Woman unable to play tennis as venues refuse cash

Juliet Casciano, 80, plays tennis to help with her rehabilitation after a hip replacement

A pensioner is unable to play tennis because no courts in her town accept cash payments.

Juliet Casciano, from Deal, Kent, has been playing tennis for almost 40 years and said she felt discriminated against as she can no longer pay using coins and notes.

The 80-year-old said she hoped to continue playing at Marke Wood Recreation Ground in Walmer to help with her rehabilitation process following a hip replacement, but it had “all gone digital”.

Dover District Council (DDC), which owns the site, said the decision was made to make it easier for customers to book.

Ms Casciano said she tried Tides Leisure Centre in Deal, but was told she would need to pay using a bank card.

“I’m so upset I want to scream from the roof,” she said. “I’ve lost my freedom and I feel really tearful about it.

“Nobody realises, expect the oldies, how absolutely important cash is. We need it.”

'Eliminate queues'

A DDC spokesperson said the majority of customers consider the cashless payment method to the “safest, easiest and most convenient”.

“This is the first complaint we have received about this issue.”

Meanwhile, Your Leisure, which runs Tides Leisure Centre, said its made the decision to remain cashless after implementing the payment method during Covid-19.

The company said it had helped to “speed up access, eliminate queues at peak times and provide a safe space as there’s more oversight on access, all of which has received overall positive feedback”.

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke shared her support of Ms Casciano, saying her constituent was “right to raise concerns”.

“It’s becoming increasingly an issue that, in spite of cash being legal tender, many businesses and even sports facilities are now refusing to accept it,” she tweeted.

Ms Elphicke said she had written to the council to ask them to reinstate cash payments at Tides Leisure Centre, and had written to the Chancellor to ask that the government considers a legal requirement to accept cash to pay for goods and services.