Chris Maclean: A financial dilemma

I bank with the Post Office. My bookkeeper tells me it is the cheapest option, they are open at more convenient hours and they are good for supplying change at a reasonable price.

I've looked at other banks and weighed up the pros and cons. My banking needs are quite reasonable. I deal entirely in cash which I pay in several times a week. I have a few simple direct debits, I write about three cheques a week and I require reasonable amounts of change. I do not have an overdraft and don't need credit facilities. All in all I reckon I'm pretty much an ideal customer for a bank. But I'd be mistaken. Banks are very greedy and need to take a great deal of money. You don't see the kinds of profits the banks make if they were not taking every penny, cent, dollar and euro when they can.

An ideal customer, for the banks, would probably be someone who regularly went accidentally overdrawn each week, who maintained a level of unsustainable debt, who believed they could borrow their way out of problems and would fall foul of any, and every, penalty charge going. And that customer isn't me.

Cash, the fundamental building block of the free market economies, is a liability. Banks hate handling it and charge you for the privilege. Giving you change will cost you. At each and every turn they will take money. My bank charges statement tells me every month how much I've been robbed for a process not much more complicated than keeping cash in a cocoa tin.

Finding a less expensive bank is difficult. I know, I've tried.

The Post Office tries to pretend it is a serious bank but banking is one of its many and various faces. Our branch here also thinks it is a bureau de change too and has a priority desk. Customers who want to get £20 of euros for their day trip to Calais can jump the queue whilst I stand forlorn amongst everyone else clutching the weekend's takings.

In their quest to provide "services" they are trapping the hapless customers trying to execute basic functions. Try to get car tax and they pester you about quoting for your car insurance. Pay a utility bill and they offer alternative sources of supply. This morning I had to visit twice and, both times, got asked about my telephone provider.

Post offices are under pressure. They are heavily subsidised and believe their only route is to capitalise on alternative service provisions. This means that they are compelled to try and sell you something extra to a captive audience. So the queues get longer, the process takes longer and I get more dissatisfied with what I'm getting.

So I look to other banks and find myself weighing up the pros and cons and realising, reluctantly, that the Post Office is where I'll stay. Because it seems to be cheaper even though I must queue.

Unless anyone else has a better idea.