Parking firms that force us to pay by app only should be banned from giving fines – march to a cashless society is mad

IT’S a common sight in car parks across the land, baffled motorists looking backwards and forwards between their phones and the information boards, trying to figure out what they’re supposed to do.

I sympathise with their bewilderment, because I have been in that situation — baffled that I needed to download, register and pay with yet another app I didn’t have.

Thankfully, my daughter came to the rescue and was able to help me download the app that was the only option for payment. And I am someone who almost always has my mobile in my hands.

During the pandemic, Zoom calls were a lifesaver, offering a chance to see a familiar face, while WhatsApp groups helped me keep in touch.

But when technology lets me down or baffles me, as it often does, then I feel as if I have suddenly been wrecked on a desert island and have no way of reaching out for help.

DISCRIMINATORY AND DAMAGING

This is a situation which is getting worse and someone needs to put the brakes on.

We are not just entering a cashless society, we are hurtling towards one where debit or credit cards are becoming obsolete as well.

If you haven’t got a smartphone that can scan a QR code or download an app, you are excluded from a multitude of essential services.

People can’t park at hospitals any more if they don’t have the latest tech, and even if they do have the right gadget they are so confused they may do it wrong and end up with a fine.

I believe that companies which don’t provide a means to pay that is accessible to all should not be allowed to fine users.

There should be no legal liability to pay a parking firm if they have gone app only.

More than 13 per cent of British adults don’t use smartphones and 1.2million of the population don’t have a bank account — so what are they supposed to do?

At the Silver Line helpline for older people we receive countless calls asking for assistance with accessing important information or making life-saving appointments.

Increasingly, the internet is required if you are going to reach your GP, get in touch with the council or sort out your utility bills.

We are not just entering a cashless society, we are hurtling towards one where debit or credit cards are becoming obsolete as well.

That’s despite 1.5million British homes still not having internet access.

I live in the middle of the New Forest, in Hampshire, and it took a lot of effort to get me connected to broadband.

A lot of people in my village still don’t have access to this vital piece of infrastructure — and mobile phone signals hate trees, leaving them cut off.

The speed of change is so dizzying that very few of us can keep up. We find ourselves having to learn how to use a new digital “platform” every time we want to buy something or use a public service.

And the people most alienated by this rush to a fully digital economy are the older generation.

Only 40 per cent of people aged over 65 have a smartphone.

That means the vast majority of Britain’s OAPs are increasingly excluded from society. This is both discriminatory and damaging to our economy.

If an elderly person can’t go shopping because they can’t park or buy a drink once they do get to the shops, this is going to reduce revenues.

I have a friend in her 90s who can type well but is completely intimidated by the idea of a computer, smartphone or tablet.

When I try to encourage her by explaining that the internet can take her to places she could never previously reach, she just cannot cope with the concept.

Decisions are being made by people in their 40s, or even younger, who have no comprehension of day-to-day living for the elderly.

What we urgently require is a minister for older people in the Cabinet with real clout. There is nobody putting forward the plight of those of us caught in this strange chaos that exists right now in this digital shift.

Each government department needs to be told to think about the elderly before initiating new plans.

The speed of change is so dizzying that very few of us can keep up. We find ourselves having to learn how to use a new digital “platform” every time we want to buy something or use a public service.

This year British Telecom realised it had to slow down its switch from analogue to digital phones because there wasn’t enough support for older people.

Age isn’t the only reason why people can’t use these devices.

There is the built-in obsolescence of modern technology which often means a smartphone is incompatible with apps after five years.

Buying a new one is too expensive for many, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis, and throwing them away is bad for the planet.

MAKING LIVES HARDER

We are entering a world which is cashless and faceless.

When I opened a bank account at the age of 16, the bank manager talked to me about how to write a cheque and what dangers I should be aware of.

That personal relationship is being destroyed by closing banks and replacing them with machinery.

You walk into a supermarket and are offered a machine to scan your purchases, so that you don’t need to talk to anyone.

Sometimes that conversation with a checkout employee is the only chat an older lonely person will have all day.

We are in a period of transition between the tried and tested means of communication and the digital revolution.

The internet clearly has great benefits and I understand why the younger generation desires the convenience of smartphones.

But they are becoming an inconvenience, making our lives harder rather than easier.

Unless we have a society which includes phone lines, cash, debit cards and even good old counter staff too, many of us will feel excluded.

• The Silver Line offers help and advice on 0800 4 70 80 90.