Can the Isle of Wight Council step in to help Islanders struggling to use Wightlink due to the ferry firm’s cash ban? That was the question councillors were asking at a meeting on Thursday night.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cross-Solent operator stopped taking cash to protect its customers and staff from the spread of the virus.
Now, nearly 2 and a half years later the business is still running on card payments only — an issue raised by several disgruntled residents who would like to pay at the terminal using cash.
You can pay online using PayPal, in terminals using the card and smart pay features on phones and other devices as well as through Wightlink’s call centre where debit and credit cards are accepted.
Councillor Warren Drew, representative for Ryde South East, asked whether the council could do more to address the accessibility issue, in light of the authority’s own inclusive digital strategy.
Speaking at the policy and scrutiny committee for neighbourhoods and regeneration, Councillor Drew said it was something the council could address, being more robust in supporting the rights of residents.
Deputy leader of the council, Councillor Ian Stephens said the council took pride in the relationships they have with ferry companies, the council was not 100 per cent comfortable with some of the decisions made.
The council’s regeneration director, Chris Ashman, said the pandemic had been helpful in the last few years in building relationships but also exposed challenges. He told the committee while the authority does not have the authority to tell the ferry operators what to do, they can use their influence to help them, through collaboration, to get the balance right.
One can only hope that the arrogance of the the ferry companies will come back and bite them – very very hard indeed. There is absolutely no reason (other than for their own selfish convenience) that they no longer take cash. Totally unacceptable.
We take food and drink with us when travelling. I refuse to be made to use a card!
Cash is legal tende4
It’ll be a feather in the cap if they can get Wightlink to change its policy.
Absolutely disgusting I prefer to use cash it’s alot easier to use if you use card it can quite easily be declined sometimes when you don’t have cash
Clearly Wightlink is discriminating, surely any business that refuses cash is breaking the law,we are no longer under COVID rules. I don’t use for that reason, can’t even buy a drink on board. Should be reported. Not everyone has a PayPal acct,debit or credit card which in current risk from cyber crime may not be good any how. I see other businesses saying cash only across the Island.
Discrimination only applies if it is against one of the 9 protected characteristics:
– age
– disability
– gender reassignment
– marriage and civil partnership
– pregnancy and maternity
– race
– religion or belief
– sex
– sexual orientation
Maybe one could claim against age?
Obviously wrong… Discrimination is all over this planet, not just about people.. discriminating about money.. to cards..
I’m a regular traveller with Wightlink and I can assure you its only about money and the staff they AREN’T employing in ticket offices both sides of the water. Covid is just a convenient excuse to not run their ticket offices and reduce the number of crossings. There has been plenty said on here and the county press about the last boat over at 820pm. I remember when this was a service with a FastCat every half hour at commuter times..
There used to be much better services and lot cheaper prices… Unknown to me why they call it FAST Cat now ? I remember HMS Shanklin , it took 22 minutes to cross, sometimes a few min more.., you could walk around the boat, order food and drink, or stand by the gunwales watching the sea.. Now you are forced to sit, not allowed to walk around.. and still takes just as long to cross… So where does FAST come into effect ?
To refuse to take cash with the Queens face on is attrocious
Wightlink should be ashamed of themselves.
When travelling I refuse to buy items since they no longer take cash.
Their loss is my gain
THEY OVERCHARGE FOR COFFEE ANYWAY
It’s all down to security cash has to be banked and floats held
Absolute rubbish, what did businesses do before?
Shops and pubs etc are jumping on this same bandwagon, surely it’s illegal to refuse cash and culprits should be brought to buck like cyclists riding on pavements, it’s against the law and nothings done! Ahmen.
Regrettably, a company, or shop for that matter is behaving completely legally in refusing payment by cash as long as they offer other payment options.
A pin in the neck I agree, but sorry IoW Council there is nothing in the way of any sort of ‘legal’ based challenge that can be used here!
Not sure that that is correct. Just because you offer a range of payment options doesn’t mean people can use those options, people without debit or credit cards for example. I would have thought that those people would definitely have a valid case for a discrimination claim, as cash is legal tender and refusing to take it is discriminatory. Would be interested to see a trial case brought against them.
If one only has legal tender ( cash) it should never be refused. With just card, then Wightlink ends up with even more profit. Less staff to pay, as no cashiers, so has cost of crossing lowered…
I simply don’t use shops or companies that refuse to accept cash. I went to fill up with petrol at Asda yesterday, only to find that the payment booth was all shuttered up and no signs anywhere saying card payments only. I drove away to take my business elsewhere. However, it is hypocritical of the council to question Wightlink’s policy when they themselves are refusing to let people use car parks for example if they want to use cash, forcing them to pay by phone. I don’t own a “smart” phone, just like thousands of others. So come on council, don’t criticize others for something you are just as guilty of.
Two things: both Covid and the cost of living crisis have meant lower customer numbers. It is happening everywhere, but I agree – not taking cash, that”s not on. “We can’t take cash because of Covid.” A lot of companies now do, mind you some don’t, so Whitelink could, particularly with public money bailing them out.
Has anyone tried to buy a ticket using a concessionary pass? I tried and no one really understood want I wanted. Why can’t they just open the ticket office again? Too many excuses over Covid.
I think they might find that it is now illegal to NOT accept cash as a form of payment. “I promise to pay the bearer on demand” is on all bank notes, so I suggest that if you have to pay for anything on Wightlink offer to pay in cash, and if they refuse payment, take the goods anyway. Let them arrest you for non payment, take a video of this on your phone, as proof you offered to pay. Enough said.
I think you should be able to pay by Cash if that’s what you want to do..aside from this,does anyone know if you change a pre paid crossing for cheaper ones, why do Wightlink say your account is in credit,but the refund never comes, and vanishes in the system? Has anyone else experienced this?? They are eager to charge customers if you owe them money.. the crossing rates are appaling. Well over priced come on build that bridge or tunnel..
Yes I changed a vehicle booking for a much cheaper one which resulted in a credit balance on my account.
When I made a new booking a few days later lo and behold my credit balance was gone and shown as zero.
I also tried tried to buy a coffee at Fishbourne Terminal in the cafe area and the machine would not accept my card.
Even one of the staff tried and it did not work for them either.
Same card which paid a very large amount of money for the crossing so I knew it worked.
It says that on cheques too and when was the last time you saw one of them! Everyone must at least have a debit card, otherwise how do they get their cash, other than an ATM. The days of banks are disappearing, ask my son who works for one, and when they are all gone what will the cash payers do then poor things, hide it under the mattress. Companies who handle cash have to pay to get it and to get rid of it, a fact well known by anyone who has had a business, this cost gets passed on to the customer. As for COVID being over and the risk of catching it from cash being reduced, COVID is far from gone it’s the fact we are not testing anymore.
What an absolute disgrace this is. So assuming a family unaware of these derisive measures had the misfortune to be travelling with this company and had only cash? Red Funnel is begging to look so much more attractive.
Like a lot of people rarely pay for anything with cash, if say 2 percent of passengers pay with cash and costs 30 percent more to provide staff/facilities to take cash, can see why they don’t take cash. Can also understand the intransigence of some people not wanting to use a debit card but fact is it’s cheaper, quicker and easier for everyone to flash debit card over machine rather than searching in bottom of purse for that elusive 5p to give exact right amount, then saying I’ll have to give you a 20, all that timewasting palava; it may be big saver for any company despite alienating old school. but surely everyone has a debit card by now?
It is also far easier to be ripped off using a card, like the petrol stations that automatically debit you £100 for £50 worth of fuel and then give the overpayment back a week later once they have made interest on YOUR money. Or the shops that debit you twice for one transaction. And what about card fraud? Cash is far safer.
So if you lose your card you cancel it, no loss, if you lose cash it’s gone, never had any discrepancy with my card and if there was bank would reimburse unless it was complete stupidity where people give out their pin number. Argument doesn’t stand up to scrutiny..
Absolute rubbish.
Well said Clive, surely if you have a bank account then the first thing that is issued is a debit card, if you people refuse to use it and carry around large amounts of money then there’s no hope. The worrying thing is that they have to go to an ATM to get the cash, an extra trip I would rather not make given the cost of fuel.
Currently in Norway where the vast majority of businesses refuse cash, point blank. Don’t really see the issue.
At last voice of sanity in a sea of angst complainers, there was a time when you paid for something with 2 sheep and a goat; thems good ol’ days..!
Time moves on, except on iow; “it’s shocking Griselda that you can’t get a decent boy chimney sweep these days with all this “woke” health and safety business, any more cucumber sandwiches, don’t mind if I do”
do please sort out the floating bridge cash ban while you’re at it IWC!!!!!
the risk of catching covid off money is very low fgs ! more chance catching using touching there dirty handles.its a lazy feeble excuse .
i went in the shop and made the mistake of purchasing 2 extortionate items in there as hungry…. sorry no cash …my friend paid on card just as i was about too walk away tutting at such nonsense! i find it ridiculous covid is being used lol
seems a lazy covid bandwagon is on rise out there but real reason is too go casheless permanently.
cash only for me so your loss…ill go eleswhere.
All our money is legal tender, according to the Government, and is supposed to be accepted everywhere. So how about getting someone from the Government to step in. This council is a waste of time, too many have shares in the ferries, which I think should be illegal. . The ferries have a set time table which is advertised… That in itself is often false advertising. The ferries campaigns about how brilliant their companies are, again false advertisement.. They do not broadcast how much a journey costs ahead of time, because the prices can change hourly… this is called money grabbing, which I thought was made illegal in UK many years ago.
Come on, really, what’s the problem? We’ve all got debit cards, probably several of them. Do those who are complaining all carry around large wads of cash? What happens if you don’t have enough cash to pay for your ticket, meal or whatever? I guess you go and find an ATM and – yes, withdraw cash using your CARD!
People, it seems, do just like to complain about anything and everything these days.
Well done Catherine! There is more chance of being scammed using an ATM than paying by card.
If they’re the rules then they’re the rules my loves. I’m an older passenger living on the island and its embarrassing reading these ignorant childish rants from my generation. All All you have to do is Google legal tender and there are many sites including gov.uk explaining the term legal tender and its meaning of absolute gonads! A company can except any type of payment they wish. Everyone take a breath and be grateful for our life and realise what you’re moaning about and how trivial it sounds.
Seems the only way to get these companies in order is to seriously look at a fixed link. The fear of loosing their trade will get them back in line. I do not want a fixed link, but what other option do we have?
Stops any fiddling if you pay by card
order coffees and teas onboard then hand cash over if they wont take cash they will lose out. the more times this is done the sooner they will learn and start taking cash
Dinosaurs, the age of carrying cash is gone, you all seem to forget that you have to go to an ATM to get it out, why bother when you can use a card or even your mobile and before you say it yes I am a pensioner.
IT IS CALLED FREEDOM OF CHOICE…
numnuts !
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