Iain Benger-Stevenson

Dunstable, Beds

Retired IT consultant

It always annoys me that one cannot buy goods if the computer has failed, or the phone goes down. Shops used to be able to do busines with paper packs that they could slip into a machine, and then swipe the card. You simply signed the docket, and hey presto, you became the possessor of the goods.

Many years ago, I wished to make a purchase in the Haute Savoy, on top of a mountain. My credit card was refused, because they did not have a telephone. Just how scared are these shopkeepers?