zeros.
An actual 3 zeros for the thousand and 2 zeros for the actual pence.
Tbf I might be wrong because I'm actually rubbish at counting tbf
DifficultConcept9832@reddit
No you are correct it would be £5000.00 that is definitely five zeros. Not 6.
RefrigeratorKey9476@reddit
Yep
IdioticMutterings@reddit
It really is 5. 5000.00
crunk@reddit
I mean.. her system may want pence so this could be right.
OkChildhood2261@reddit
£500.00 nice
parachute--account@reddit
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands. 4
Flat_Fault_7802@reddit
It's a thousand
singeblanc@reddit
That makes sense.
Lloydlaserbeam@reddit
At least they took it.
Last time I went, they refused to take the cash, but not before a male member of staff decided to shout to the whole queue and WH Smith store in Norwich's St Stephen's street that I had 'loads of money'.
It's not the best of places, so I honestly thought I was going to get stabbed for £300.
alphahydra@reddit
I hope you said "six"
ClarSco@reddit
Say "five" and then hope they forget the decimal point for added plausible deniability.
Grandmaster_C@reddit
It's all in pennies anyway so it'd be entered as 500000. (5,000.00)
LordCoops@reddit
“How many zeroes are there in five thousand?”
6
Comrade-Hayley@reddit
Probably because she's never handled that much cash before
funkmachine7@reddit
6, £5000.00
onetimeuselong@reddit
Are we including the pence or is it just the pounds?
wowsomuchempty@reddit
Applying for a polish passport, I needed to send new birth certificates and my UK passport to a specific lawyers office in Poland.
The lawyer verified in the end that I had supplied the correct address, but the post office staff set the recorded delivery to be sent to another city. Was a right faff to get hold of it.
angelshair@reddit
When I went to the post office to sort out renewing my passport I had no clue what I was doing or what the process was so I asked the woman behind the counter. I ended up walking out in tears. She was beyond condescending and treated me like crap, acting as if I should somehow know all these things.
Thank god you only have to renew your passport every 10 years cause the whole process is honestly a piss take.
Dubbadubbawubwub@reddit
Sounds like she'd be more suited to working as a receptionist in my local GPS office.
SaltyName8341@reddit
It's all online now and easier
Broccoli--Enthusiast@reddit
I mean that's only half their fault Its also because Doris is paying in £245 in coins while catching up on that last 45 years with the person behind the counter.
Fenrir-The-Wolf@reddit
We have very different post office experiences.
Mine is just a queue of Alexandrus and Marians forcing a phone with google translate on it into a pensioners face and sending vast sums of money home.
RoutineCloud5993@reddit
Not in my post office. You often have a woman at the counter shuffling around and typing onto their machine like someone who's never seen a keyboard before.
phatboi23@reddit
pecking at the keyboard like a chicken on ket.
dajay2k@reddit
Nice
Ok-Flamingo2801@reddit
I helped set up a till at a charity shop once, and the keyboard was laid out a little differently to keyboards I normally use, so I kept mistyping. I was on the call to the till system's tech support while doing it, and he kept laughing at how fustrated I got every time I made a mistake. It probably looked like I'd never used a keyboard before.
OverstuffedCherub@reddit
My local one is only open 2 full days a week, half days for the rest, and not even open on a Saturday anymore. So useless!
Boomshrooom@reddit
A few months ago I was sending off some passport documents and had to wait 2-3 minutes whilst the woman at the post office had a chat with her friend. She only stopped because she saw me stood there, she hadn't even noticed me.
jondixo@reddit
Rarely will iI read words more apt or eloquent than "speeds that would frustrate a glacier", thank you, I love those few words.
ButteredReality@reddit
This made me chuckle.
Glum-Entertainer-535@reddit
Same here; I'm going to steal that one!
ShadowLickerrr@reddit
Yeah sounds like Doctors receptionists as well, they’re usually up their own arse.
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
AKA the Appointment Prevention Department
DiamondThick4851@reddit
GP receptionists
DoctorAgility@reddit
My favourite thing about Post Office staff is that Enid and Brenda go for lunch at 12.00 every day leaving Doris on her on despite the fact that 12.00 is the busiest time of the day.
therealhairykrishna@reddit
My local postmaster is pathologically cheerful. It's like going into a shop run by an American. I yearn to be served by someone who'd call me a cunt if she wasn't in the WI.
jajwhite@reddit
This reminds me of my trip to Hollywood in 2011.
Although the Beverly Center Shopping Complex was OK, it was a bit 70s, and less comfortable to hang around in than Westfield where I live. But what really irritated me was the fakery. The "Can I Help You?!" or the fake smiles and the "Thank You, Please Come Again!" with exaggerated politeness and smiles that never touched the eyes. I'm not complaining about the staff, I'm complaining about the fact that these people are forced to be automatons.
Back in the UK, I went in a jeans shop to get something, and stood at the till, the only person at the till, while the girl behind the till stuck her tongue down her boyfriend's throat and pointedly ignored me.
I must have waited 5-10 minutes before they even noticed me, and dealt with my purchase in a perfunctory and passive aggressive way. I probably seemed odd to them for grinning about it. Somehow I much preferred the genuine attitude to the fakery of the American customer service agents! I guess it's what you know.
sparklychestnut@reddit
I was trying to work out why I hated the customer service in Georgia so much when we went to the US - it was all very friendly and attentive, but it felt so fake. I much prefer the hospitality at home - it's not great, but it's predictable.
TheSecretIsMarmite@reddit
Last year we flew to NZ and back with Qatar airways. The staff were so unremittingly nice it was unnerving. Our last leg back from Doha was with BA and the surliness and fuck you attitude was a refreshing change
Diligent-Bed3370@reddit
They're just upset as they didn't get the best arsey job of doctors receptionist.
asjonesy99@reddit
A few years ago I lived in a flat with a £1 energy meter so had to exchange notes for coins.
Went to the Post Office, queued up, person in front of me was doing the exact same thing as me. Get to my turn and was told that they don’t offer that service, despite them literally doing it for the person right in front of me.
Don’t know what’s wrong with the entire culture there, but if you wander over to the Royal Mail subreddit there are some right miserable bastards, it seems institutional.
Captain_Piccolo@reddit
Royal Mail and the Post Office are not the same thing.
yarnycarley@reddit
I have never read a more true to life fictional story than going postal by Terry Pratchett 😂
EUskeptik@reddit
Sun-Post Offices DO NOT get paid for giving out change.
RiverCat57@reddit
Ok? But the staff get paid their hourly wage regardless so that has absolutely nothing to do with them
EUskeptik@reddit
Any member of my staff giving out change would soon learn not to do it again. Nothing is for free.
Each sub-Post Office gets a tailored stock of notes and coins and there is no allowance for gratuitous change-giving.
elbapo@reddit
The fury is a key part of the selection process and if you can't get through the fury round you are referred to wh Smith.
Long term staffers have to update their fury cpd with managing anger courses.
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
What about WH Smith branches which are also post offices? Do you get fast tracked to those?
Narrow_Ad1119@reddit
This is actually true. Simmering with unresolved rage is actually in the job description if you look carefully.
Leonault@reddit
In fairness, more of the public treats staff like shit than you might think.
RiverCat57@reddit
I work with the public so I’m fully aware of how badly some of them treat us, but post office workers (and GP receptionists) are particularly furious about doing their job, no matter how nice you are to them. They’re always so violently angry about what you’ve asked them to do, no matter how small a job it is.
Leonault@reddit
Every public worker in the UK is massively overworked, stressed and underpaid. From my brief time working in a post office, I noticed they are a particularly extreme example in that, maybe from the various dozen arcane processes you have to manage. Also occasionally being sent to prison every now and again doesn't help.
As for GPs, yeah I agree. But I'm certain that they are another particularly strong example of a job that is incredibly difficult to be cheerful while doing.
Misha_non_penguin@reddit
Stickers have started appearing round our way saying "I survived Edgeley Post Office" 😂
GuiltyCredit@reddit
I went to our local post office, which is in a very small Morrisons. It's open until 10pm (it's not the whole shop seems to close by 9pm), I got in at 4pm to but a book of stamps and the snarly woman said "sorry hen, we've got nane". No stamps in a post office?! Asked if I could post the card "nut, machines oaf". I get it, the wages are shite but it's what they are paid to do.
Th3Engin3er@reddit
I was about 16 when eBay allowed you to buy postage using PayPal, I was young and it felt cool being able to print and stick on my own postage labels.
I took it to my local post office and the guy behind the counter was an absolute POS. He ridiculed me over “not bringing money into the post office”. His wife was on the other counter and calmed him down before she eventually collected the parcel and gave me the drop receipt.
It closed down a year or two later and replaced with a small counter in the shop across the street. I still think back over how much of a cunt you have to be to treat a child that way for simply following a standard process.
SheepishSwan@reddit
Confident_Opposite43@reddit
Honestly i really dont get it, one dude at my local is lovely the rest look at me like i have murdered their children
harbourwall@reddit
I heard there's a particularly disagreeable bunch just down the road from the Fujitsu offices.
CuriousNowDead@reddit
The staff in my local one are very nice but I’m usually behind a customer who would make most people that grumpy.
luckeratron@reddit
Fun fact post office staff go to the same university as doctors receptionists and parking wardens, I think it's called the University of Cuntingdon.
pickledonionfish@reddit
This is general British 🇬🇧 worker attitude in general, absolute state of a country.
NonsensicalSweater@reddit
There's one guy near me that's always super smiley and happy, although he was convinced my 30 year old black friend was somehow 70 year old Denzel Washington....
dajay2k@reddit
Shocked denzel is 70
throwaw4ygiffy@reddit
My post office staff hide around the corner just beyond eye sight of the main entrance at 8:59am and then they test to see how long we will wait. As soon as you knock they appear as if by magic.
GeorgiePorgiePuddin@reddit
I live in Canada now (originally from the UK) and they’re the same here. I have lived here for 3 years and often post things (either sending packages home or for work stuff) and they’re almost all miserable bastards. I know there’s been a lot of issues here with overworked & underpaid staff but unlike Royal Mail they’re still government owned, so I wonder if that’s why…
sofiaonomateopia@reddit
Omg this is so true!!!!
Nolsoth@reddit
Listen I joined the post office to rifle through your mail then judge you for the things you brought, not to bloody serve you at the counter when you want to buy some coins or post something.
pyromanta@reddit
Yup. My local post office does Amazon returns. Every time I turn up with a couple of small packages, whichever miserable lady is in the counter that day looks at me like I just asked her to clean my entire house. Then takes 20 minutes to print 2 return labels like she's never done it before. Baffling.
DadLookAtTheTV@reddit
Yes, my local one got grouchy when I wanted to use the key cutting service they provide. Sorry for asking you to do your job, I guess.
Captain_Mumbles@reddit
I normally go to a post office in a Tesco which as far as I can tell is staffed by Tesco staff. They seem much more chilled out. Beats actually working in the supermarket bit I suppose.
ParkingTiny6301@reddit
No it's not, I went to a post office and the lovely lady helped me tax and sort my car out for a good 10 minutes and kept me calm. Stop slating everyone just cause there's a bad bunch in the crowd. People work hard!
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
It's crazy, I remember what dickhead customers can be like in retail (done my time) so I try and be overly polite but it's just crazy how irate she was getting
callardo@reddit
I feel lucky now the post office person I visit rarely speaks and when they do it’s some foreign language to their colleague. They just point and motion you to hold the post up to scan it
alexoid182@reddit
Because they get paid pittance for it, and then lose £20 of change they might need
inkboy84@reddit
It’s because they have probably been scammed before. People use a stolen or fake cards to get money out. You’re better off going in and asking to withdraw money from your bank account but ask for it to be given to you in £1 coins. Or take a £20 note in and ask for a bag of £1 coins. Also the post office is a franchise, if they lose money because of a scam or theft they lose money and or report it their insurance goes up.
Realistic-River-1941@reddit
I had to use a post office for the first time in years. I think the staff were rejects from the GP receptionist charm school.
GoldStar-25@reddit
added to that list are bus drivers.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
This is a great one liner
Goaduk@reddit
Post office staff are trained to be grumpy bustards.
Take in pre labelled Ebay packages "you know we don't earn much from these don't you"
Take in a load of Ebay parcels to be labelled "this is going to cause a queue can you come back later"
rizojnr@reddit
Yep sounds like all my local post offices around me. God forbid they actually have to do the jobs they’re contracted for. Lost count of how many times they’ve moaned and huffed about prepaid returns labels 🤣
CaptainKingsmill@reddit
My mum used to run a post office, albeit 15 years ago now. They earn money selling postage/stamps etc, When someone comes in with prepaid stuff, they still had to do all the work, but get nothing for it so I sort of get that.
The post office were absolute bastards too. There was a local record shop to us who sold vinyl records online, used to post hundreds or record a week with my mum. Post office targeted him directly and got him a machine to print all his own labels, there by cutting out our shops commission. Guess where he still had to take them to drop them off and guess who still had to do all the work processing them, but now got nothing for it. Yup, my mum.
Oh yeh, and they also tried to prosecute her for theft of several thousand pounds thanks to their shitty software that couldn't possibly be wrong. The torment and stress that put her under was probably part of the reason my parents split up and quite frankly nearly killed her... So yeh, there's that too.
SnooRegrets8068@reddit
Yeh we have a shop/newsagent who then took on the post office when they retired. The guy sighs every time anyone needs to use the post office and then is short and grumpy about it. You literally decided this and then get all whingy when someone wants to use it? Presumably its cash positive or you wouldn't have done so and you own the place. So whats the damned problem lol.
BossImpossible8858@reddit
Our local post office has a narrow window after work before they close, during which there is always a huge queue of people still in their pyjamas collecting dole money.
I'm not against the existence of the welfare state, but I can't help but think it's not a ridiculous ask for them to get dressed and collect said money at some point during the entire working day.
Vast_Builder3829@reddit
I work for a branch of the Post Office, the staff and I (minus the PostMistress - she loves the Post Office) absolutely despises Post Office, for various reasons. We are usually quite happy to serve people on the Post Office, but between us, all you ever here is 'Post Office needs to collapse' or something along those lines.
We aren't allowed to accept anything more than £1000 in deposit in a single transaction, so we split cash, to keep within the guidelines (store only policy, not across the business - plus the area manager is questionable, we think she has it in for us because we aren't paid by Post Office).
We aren't allowed (at my store) to accept a straight swap £20 note for coins - more for fear that the note is a very good fake, or we count it badly, or we just not take it - because we can't be trusted apparently. However we do allow people to 'bank to withdraw' so you bank the £20 note, and then withdraw the coins, usually as needed. We have countless small businesses surrounding our store so we help them keep afloat doing this and our figures are never outside of the cushion.
The questioning is a bit much though - it's not like your kid is stood outside the shop whilst waiting for you to bring his bottle of bootleg vodka/cheap cider.
robparke@reddit
I found a solution to this. Go to an arcade at a bowling alley or similar. They have change machines you can use your card on and get all the £1 coins you need.
jojojojojojoseph@reddit
It’s all because of money laundering, sadly. I wasn’t allowed to change a tenner recently at the Post Office, and that was the reason given. I was flabbergasted, to say the least! What would Mrs Goggins have to say about our this, I wonder..
Galasphere357@reddit
Businesses that want change, e.g. pound coins, have to buy them at a bank. There's a charge, they don't just get 20 coins for £20. Virtually all post offices these days are small private businesses and I don't think that they get any payment from the PO for giving out change.
I can imagine they'd get needled if there were too many such requests.
Pugs-r-cool@reddit
And debit cards have transaction fees, that post office donated \~20p to visa / mastercard and OP's bank for literally nothing at all.
Obviously it's not a huge loss by the end of the day, but I can see why the till lady would be a bit annoyed at it
boo23boo@reddit
This is the correct answer. I was told this when I tried to get a bag of 10p and 2p, I think it was £6 in all. I go via a 12p toll road to work and back, I just wanted to keep the right money in the car.
The asked all the questions and refused me in the end as I wasn’t a business and wasn’t going to pay the fee for it. Bonkers. I probably would have paid it if they let me, I hate scrabbling for change or not having the right money.
evasive_listener@reddit
Sorry, only started driving in the UK a few months back and I'm not very familiar with different types of roads yet, but is there actually a road with a 12p toll? Is that common? Are there other roads with such small and not round tolls?
hdhxuxufxufufiffif@reddit
The 12p one I'm familiar with is over the Manchester Ship Canal and the fee was set by parliament ~150 years ago, as a way of funding the construction of the canal. Which is why it's not a round number, as there used to be 240 pence in a pound, and the act gives a maximum toll of two shillings and sixpence, which would be 12.5p now. I'm sure when I was a kid in the 80s they used to charge 5p for cars.
I believe the government has recently enacted legislation that allows the owners of the canal to charge a pound.
Trebus@reddit
The owners being Peel. It's a complete pisstake, that. To go from £65 a year to £520 is obscene, I'm glad I don't have to use that bridge often.
Glittering-Sink9930@reddit
From the website:
terrysmilkrally@reddit
It's not that common but there are a few of them around, mostly old bridges. There's a bridge near me that costs 5p for a car - and you'd better bloody have it too, they're rude enough when you do pay them. Although thankfully they've not been collecting most of the times I've been over the last few years
britbabebecky@reddit
It's £1 to go over the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
I remember when it was 15p, then 20p...then suddenly it was a £1!!! pikachu face
terryjuicelawson@reddit
There are a few left, ancient toll roads that have the price fixed by parliament, this was probably an old shilling or something and they have no ability to increase it. The owners can still make a decent amount on it as some are a key shortcut.
GourangaPlusPlus@reddit
Yes, its the A12
Magic_mousie@reddit
So odd. I get bags of 50p and £1 for parking in backwaters without card machines. Nationwide have never even blinked an eye when I've asked. Private account.
Owlstorm@reddit
That one's on the government to be fair.
If 2p is so worthless that they don't enable trade, why is the mint keeping them in circulation?
TwoValuable@reddit
The seaside arcade industry would collapse in on itself if we got rid of 2p's
Austen_Tasseltine@reddit
No, all physics would expect it to collapse but somehow it would continue hanging on. Until you nudged it with your hip and the alarm goes off.
Zadokk@reddit
Relevant Tom Scott video
phatboi23@reddit
as soon as i read 12p i KNEW there was a Tom Scott video about it haha
Guilty_Spite_4426@reddit
Adding to this, using a debit card to do so actually loses them money from the transaction fees. Probably like 50p or so in card handling fees, on top of the costs to exchange the coins in the first place.
chrisrazor@reddit
Is this really the world we want? We accept so much bullshit. Even the "penny" arcade machine ill give you ten pound coins for £10. Maybe something like that is OP's best bet. Just make sure the machine doesn't dispense tokens instead of actual cash.
Tundur@reddit
Handling cash is incredibly expensive for banks. It needs to be stored, transported, and handled. It needs to be checked for counterfeits, removed from circulation if damaged, and counted at every step of the way. It also poses a massive risk for insurance purposes - can't really rob a bank if it doesn't have a vault and no cash.
It's so expensive that only NatWest actually processes British currency these days, all the other banks just pay them to do it.
imperfect_and_tense@reddit
I'm not in banking, but this last bit of information seems spurious. What does NatWest do that Vaultex (joint Barclays and HSBC) doesn't?
Tundur@reddit
No no you're quite right, I was misremembering something I heard quite a long time ago when I worked there.
NatWest is the only bank that still runs their own cash centres, and many other banks pay them to handle their cash, but they're not the only cash centres. There's them, Vaultex, G4S, and the post office.
Pencil_Queen@reddit
Boohoo
PotionThrower420@reddit
It's not boohoo it's typical redditors not understanding what is required in a certain field of occupation. Exchanging a 20 note for 20 coins on the surface seems simple and without issue but the clerk still has work to do and in 2025, if its not related to your job, not many people make this request.
Pencil_Queen@reddit
I’m not boohooing the grumpy staff.
I’m boohooing the sob story for the poor banks making slightly less profit because they’re providing a service to their customers that keeps cash flowing through the economy.
chrisrazor@reddit
I think it's a measure of how hard we have been squeezed by the billionaire class. Something that has an associated cost that was once eaten by the service provider as part of their utility is now laid bare because profit rates are milked to the max. It's similar to how in some areas it's impossible to find a parking space that doesn't cost money. Every penny must be squeezed from the non-billionaires. We have allowed this to happen by being a bit too English about it: grumbling a bit then rolling over. I bet the French don't pay banks money to convert notes into coins.
sigma914@reddit
Cash costs money to ship around the place and handle in general, usually it's a fixed fee because thr handling doesn't really scale with the amounts unless it's a huge quantity of cash.
It's a general drag on the economy that businesses have to pay. I can see why the post office doesn't want to just burn that cost for no return
srm79@reddit
Banks only charge if you want over a grand in change now. Natwest do it for free no matter the amount, just order it the day before and they have it waiting for you
El_Scot@reddit
I was thinking OP would have probably struggled less if they just went in with a note and asked to exchange it. Didn't even think of the card charge, but definitely makes me think OP will struggle less next time if they take cash in themselves.
TurmericNewton@reddit
What bank should one go to instead? Theres not one open for 15 miles around on a good day.
My local post office has no issue, I get some every month or so for playing snooker, alongside plenty of snacks for the children of course.
Custodianofrecords@reddit
This is exactly the reason for all the questions. The demeanour of the person serving has also been answered by others - it's a job requirement to work in a post office.
tebbski@reddit
I’ve taken to driving to a different PO than my local one since they consistently overcharge me on postage. They ask what is in the package/envelope and the value, then will not take no for an answer when upselling me to the signed for next day before the crack of dawn service, even when it’s just a 50p One Piece card sold on eBay. There are also two tills and you can guarantee that you have gone to the wrong one no matter which one you try first, even when they have served you for the same purpose before at that till. Additionally, the Postwoman will ALWAYS take a 30 second pause after you have told her what you want. Use the time to look at you like you’ve asked her the stupidest question in the world, then acts like she has no idea what you are talking about. Then while trying to explain again what you want, she flips and suddenly knows everything and acts like you’re the one being patronising! God, I hate that place…
MrCheesman@reddit
Speaking as someone that works in the post office, my branch is located in a location where there are no banks so we have to supply the entire town with change which businesses have to pay for.
Sometimes we can't just give out change because of change orders that are place and other time we might be overflowing with coins.
Also we are not allowed to exchange money for money. I can't remember which one but under a money laundering regulations we have to show a transaction so when people do want change we have to insist it comes from a cash withdrawal.
This is what happens at our at least, you also have to take into account that some post office are franchised so are owned by someone so they might try and implement they're own rules
ABandarage@reddit
Honestly, I once tried to get change for a £10 note and the look I got made me feel like I’d asked to borrow her car keys and social security number. What is it with post office coin paranoia?
anubandarage@reddit
Right?? It’s like coins are some sacred relic they're sworn to protect. I was half expecting a retinal scan before she'd hand over a tenner in change.
silence222@reddit
Not only does the post office not make any money on the transaction (by not charging a fee) as others have mentioned, it's actually quite expensive to process a debit card transaction because MasterCard / Visa take a cut.
It's probably pennies - but that's the same reason small retailers used to charge an additional fee if you paid by card.
Elongulation420@reddit
£20 I’m £1 coins doesn’t sound unreasonable to me. Maybe the till lady was having a bad day.
Anyone running a school fete or a car boot stall will definitely need change. I used to have to get about £500 in misc denominations for our primary school fair and the school was tiny.
acupofearlgrey@reddit
As someone who needs to do this regularly for school, it’s a pain. The banks near home/ office open 10-4.30 M-F, so useless when working. It’s ur v helpful post office told me that their system prevents them taking £20 and giving me 20 £1 coins. However, it was totally cool if I used their pay in service and paid the £20 onto my card. And the cash withdrawal service and withdrew 20 £1 coins from my card. So we got there in a roundabout fashion
TheSereneBadger@reddit
They (at least used to) get paid (a pittance) per transaction. So paying in on a card and taking it out would be two transactions instead of one.
Elongulation420@reddit
Blimey, what a palaver
CFClarke7@reddit
Oh so that's how you spell it
RuneClash007@reddit
I normally say Pavlova and hope nobody notices
SantosFurie89@reddit
Eye tea
Elongulation420@reddit
On a more useful note, if you’re doing it as a PTA or that sort of thing then the SumUp machines are great and very inexpensive for the base version.
acupofearlgrey@reddit
We do use those too, however a lot of the older children want to be able to go round independently and I don’t think anyone would let them loose with a card!
BigBadRash@reddit
Prepaid debit cards are great for that, set them up a monzo account and just give them their allowance on that.
znidz@reddit
Ah yes that way you simply have to set up hundreds of monzo cards for other people's children.
BigBadRash@reddit
Are the school giving the kids their allowance to spend? Or are you suggesting one parent takes on the role of signing up everyone's kids onto a banking service?
The parents set up the accounts for their own kids, anything else would be insane. I had a debit card before I was 14, the level of control the parents could have over the kids account and ease of set up has only got easier since then.
znidz@reddit
Sorry I was being a bit acerbic in the sense that the commentor was saying "These kids are given cash to spend at the school fete so we have to process the cash".
And your response was essentially "The kids can use monzo cards".
But the commentor isnt able to make every parent set their kid up with a monzo card. Hence having to process the cash.
BigBadRash@reddit
There'd be very little stopping them making it a cashless fete and telling the parents that cash won't be accepted. Lots of schools have already done the something similar with school dinners and snacks where the kids get a card, provided by the school, and the parents top it up with money.
acupofearlgrey@reddit
For a lot of children, that’s not great as they don’t how much they’ve spent/ how much they have left if they’re running around a fair spending 50p here and £1 there. I agree as you get to older ages, but an 8yo is too young - they’ll spend all their money super fast!
BigBadRash@reddit
Most children over 10, and plenty under 10 too, have smartphones nowadays, which with something like monzo (or any online banking system really) they can easily use to track how much money they have left.
As the initial comment was about older children wanting independence, I don't think it's all too relevant that an 8 year old might not have a smartphone to check the balance.
acupofearlgrey@reddit
We are only primary school so the kids are 3-11, so older kids that are allowed to go round solo are those starting at 8. Tbh they’ve banned smartphones at school, and whilst they can’t ban them at the summer fair, they aren’t keen on the older kids bringing them and using them on school site
Serious-Mission-127@reddit
I tried withdrawing money from a post office counter and they still refused to give me it in coins - stating I’d need to be a business customer
bewildereddad@reddit
Anti money laundering measures, I think. Although, at £20 a time, you’d probably be the worst money launderer in history.
shartingmaster@reddit
For small amounts like that it’s likely they just want a paper trail of all transactions throughout the day so if theres a difference at the end of the night there’s better odds of finding where it came from
lcmfe@reddit
Also stops people going in doing “easy” transactions like swapping something for something to quickly get rid of fake notes
Fenrir_Carbon@reddit
Or change-raising scams
mistyskies123@reddit
They'll get charged a card transaction fee so they lost money on that...
I'd always wondered why the post office was saying it was losing money and not a profitable business but after this thread it seems inevitable.
Someone should share it with the execs at the top of the business: "your problem isn't Amazon, it's your staff!"
srm79@reddit
I tried that once, apparently my account would accept deposits but not withdrawals, so I then ended up going to a cashpoint to get the £20 note back out! Thankfully Nationwide bank had zero problems swapping a note for a bag of coins
ubiquitous_uk@reddit
Banks are the same now.
tradandtea123@reddit
Every now and again I go in and ask for 20 pound coins and 20 50ps so I can buy £1.50 boxes of eggs from the end of my road at an honesty box. They've never said anything about it, they do look annoyed but then they do when I ask to post a parcel.
Serious-Mission-127@reddit
I forgot to take the change box to a stall I was running so called in at a post office and they flat out said no - you must have a business account to get change.
So I went to a cash machine and went to Tesco to buy the smallest items possible using a £10 not for each. At the same time a friend went to the customer service desk and convinced them to change £60 into coins
Mysterious_Soft7916@reddit
£20 is just one bag of coins. That's not even difficult for them. They wouldn't even need to count it. When I worked for farmfucks I had to do the change run a few days a week. I'd ring it through and collect. They were fantastic at that PO. Carrying hundreds of £1 coins and the rest of the change through a particularly scummy area wasn't fun though.
GoralDeneb@reddit
When I need coins I go to an arcade and use their change machines.
HappyMeerkat@reddit
Be careful OP when I asked a question about the post office I had a user bombard me with DMs until I deleted it
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
To get change, a customer has to bring it in or the post office has to provide it. Providing cash, especially change, to branches costs a fuckton. It costs to process it, to deliver it, and is usually only provided to customers who have a change card because it is an agreement made with the banks.
The customers that have a change card PAY for the change through their bank, who in turn pay the post office. The post office can only keep the stock that they expect the businesses to request, anything else has to be sent back because it is in the banking network and the banks want their money.
The post office has to pay interest on a customers money, so they want everything that has been banked back to them ASAP.
Little postmasters like me get our arses kicked if we're chucking out tons in change and not charging anything, We have to declare it daily by the way. If we give our change to the non paying customers so we have none for the paying customers, we lose paying customers. It's kinda complex, easy to understand if you do the job, but does make us seem like wankers if we have to say no.
It's also why getting fivers off is is like getting blood out of a stone. We are sorry, we know it is a nuisance!
turbo_dude@reddit
astonishing then that cash, which can be forged, lost, stolen, requires secure transit, is somehow cheaper than electronic farts down a wire (although 1% for that shit is daylight robbery and visa/MC need breaking up)
drvgacc@reddit
We used to have our own as well but some numpty decided that allowing the US processors to have a absolute duopoly was a great idea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch_(debit_card)
KingCPresley@reddit
While I totally sympathise with you as that sounds like a pure pain in the arse, surely the post office worker in OP should have explained that? Maybe not in so much detail but more of a ‘we only supply change to businesses who pay for the service, sorry’.
Interrogating the customer and then huffing about it just means you’ve pissed off both the customer and your bosses, seems bonkers to me.
Dismal_Low9956@reddit
Go to the arcade at the seaside. Plenty of change machines & coins there.
DrMamaBear@reddit
Yes I believe my old post office is run by dementors sucking the joy from all who pass
purpleduckduckgoose@reddit
Am I the only person who seems to have a decent PO nearby?
jhadaro@reddit
go to Launderette... ask for change...
ot1smile@reddit
Yeah post offices don’t keep change for handing out as far as I’m aware so you were eating up their float.
_FatherVic@reddit
Some local businesses not only do their banking with them for deposits but also for change orders so (some at least) do carry large amounts of coins.
greenhookdown@reddit
These are usually to order though. When I worked there, businesses had to request change in advance and we ordered it via head office in the exact amount. Cash is not cheap.
_FatherVic@reddit
It depends on the type of office. My partner runs an office and does hold extra on top of orders. Surprisingly businesses come specifically because the banks have told them to.
ot1smile@reddit
Yeah I just clocked that after commenting (should have looked first of course).
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
I did think that but then don't offer it as a service, just say no we don't have any spare at the moment?
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
It is offered as a service to people with a change card. People never rws the small print.
The card is issued by your bank. The bank charges you each time you use it and some of that fee is passed on to POL for providing the service.
It is part of the business banking network.
ot1smile@reddit
Oh my bad I didn’t realise they advertise it as a service they offer. I guess now that they’ve taken on the counter service for some banks it makes sense. It’s worth pointing out that businesses get charged for ‘buying’ change so although it was delivered grumpily you got as much of a deal as it’s possible to get.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Fair point, had not thought about that
Chemical-You-9650@reddit
I think it's a requirement of working in a post office that you have to be pissed off at anyone who comes in and makes you do any kind of work whatsoever.
darthcaedus81@reddit
Are these the people that were too grumpy to be a doctor's receptionist?
sjtsjtsjt@reddit
They used to work at car hires, but were fired for being too slow and inefficient
darthcaedus81@reddit
No tortoises looking for work I guess
Chemical-You-9650@reddit
Yes, although it's the same look of disdain they give that you dared to enter the premises and disturb their gossiping.
darthcaedus81@reddit
Took three parcels into my local PO recently. Got effectively shouted at to put them on the scale like I was meant to be telepathic and she was annoyed she actually had to use her big girl words.
mynameisollie@reddit
And do the required work at the speed of sloth.
NFTArtist@reddit
I thought this was just my local PO but apparently not
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
It's the goddam printers. Jesus I have time to put the kettle on, peel the spuds, feed the dog and have a piss, in the time it takes for a label to print. Paint the ceiling whilst the label prints then watch it dry whilst the receipt is printing.
But damn, at one point it used to print a different receipt out for each item. That was fun for any customer that dropped off any more than 3 items. So things are speeding up, just not at a speed that is helpful at Christmas.
They say new hardware is coming. They don't want to use Fujitsu, the printers are now obsolete, fibre became a thing, but no one ever wants another horizon scandal.
jodilye@reddit
Having worked in post office locals for many years I get wound up whenever I have to use one.
The lack of multitasking is real. I used to have a member of staff who would take each step by step SO slowly and in order it drove me insane.
It’s been a while now so I can’t remember the exact process but just a small thing like looking at the scale weight as soon as they put it on and remembering it to manually input meant that I could process a parcel about 5 times faster.
That said, I loved working on the counter if I didn’t have a million other things to do, the process was fun and I built up a huge coin collection that way!
rlj_b@reddit
It's the same at my place of work (government-based) - the printers are criminally slow! We often remark on how much more work would actually get done if we had decent equipment to use.
Helpful-Fennel-7468@reddit
And moan when the letterboxes are too low.
Chemical-You-9650@reddit
No one here is talking about postmen...
Not_invented-Here@reddit
You also have to be mildly incompetent.
S_mawds@reddit
God forbid you make them move away from their chair and window
namur17056@reddit
Is that why they solely employ boomers?
Wild_Ad6293@reddit
Reading this comment section, I've learnt that it truly is everyone that has to deal with a grumpy lady at their post office lmao
Quinn_27@reddit
She’s just a misery
Imagine sitting their all day and just waiting for the 8 hours to pass, so she can go sit on her ass at home and watch Eastenders
KingForceHundred@reddit
Never heard taking money out on a card described as buying money.
Pircster38@reddit
If asked I'd say it's for tips which would be the truth. I've not been asked before but I have taken out £10 in £1 coins or as part of a larger transaction. OP could just say it's to give her young son pocket money.
Downtown_Science_286@reddit
I regularly change £20s to pound coins at my local HSBC, so long as you bank with them, it's no trouble. You just have to be lucky enough to have a branch with counter service of your bank locally!
YourStupidInnit@reddit
I got my youngest a kids' Monzo card. Because there's no monthly fee. Coins won't be a thing when she's an adult (I hope), and this way she learns to keep a track of her money, has saving pots, and feels independent.
Infinite_Ad4251@reddit
Just take £20 out of the hole in the wall and ask for a bag of coins. You're costing them money card fees and it does seem sus, despite the small amount, to buy coins on a debit card. For card fraud reasons etc
I used to go to my local post office quite regularly to get uncirculated coins because I'm a hoarder of shiny things
garfogamer@reddit
You understand that cost them money? It's not a free transaction for them - if you weren't buying something else I'm surprised you didn't get told to go away,
Time-Excitement-1317@reddit
Post office do cash withdrawals in store they have for years even if they have an ATM outside, people regularly withdraw cash from post offices
Green_Sprout@reddit
The real reason is you buying those pound coins is probably going to make her life hell when it comes to doing End of Day stuff, that transaction will look weird as hell and she knows she'll get a call from the area manager who will grill her over it... She probably perfectly understood what you were wanting to do but was still miffed because she knew consequences were coming. The area manager will be pissed because they technically lost money because there are always fees involved with a card machine, it is easily ignored when you're making money, but losing it -even a little bit -will piss some bean counter off.
Time-Excitement-1317@reddit
The post office offer cash withdrawals in store which is all this guy did, nothing about it looks weird
-TheHumorousOne-@reddit
We're moving more and more towards a cashless society, so may be worth getting your kid a Go Henry Card or something similar.
It'll be harder to teach with it all being digital but I'd say digital banking is the calculator and pound coins the pen and paper arithmetic we were taught.
littlemissy145@reddit
I got told off for having my money folded and counting it; she spoke to me like a school kid. I said well I had it before when you’ve not put the right money in my account EVEN with the counting machine. Lo and behold she misses £10 and so I smile and say that’s why I count the cash.
Carlyj5689@reddit
Thats just people who work in a post office. Theyre always bloody miserable
No_Watercress8348@reddit
I’ve never ever met a nice post office staff member in the UK. I’ve just been straight up refused £ coins. Not that they don’t do them, just that she wouldn’t give them. They’re always miserable.
Intelligent-Lion-560@reddit
It's classed as a cash withdrawl, not 'buying' the coins
GooseOutrageous2493@reddit
I sometimes use my post office as a drop off point for packages, they do DPD, Evri etc and have it advertised with posters that they do. Had two packages to pick up yesterday and the lady behind the counter said 'you really shouldn't have packages delivered to us, just use your home address instead'. I didn't even know how to respond, that's literally one of the purposes of a post office!? :') I do just think most are them are pretty grumpy and just don't want to be doing the job.
grimm_the_opiner@reddit
You get this kind of thing asking to withdraw a large sum of cash from the bank, notionally I think it's supposed to be to do with money laundering but I suspect it's more about keeping a record of everything you ever do with your money...
...but 20 quid? 🫤
Vivian_I-Hate-You@reddit
I used to have to take the cash from the safe to the post office. Me and my boss would always argue who's going as the miserable old bints in there just sucked the life out of you.
RaincoatBadgers@reddit
Post office workers are just furious at being asked to do anything sometimes
I went into mine recently to send a passport back, i had never done this before, so I just went up and said "hey, I'm looking to send a passport back"
Woman looks at me with disgust in her eyes and says "well, maybe if you follow the queue signs you'll see I'm not the only person here"
I'm like?? Because, first of all, from the entrance, she is, literally, the only person there. No customers or anything.. but further down there is a guy in a little cubicle thing
He was actually very friendly, he says yeah you'll need to grab an envelope and write the address, I said that's what I figured but I wasn't sure what size to get when I ordered stationary so I didn't have one.. but it was okay so he points me to the bit where I can find the right ones
I still don't know what that ladies problem was, if I spoke to a client that way I'd lose my job 🤣
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
I assume they have mystery shoppers assessing how friendly or horrible you are. If you're an absolute bastard you get a big bonus. Meanwhile friendly guy will be getting a warning.
kachuru@reddit
"buy money" seems like a strange way of phrasing it.
"Withdraw money from my bank using my debit card at the Post Office, dispensed in £1 coins" sounds perfectly rational.
DontTellHimPike1234@reddit
You asked a post office worker to do their job. That was your first mistake.
Ok-Somewhere911@reddit
Do it at the bank, they don't give a shit and won't question you.
Matthewrotherham@reddit
Local branch
There is a name I haven't heard in a long time....a LONG time...
SpectralDinosaur@reddit
According to google the nearest branch of my bank is 238 miles away.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
All closed for miles or I deffo would, but village has a post office a stones throw from my cottage
PatrickTheSosij@reddit
Which is exactly why the post office is acting that way. They need those coins too
Chemical-You-9650@reddit
If they're the only place that handles money for miles, then they will also be the place that any local shops etc will bank their takings. They will be giving out change to them as well, it's not like they don't give out bags of change regularly, they will be receiving sacks of each denomination for this purpose all the time.
Bobservations@reddit
I came to say this, they’ll be the post office that the local shops need to get their float top ups from. It’s likely that if people are coming in and swapping for coins, there’s probably going to be an angry shop owner about to take it out on the worker when she has to say she can’t give them anything. And if they’re anything like my old boss, she’ll have the shop owner going off, then her own boss going off at her too
Tof12345@reddit
That's kinda dumb logic then because nobody is forcing them to require selling/giving coins.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Refuse to give them out then.....?
Wookie2015@reddit
My local bank didn't have any change onsite and wouldn't allow me to order any in. They suggested I find an amusements who will swap
terryjuicelawson@reddit
Makes me wonder how actual amusement places manage themselves, a lot of their profits will be in small coins.
Annual_History_796@reddit
Check out Lord Snooty and his actual physical bank branches over here!
phatboi23@reddit
what bank?
there's 1 in my town and i know nobody that banks with them haha
ubiquitous_uk@reddit
Most require you to have an account with them now.
Cookyy2k@reddit
I have a local brach that has now gone cashless. I understand it will vastly reduce their insurance, risk etc but cashless bank isn't that much use either.
atom_stacker@reddit
Good luck finding an open branch that you can access at a reasonable time of day.
Ibasicallyhateyouall@reddit
Honestly, just trying to change notes to change with the people in the post office is next to f**king impossible. Needed change to for my 6 year old daughter who was running a stand at her school fete, for charity and needed it, even explained that, and they just pissed and moaned. Went to my local pub and they sorted it out in a few minutes with a smile.
Future_Direction5174@reddit
Our Post Office has just changed hands and been refitted. The staff there are three southern Asian guys who are great. They also run a convenience store which does most of their business. It is now the only Post Office in the village.
We did originally have 3 - and three banks (it is a large village). Now we just have the one but I am so glad that we DO have it.
wardyms@reddit
Really enjoy your turn of phrase that you’re “buying” coins. I’ve never thought of it like that.
gloomfilter@reddit
The turn of phrase shows that OP doesn't really understand the transaction - nothing is being bought.
gloomfilter@reddit
You're not buying anything. You're basically asking for a cashback but with no purchase, so they'll be losing money on it.
Correct-Ad884@reddit
If I was in charge of society I'd have this post office worker sent to do hard labour
StereotypicallBarbie@reddit
I can count on one hand where a member of staff at the post office has actually been pleasant..
FlibV1@reddit
Wait till you go in with a parcel and a pre-paid label.
Then you get a lecture on how you, personally, are destroying post offices for everyone.
I use Inpost lockers now.
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
Well that's stupid. I say that as a postmaster who barely sells anything over the counter. 3p is still 3p when your rent is £2800 a month!
FlibV1@reddit
The weird thing is, I've had it happen at three different post offices now.
It wouldn't be so bad if the price you pay in the post office was the same as the one quoted online, but they're always trying to sell you an upgraded postage that costs twice as much.
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
No, that isn't what's happening. RM have a different price online for some services. Their idea is that you don't have to visit a post office so you don't know the price disparities and if you do, you can blame the post office for ripping you off.
The price in a post office is the price RM set.
MountainEquipment401@reddit
Just incase you haven't had a proper answer (except that all post office staff are grumpy). It's probably because most post offices are independent businesses and businesses unlike individuals have to pay a fee to get coins so basically if you ask for 100 £1 coins it costs them a couple quid. My local post office passes the fee along to us (we are also a business) but I'd guess they probably don't pass it along to regular customers.
JollyArmadillo6430@reddit
Yep, 'Uppity' Is Racist - The Atlantic https://share.google/SWdF1ccQvIaQU9uZp
Careful now.
SunSimilar9988@reddit
Banks do it too.
I tried for same reason, and banks always asked my why why why
Tashritu@reddit
Our branch is highly efficient and surprisingly well trained. Very efficient.
Cash is dead anyway. Maybe of use from the tooth fairy and for tipping in lousy places that treat staff badly and don’t pass on tips properly. My 9y old Grandson has a phone app to deal with pocket money etc.
If you want to complain about staff chatting & going slow then try an M&S payment queue!
HolidayDue@reddit
Post office staff are very nosey in general. They always act like if it’s an inconvenience to do anything.
Flashy-Mulberry-2941@reddit
This reminds me of last week when i asked an estate agent for a 2nd viewing, and would they please provide access to the cellar so i can check out the state of the boiler.
It was like walking into whitehall and asking for the state secrets.
whaticansay@reddit
My kid was running a stall at a fair and needed a small float and only had a £20 note. I went into 3 banks on the high street (was surprised I found 3 tbh) but none of them would give me 20 x £1 coins. One said they were too busy as it was Saturday, another said I had to prearrange it and the other said they don’t handle cash.
matthewkevin84@reddit
Supposing they refuse in future perhaps cry floods of tears to them?
zebedir@reddit
I get pound coins from the post office all the time for work. The lady behind the till explained to me before that if you don't have a business bank card they don't charge commission and don't get paid. Post staff were probably just grumpy with you because they're not earning their commission 🤷♀️ might be less faff for you to just go in with a 20 note and ask to swap it for pound coins
r1Rqc1vPeF@reddit
For ages in my local, in Tesco, post office there were 2 grumpy women who would do the absolute minimum possible to fulfil your request.
Recently a 50 something man has been taken on and he is the exact opposite. Not only does he do everything as quickly as possible, he will explain all options, permutations, rules, limitations etc. while doing it.
I like the efficiency, I just don’t need the chat.
degz100@reddit
Former PO employee. The office could be short of change. As for the questions she was probably trying to understand why you wanted it as the PO offer a change service for santander business banking customers who pay for the service so we have to protect those customers. For small amounts like that though I’d of asked the customer to withdraw the money from their account. (Which you can do at post offices with most high street banks) then I’d of given it to them in pennies if they wanted lol
upov3r@reddit
It seems kinda insane to do this at a post office. Go to the bank instead.
DoctorNerfarious@reddit
You and everyone else desperately holding onto cash know exactly the answer but do not want to accept it.
Not only do you know the answer but refuse reality, you are passing that down to your child by teaching him an outdated perception of finance. Information that is almost entirely irrelevant, and will be entirely irrelevant by the time they are using the information.
iakiak@reddit
Most banks and post offices seem to get peeved by this for some reason and want me to jump through hoops.
I just load up every time I pass an arcade now.....
DoctorNerfarious@reddit
Because you think you’re teaching him well by doing it physically because of your perception of the world.
Your perception is outdated and not relevant anymore. Cash and coins are almost entirely gone, by the time your son is old enough for it to matter, it will be entirely gone.
Teach him digitally if your intention is to ready him for the world rather than mould him into a copy of yourself.
From the businesses point of view they are gaining nothing by giving you coin but it is costing them in storage / staffing / insurance / transport to complete the transaction.
From a staff point of view they’re more than likely told to give alternatives and avoid at all costs.
From a money laundering point of view, cash is untraceable so every financial institution that isn’t trying to deliberately hide funds will deter you from transacting in cash.
Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit
Possibly because they have to collect the change from the bank. There is no profit for them in a simple exchange. The bank is probably the best place to get them
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
No banks for miles around at least 30min car ride one way, post office is a stones throw from my cottage
Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit
That is a shame. I guess that's one of the reasons the post office is fed up with it. You should be taking it out on the mass closure of banks around the Country. The banks will argue they cant afford to stay open all over, likewise the PO is struggling too. PO's are becoming a rarity, they should be looked after
sn0rg@reddit
“Why so much?” 😂😂
blacknwhitedog@reddit
My mum worked at the post office for over 30 years before she retired. She is one of the nicest, most helpful ladies ever (apart from the general boomer sort of Daily mail 'isms and 'phobias, but she gets on very well with her asian neighbours)
If you had heard all the stories about customers and managers she had deal with, you would understand why PO staff always look like a bulldog sucking a wasp. They were/are stuck between inept management, stifling and ever changing regulations, and dumb as fuck customers/lonely old dears that want to chat about their latest hip operation.
Also, 20 pound coins is only one bag, are you sure it was only 20 you asked for? If she thought you were buying change for a business that would explain the questions. I don't think you only asked for £20 worth tbh.
DizzyMine4964@reddit
Yes, why can't ship staff be more respectful? Not kissing your arse - how awful.
Sazzimo@reddit
I recently ordered a new pair of glasses and they sent it Royal Mail tracked 24. Royal Mail sent it to the wrong delivery office 3 times (twice to the same wrong office) and then just returned it to sender. 🫠
Electro_gear@reddit
Lady at my local post office is SO pissed off when there’s a huge line. I’m like… surely it’s a good thing that your post office is making money? Clearly not.
sparkysparkykaminari@reddit
sounds like she was just in a shit mood.
i routinely get £20's worth of 50p coins out when i'm at uni as i need them for the washing machine—do it at nationwide and i've never had an issue.
chicken-farmer@reddit
Because she's a massive jobsworth
adezlanderpalm69@reddit
When I went in. The women was nice enough. We had a chat and she openly said the only thing that spoils the job is endless customers “ Always wanting stuff “ 😱😱
ClacksInTheSky@reddit
Just pull £20 out of the cash machine and ask your local corner shop or co-op
adezlanderpalm69@reddit
It’s 9 zeros
EUskeptik@reddit
Post Offices survive on charges made for every transaction, part of which charge goes to the sub-Postmaster. There isn’t any provision for a charge for giving change, so the sub-Postmaster is doing unpaid work. Why should a sub-Postmaster be happy working for no pay?
When I owned a sub-Post Office, owners of local small businesses would ask for change because they thought they could get it for free when their bank made a (significant) charge for giving change. We politely redirected them to their bank unless they were regular customers of other (charged) post office services, when we would help out.
For the avoidance of doubt, sub-Post Offices ARE NOT paid to give out change.
Hizu69@reddit
This is just normal to be fair
Trick_Departure5051@reddit
Not sure if anyone has said this, but I do have an answer. As someone who had to go to the post office to get change for the pub I worked in, they think if you’re getting change it’s bound to be for a business, and businesses are meant to set up an account with them to pay for the service of getting change (not that we ever did, we just made sure to go in when the people that didn’t care about that were working). If you don’t have a business set up with them and want change they see it as a loss of money, or you taking change from their ‘actual’ customers.
Although some post office staff are just miserable as others have said, for example in my local one this woman has had some sort of weird grudge against me for 16 years, despite me being polite every time I go in. Loves my stepdad though, don’t think she knows we’re related.
Gravfenbach@reddit
Sounds to me like you are doing some awesome parenting and merely stumbled across someone who is a bit of a knob, which is also great life experience for your son growing up in the UK 😁
Temporary-Cobbler478@reddit
I know the struggle of getting coins too well. The flat I live in has a shared laundry room that only excepts coins. I have tried trading notes for pound coins but they say no. Now I must buy something cheap just to get change back so I can do my laundry.
tehsphinx7@reddit
I’d assume paying £20 with a debit card will cost a percentage and as a result, the post office is losing money just for exchanging coins.
cpaulc57@reddit
Sick and tired of this whole 'what do you want it for' business, particularly when you are withdrawing money from your bank account. And then they get upset when you say 'thats got fcuk all to do with you', and if you are polite and give them a reason, the audacity to say 'have you got proof'
Party-Werewolf-4888@reddit
They have to order coins in (to my knowledge) and with less people using cash it's a bit of a faff for them. If someone comes in asking for a bag it probably messes them up for the rest of the week from a change perspective.
Used to work in retail and running out of change became the bane of my life. Pre-covid you'd just nip the post office, a supermarket or another shop and do a swap. Post-covid barely anyone carried any and everyone was hesitant to give it up if they had it.
Big retailers pay a contract for cash delivery & collections, i assume the post office is the same. Post covid when everyone was cashless must have saved struggling retailers a few bob as cash collections were halted! So they probs all keep it to a minimum now.
aleopardstail@reddit
few years back I tried getting £20 in a mix of 1p and 2p coins, post office refused, bank refused
my other half's bank eventually allowed it
didn't want to tell them the actual reason was I wanted them to base gaming figures as it was the cheapest way to get steel cored discs in those sizes
SouthFromGranada@reddit
Bloody hell, How many gaming figures do you have to need 20 quids worth of coppers.
aleopardstail@reddit
Napoleonic mass battle games say hello
mJelly87@reddit
I can't answer for the bank, but the post office probably doesn't have that many bags of 1p and 2p coins. They aren't used much, so a single bag could last them ages.
phatboi23@reddit
don't know if you have a local place for it but round here there's a place that will sell you washers about the right size about £1 for 100 and you're not taking money out of the system etc. :)
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Brilliant
aleopardstail@reddit
told them it was to help teach kids, took a fair bit of back and forth. apparently if I had a business account it was no problem but they couldn't find the form to do it for a personal one
turned out there wasn't one
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Urghh form for withdrawal your own money, outrageous
aleopardstail@reddit
try taking out cash in any quantity now and they get out the comfy chair and soft cushions
omg_daisy@reddit
If you ever need change go to your local bookies on the weekend, they usually have a lot of bags of coins that they'll happily exchange for notes as they have to carry them to the bank/post office on the Monday and if you've had a busy weekend it can get really heavy
matt_smith_keele@reddit
They're not a bank and don't have large supplies of cash.
Go to a bank.
Boldboy72@reddit
regulations mate.
AML specifically.
AfricanLad@reddit
I would have thought they might be put out by having to pay card fees and not actually selling something, which would have been fine if you were exchanging a 20 note. But none of their questions have to do with that...
letsshittalk@reddit
spend cash save mixed change granted 4weeks £30change from £250 is tedious
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
I don't have any cash, like ever even car parks have apps
letsshittalk@reddit
yeh nah i always shop with cash especially loose change the shop keepers seem grateful for it
I_am_Reddit_Tom@reddit
Because small change is hard to get and they want to save it to give paying customers change for large denominations.
bellyballoonboy@reddit
As a post office worker myself we get told we can’t give out change because the business doesn’t get money for it I think it’s ridiculous, giving someone some change is ridiculous
Goatleggedbastard@reddit
It's because, post office charges for commercial change giving facilities, swapping notes or card payments for coins doesn't generate any revenue for the business and takes up time that could be spent serving a paying customer,
That being said, providing small amounts of change to regular customers especially to help teach young uns the value of money shouldn't be a big deal. I suspect your local post office lady is just a snotty bitch
ListenFalse6689@reddit
I don't know why they get uppity, but when my coin jar is getting low I usually go to the local bowling alley where they have an arcade with a change machine that gives you £1 coins.
RoutineImpressive395@reddit
I go to the bank every two weeks with a typewritten note, explaining what I am and why I want to take out the specific amounts I want (this all started pre-covid because I was doing lessons which requires specific amounts of money. Clarinet lesson every other Wednesday £18 so I needed £10, £5 and £1 coins. Private Irish Dance lessons at the cost of £25 per week, so again I needed £10, £5 notes. These lessons lasted until the btch of an ID teacher ghosted me.)
Most of the time, if I tried to do this verbally, the bank "staff" would look at me as if I were an alien. (I'm apparently difficult to comprehend when I speak, being special needs and all. Instead of taking the time to listen and comprehend, I got attitude) and then the bank I used stopped giving cards for savings accounts, so I switched to another bank with a current account.
During Covid, I couldn't go to the bank, so I would just put all of my 'allowance' into my savings and pay for my clarinet lesson digitally. I'm no longer with that teacher, so now instead of budgeting for a fortnightly clarinet lesson, I put £20 in a savings tin. Once I find a new teacher, I will go back to budgeting the other way.
MiddleEarthFoak@reddit
So you pay on card, so the small shop have to pay a transaction fee for the card payment, For business to get coin money they are restricted about how much they can get an some companies have to pay for getting coins.
Then you walk in and swap 20 digital pounds for 20 physical £1 and don’t understand why the person that runs the small post office is disgruntled about the situation.
MyAccidentalAccount@reddit
Better going into a bank.
Post office will only have so much cash on hand so they could be annoyed if they're running low and have to start making change up using smaller denominations.
Worked in retail many years ago, it just takes a few people buying a mars bar with a £20 and you're left coppering up to make change.
Banks on the other hand are equipped to do this, my son went through a phase of looking for rare 50p coins, I'd regularly go in and withdraw £100 from my account in 50p coins with no issues - and then pay it all back in a few days later.
Side note, kids love this - and they can't tell the difference between cons they've just received and the ones they checked last week, so you can just give them the same bags over and over again and save yourself a trip to the bank... Throw in a peter rabbit or Star wars coin from the royal mint every now and then to keep the excitement up :)
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
No banks for miles around at least 30min car ride one way, post office is a stones throw from my cottage
MyAccidentalAccount@reddit
In that case their annoyance makes even more sense.
When they run out of coins they have to make the trip to the bank.
caffeine_and@reddit
Pablo, you start with £20 and you end smuggling billions worth of fake coins, the post office is doing its due diligence, rightfully so.
/s
WhatAHunt@reddit
I like the idea that this caring parent who is teaching their child important life lessons is called SmellyPubes69 on Reddit 🤣
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Husband set it up for me, because we are still big kids 🤣🤣
WhatAHunt@reddit
Haha love it
phatboi23@reddit
tbh that's the kinda shit i'd expect on reddit... haha
champion1995@reddit
They no longer give out change on a whim ( read: now the banks are closed they have more power and like to exact it at every chance.) they want to know where change is going and now businesses have to have a change giving card to get any sort of change.
I presume they think you are a business in disguise trying to cheat them out of precious pound coins.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
This is the most sensible answer I think
Due_Entrepreneur_735@reddit
Actually, the banks told the post office that if they were to get the contract, they had to do all the shitty bits no one wanted to do because it takes time and makes no money. Change giving is one aspect the post office finds us a nuisance but contractually we have to do it. For business only I may add. If your local post offices helps anyone they are doing it to be decent.
A postmaster works on commission. Commission that goes to the taxpayer first (most don't know this. Say a postmaster earns a quid, the taxpayer gets 60p of it and the postmaster gets 40p) The more we postmasters do to take business from the banks the better off the taxpayer is. Of course, we have to pay all the overheads that the banks and the post offices aren't paying but it is employment and ain't no one taking that for granted.
Brilliant-Offer-4208@reddit
What is it with some post office workers? Others are really good.
Marmalade43@reddit
Not only does the post office incur costs to get the £1 coins, they get charged a fee when you use your debit card. If the assistant is the owner, I completely understand them being grumpy when you go in and cost them money.
JohnCasey3306@reddit
They're worried you're a business who's run out of change and are trying to buy £1 coins for that reason.
They're not insured or allowed to supply coinage to businesses.
Flapparachi@reddit
I think I might be in the minority here, but both my little sub-post office in the village that I use multiple times a week and the main post office in the nearest town are great - it’s like going to visit your auntie for a cup of tea.
The last time I went into town the lady behind the counter told me the brightness of my phone screen was why I’d been struggling to have QR codes scanned - every day is a school day.
I must be a lucky one!
lungbong@reddit
There used to be a little post office near where I worked staffed by the grumpiest post office worker ever. It was only only from something like 1pm to 5pm and because of where it was 99% of the transactions were businesses dropping off boxes of letters. If you went in to buy a stamp or some other standard post office transaction he'd be absolutely fuming at having to do it. And try and pay cash and need change he'd act like you'd asked him to hand over his dog.
Some people aren't meant for public facing jobs.
LazyLady68@reddit
Several times a year I pop into my local post office for a cash float for events (£100 in £1 coins and £100 in 50p pieces). I've never had any trouble or reluctance. I'm sorry this happened to you. Some people are just miserable.
birge55@reddit
Withdraw £20 note then ask for change.
achuchable@reddit
How much were they?
Ok_Teacher_1797@reddit
Any bowling alley or arcade near you. They have loads of machines you can buy coins from.
amanda30uk@reddit
I think it's because the bank charges a fee for change . I work in a supermarket and was told off by the cash office lady for giving customers bags of pound coins. She said we have to pay the bank for our change so wasnt allowed to give bags full out willy nilly 🤷
Wookie2015@reddit
Wait till you ask your local bank (if there is one) if you can have change. Santander - didn't have any in stock and couldn't even order it in. They suggested I find an amusements who will swap cash for change.
Gullflyinghigh@reddit
We're quite lucky in that of our usual two post office workers we've got one cheerful one that works at what I guess would be average speed and another who's miserable as sin but gets people through like lightning. If anything, she gets visibly annoyed when dealing with the deeply slow people that rock up seemingly without knowing why they're there.
Smart-Resolution9724@reddit
It's because if you need small change as a business they will charge you for the service. Also many banks also only give change bags free to customers. Small change costs money to move around. Post Office probably has to pay to buy small change so it's not free to them.
chuckles5454@reddit
Jesus, I know the feeling. Earlier this week I had to drive sixty miles to my local bank to withdraw £11,000. I had to have clear, quick failsafe answers to all her questions - which had to be witnessed by one of her colleagues. Who was I (they had my back card)? Where did I live (I'd had an account with them for years)? What was I going to do with the money (go to an antique and architectural salvage fair in Durham)? Why did I want cash instead of using bank to bank transfer (because many of the fair's stall holders didn't have card facilities)? Had anyone asked me to withdraw the money? Had anyone told me to lie to them? Was I aware lying to them was a criminal offence? Where was I going with the money after I left the bank (to Tescoes to buy a watermelon)? Would anyone be accompanying me to Tesco to provide security...? And so on and so forth.
All this interfering busybody fuss! And for what? All to pay off a neighbour who was installing some dodgy double glazing to the back of my garage and sheds and didn't want to pay VAT.
Majestic-Ad-7282@reddit
You’d have been a lot better off giving the real answer
LordAnchemis@reddit
Withdraw £5 note from ATM - buy a 99p bag of sweets, job done
CarrowCanary@reddit
If you do it once a week, you can use all those pennies to buy one of the bags in less than 2 years.
Didymograptus2@reddit
Why didn’t you go to the bank for the coins. The Post Office isn’t a money exchange and don’t carry large stocks of coins.
TinFoilHatApostate@reddit
If you’re a business customer getting change you need to use a change card so they can bill your bank (who then bill you), they get in big time trouble if they’re caught supplying change for biz purposes without one, and based on how post masters have been treated in recent years I can understand why they’re cagey about stuff like this
Dedward5@reddit
My local post office is amazing, they are without doubt the most helpful and kind people you could hope to meet in this business. Not just helpful, but also fast and competent, the total antithesis of most of the comments here (but I know that this is a rarity)
cosmiclube@reddit
You didn’t buy any £1 coins. You took £20 of their change & gave them the equivalent payment on a card. They are actually down 20 £1 coins & haven’t earned any money from the transaction.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Fine then just say they can't do it and refuse service as they legally are allowed to do rather than grilling me!
BigFaithlessness618@reddit
It's because you have to pay for the service if you are a business. They don't HAVE to give you change as a member of the public but they normally will and have an unwritten policy to help schools.
It costs money and time to process change.
If you're doing it relatively regularly they may think that you are running some sort of small business.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
They could just say that then lol, communicate. Fwiw I would happily pay a %handling fee
Informal-Visit3935@reddit
FYI…. You’re not “buying” coins. You’re simply drawing £20 from your bank account on your debit card, and asking that it be paid to you in £1 coins. The only time you would “buy” currency, is when you’re buying an overseas currency using GBP.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
I'm using my debit card with a third party to exchange digital money for something else.. so yeah semantics I guess but I am definitely buying something!
semorebunz@reddit
sounds like she would rather argue for 10 minutes that its easier to give you a note than count out the coins , mostly all like this in my experience unless theyre trying to scam some old biddy into buying special delivery and insurance for a 2nd class letter
MercuryJellyfish@reddit
What business of hers is it? Friend of mine had exactly this problem. She lived in an HMO where the landlord had made the washing machine coin operated. Quite side from how bullshit that was, it was similarly hard to get the pound coins. The only method she found that was somewhat reliable was going to the supermarket, buying something from the cigarette kiosk with a £20 note, and asking for the change in pound coins.
Ok_Kangaroo_5404@reddit
Because they pay for their change and then they sell their change to customers, they forecast how much they need based on their retail business and how much their business customers want to buy.
But yeah, £20 in £1 coins shouldn't provoke this reaction...
BenitoBro@reddit
Oh man that surfaced a memory I'd forgotten. About a decade ago I was really into selling Magic The Gathering cards on ebay, buying them for much cheaper when abroad in Spain or Europe.
I'd often package up cards so that they were just below the legal thickness of an envelope but still nice and rigid so that machines wouldn't chew up the cards. Would post them at a few places but hadn't gotten a sticker printer yet so I'd need to go into a post office to physically buy postage.
One time I went to a place by my work. Little dingey post office with nothing around it. Dropped off my half a dozen or so envelopes and asked if I could "send these all 2nd class normal letter please". The look she gave me "I know what size letters are, don't you tell me what size postage to put on these. I'll tell you." and then was a total arse about checking every single one and got annoyed when I wanted a postage receipt. Genuinely thought she was going to scream when I asked to pay with card (still when most local places preferred cash).
Never went back to the place again. Next time I drove last a few years later the place was abandoned and shut down. Good riddance.
Senior_Function2415@reddit
I drove to ours tbe other week to post a return. Its in a petrol garage so open late so i can get there after work. Walked up to the counter to be told "you will have to come back later as we are doing money totals". I said ill just wait as ive made the effort to drive all the way here and you are open for another 2 hours. Answer was no, no waiting. Aparently there is no solution to this, like using the other counter, just scanning the qr code between counting money etc. Gave up in the end and had to wait until the weekend and go to another place.
petrolstationpicnic@reddit
I didn’t think we were allowed to describe people as Uppity these days?
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Why not?
petrolstationpicnic@reddit
Links to slavery. Google it
RIPyetisports@reddit
They sounded more niggardly than anything
chianj@reddit
They dont like getting up from their seat
symbolising@reddit
I’m so glad my post office are lovely about stuff like this
Comrade-Hayley@reddit
Easy response is "none of your business ya nosey cow"
securinight@reddit
You're lucky you even got some coins. My local post office flat refused to give me any. Apparently, you only get them if you are a business with a special card, now.
Misher_Masher@reddit
Our Newsagent seems to have become a Post Office as well, usually the same person running both tills. I mean it's a good thing considering all the Post Offices shutting down and the fact we never even had a Post Office at all locally before that happened.
I usually withdraw a bit of cash there for the window cleaner as the shop next door charges £1 for cashback. I've also been using it to get spare change for the daughter, she's at the age where teeth are coming out all over the place, tooth fairy working overtime.
Don't seem to have any issues getting a tenner out in coins periodically, usually ask for a mix of £2, £1 coins and 50p coins. Never asked for £20 worth lol, but maybe it's dependent on what they have in their float, could you have asked for a bit of a mixture? You want to teach your son about the importance of money, it might be worth teaching him about all the different values of coins in the process.
mJelly87@reddit
Yeah, unless someone has deposited a load of change five minutes before hand, there is probably at most only a few bags of each coin. And some post masters can be strict about who can move change from the main safe. Although I think that's mostly about keeping everything balanced.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
It's a fair point, never thought about that. Im not fussed the actual coin it's just learning, extra chores = extra cash
Misher_Masher@reddit
Yea of course that's fair enough, I'm in the same process as you, maybe just different stages or whatnot. Either way it's all good :)
Scared_Funny_5602@reddit
At my local post office you can’t receive parcels Friday-Sunday. And there’s a handy sign on the screen in front of the till telling you to please collect your parcels before 5pm, so you can essentially never pick up what you’ve ordered. I didn’t know this so I go in and ask to collect my parcel on a Friday afternoon, and I’m told no. Whole time I can see my package sat on the ground behind him. He must not have been trained in the art of scanning a QR code outside of the days Mon-Thurs
tacticall0tion@reddit
My local post office is great, every Monday go down withdraw £5-10 in 50p to play pool for the evening.
phatboi23@reddit
thats a LOT of pool, you paying for the whole pub? haha
thankfully theres a couple of pubs round me where wednesday and thursday are free pool nights :D
so grab my queue and head down for a couple of beers and shoot some pool with randoms for a few hours :)
major_tennis@reddit
Cue :)
phatboi23@reddit
piss i knew i did the wrong one when typing but didn't go back and fix it. haha
better than "pool racket" lol
slamshredder@reddit
snooker bat
phatboi23@reddit
Billiards club.
Runaroundheadless@reddit
Must be the folk. I’ve got a post office reachable on foot and also on a bus route (lucky I suppose. The staff there are speedy and very helpful. Like a normal shop. There are no chat delays because it is always busy there. With all age groups by the way.
First_Folly@reddit
Officially you're supposed to be part of their business change giving scheme with a card etc. But it's complete bollocks in my opinion so if anyone asked me for coins I had no problem as long as we had enough to last until the next change delivery.
BackseatBeardo@reddit
I would assume it’s more to do with her being able to smell your pubes
ImprovementCrazy7624@reddit
Uhhh should of said this to them
"Can i withdraw £20 in £1 coins please"
If they start asking questions just state the reason
"This is so i can give my kid pocket money in cash"
If they keep asking questions look at them blankly and say
"you gonna do it or do i need you to call your manager"
ForegoTheSludge@reddit
I usually take about £500 in cash out from the post office in one go every month. They are nothing but friendly about it. Sound like a grumpy/nosey cashier at your end
Additional-Spite-706@reddit
You do know they are related to the Doctors receptionist, yeah? Case solved....
AllHailTheWinslow@reddit
Power-tripping.
PurpleOctopus6789@reddit
ask at your bank or ask at any big store for a cash back in £1 coins. People do that if they use launderettes all the time.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
I asked at a Poundland near work (figured they would have loads) for that while buying a one thing and got told they absolutely do not do that 🤷 looked at me like I was scum
phatboi23@reddit
i don't think poundland has anything for £1 these days tbf.
PurpleOctopus6789@reddit
do they even do cashbacks? it's been years since I've been to one. When I was in uni, my local spar always did coin cashbacks. It usually has to be a fairly busy shop with constant influx of coins. I'd imagine poundland isn't one of them
PepperHotHot@reddit
I recently tried to do a cash back thing at two different shops and they looked at me like I had two heads!
radiorentals@reddit
They might have loads of coins but they have to give out loads of coins in change. Think about it - who is shopping in Poundland where they need a 20 quid note in change for what they've bought? The higher the denomination note the less useful it is for shops.
Just go to a bank and ask them to change it :)
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
No banks for miles around at least 30min car ride one way, post office is a stones throw from my cottage
radiorentals@reddit
Totally get it - but why are you in a miff about it when told that your Post Office can't fulfil your request? So you have to drive 30 mins - you can teach your kid patience! For sure it's a bit inconvenient but it's hardly the end of the world - or a reason to get overly pissy with the folks in your local post office.
I think in this case a firm grip on sanity and reasonability is needed.
Exotic-Hour677@reddit
Because the post office needs to be allowed to die now. The Great British institutions have been carved into oblivion. Time to say goodbye.
Tryingmybestsorta@reddit
What’s wrong with the post office?
Exotic-Hour677@reddit
Oh ask all the dead postmasters as a jumping off point. Hang on...
Lonehorns@reddit
It might’ve been that your phrasing sounded a bit off. Had you asked to withdraw £20 and to have it all in £1 coins, it’s unlikely they would’ve batted an eye.
Alternatively, it’s just as possible that they were simply in a bad mood.
MarthLikinte612@reddit
My post office will almost always claim that my property is inaccessible. (It’s not, it’s on a main road). Once I was actually in and recorded them driving past my house at the time of delivery, stopping, and then driving off. Then got the email saying inaccessible. I responded asking for the specific reason, kept getting some generic answer with a list of possible reasons. In the end I just emailed back with the video. THEY IGNORED ME.
UpsetMarsupial@reddit
Royal Mail and the Post Office are separate companies with independent Boards. Are you perhaps conflating the two? Royal Mail is the company that delivers parcels and letters; the provider of the universal postal service. The Post Office is the nationwide network of branches offering a range of postal, Government and financial services.
MarthLikinte612@reddit
Yeah you’re right my bad!
DullHovercraft3748@reddit
That's nice dear, but what's that got to do with the Post Office?
Sundaetardis@reddit
As an idea for next time go to a shop that does cash back buy a small item or something you would buy anyway and ask if you can have £10 cash back in coins. They will probably be fine with it, but ask before the transaction is started just incase.
I work in a shop and lots of people do this it fine so long as the bank has delivered the change that week.
Ok_Advantage_8153@reddit
Have you considered asking her instead of blogging it?
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
However you ask that question the answer won't be what you want
cer1978@reddit
My little local post office is lovely. I've been selling some bulky stuff on eBay and the guy comes out to the car to help me with it.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
I'm glad you get a nice bloke.
sourpatchnova@reddit
I work in a post office and wouldn't have given two shits about why you wanted them, I'd have just done it without question. I've never been told to ask 21 questions when someone wants change but I think you mentioned you live in a village so maybe she doesn't get as many change deliveries, etc. as a more central PO would so she's a bit tight about giving it out.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Yep fair point 👉
cognitiveglitch@reddit
For contrast, I regularly order 20 off £1 coins from the post office in-store at a local co-op, they've never batted an eyelid and have always been polite and efficient.
redael2463@reddit
Post Office Limited offer a change giving facility for those that have business accounts, originally via Girobank, then Alliance & Leicester and currently Santander.
Just like banks the service is not free, the facility has to be prearranged when you open the account and requires an estimate of how much would be needed on a weekly basis.
EvilRobotSteve@reddit
While it's likely she was just grumpy, there's one legit reason I can think of. Was this woman the only person working in the post office? If so, maybe she was already running low on pound coins and could see it causing issues when someone needs change later on.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Refuse service then...?
Treskater@reddit
Because they charge businesses a % when they exchange cash for coins, or in this case withdraw cash as coins. So the Q's are the due diligence to ensure people aren't avoiding the fees.
The_Forgemaster@reddit
Supermarkets (if it is not busy) seem to like giving cashback on request. Probably saves them some time before needing to bank it themselves from their tills. So you can often get cash that way
champion1995@reddit
I've tried this. Was told 'no' to having cashback in coins, had to be notes. Even at the customer service desk.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Yep same
champion1995@reddit
They no longer give out change on a whim ( read: now the banks are closed they have more power and like to exact it at every chance.) they want to know where change is going and now businesses have to have a change giving card to get any sort of change.
I presume they think you are a business in disguise trying to cheat them out of precious pound coins.
shortercrust@reddit
Really? I get the float for work - including several bags of coins - at various post offices and it’s never a fuss.
Any_Cauliflower_6337@reddit
Isn’t that money laundering?
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
No money laundering is the other way around matey + a few extra stepa
Cookyy2k@reddit
I mean, if you're buying cash with a debit card in your name, you're doing money laundering very wrong.
AdPlus5585@reddit
It's a requirement that people who work at the post office and GP receptionists MUST have a stick up their butt to work there.
SaintyLovesMuse@reddit
Yeah they used to get funny with me when I needed pound coins for my electricity meter in a flat I rented
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
Do you know why, it's such a weird thing to be upright about
SaintyLovesMuse@reddit
Most places I tried to get pound coins from were always in short supply of them. That's the only answer I was ever given. Not sure how true it is and probably think it's just inconvenient for the staff.
FishermanWorking7236@reddit
It’s likely true, I’ve done a few retail jobs and often we had only 1-2 change deliveries a week with associated costs (delivery often with a secure service). There’s a limit to how much cash you want to keep on hand but that also means people coming in to get pound coins before it’s clear if there’s wiggle room will likely hit reluctant staff since no one wants to have to make up £4 in 50ps or bloody 20ps which has happened to me a few times after people gave in and floated customers since once you’re out of £1s the 50ps fly out the door. The customers getting change then also sometimes get shirty because no one wants a fistful of silvers instead of a few pound coins.
PigHillJimster@reddit
Suspected you were the local Phantom Supermarket Trolley Thief?
Eye-on-Springfield@reddit
They probably just think there's something suspicious about you, u/smellypubes69. There's something not quite right about you...
Euphoric_Wish_8293@reddit
r/rimjob_steve
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
That's what my gynecologist said!
Opening_Succotash_95@reddit
Post Office staff are uppity about everything. And there's something in the air because we were just having a discussion about that fact in the Glasgow subreddit!
BeardedBaldMan@reddit
Clearly he was going to heat them with a blow torch and drop them on the pavement so he can film people picking them up for TikTok
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
So to understand how they work I recently signed up to tiktok and twitter Facebook, accounts recently and I tell him I think it's very trendy and cool, seems to have put him off socials for now funnily enough hahaha won't last for long lol
timeonmyfeet@reddit
They have to hoard them. They’re the best coin, pound for pound.
SmellyPubes69@reddit (OP)
There it is 😁
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