Institutional discrimination is a bag of wank.
This isn't funny, just annoying.

My brother has Down's syndrome, and his learning difficulties are pretty severe even for a Down's. He doesn't talk except for baby gibberish, he can't read, write, count beyond about 12, or do maths of any sort. He needs round the clock care and isn't travel trained (i.e. he can't be out unsupervised). Therefore, he can't be left to manage his own bank account (which he has for the purposes of benefits or something; I don't know, I'm not in charge of it, our mum is). The Co-operative Bank refused to give him an account because they couldn't cope with the idea of a person owning an account but someone else (our mum) managing it. We kept explaining the situation over and over again but they didn't get it, and kept making stupid suggestions ('could he do it over the phone?', 'no, we've been through this, he can't talk' etc.). Fuck's sake - they're called the caring bank, so you'd think they would have less bullshit than other banks. In the end we gave up and tried Barclays, and they were very courteous and helpful. Are people with learning difficulties just not allowed to have money in the Co-op's world?

Fortunately we've yet to experience any medical discrimination - anyone else remember the case of people with learning difficulties being given inadequate treatment by A&E staff? Plenty of people with Down's and other learning difficulties get treated as though they're just being difficult.
( Bob Todd whee, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 13:22, 14 replies)

I use the co-op too.
Half the time they are amazing and half the time they are braindead jobsworth cunts. It seems to vary branch to branch.
( Zuowan, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 13:26, closed)

This is not the first time I have heard a bad report about the Co-Op bank
A close and dear friend had terrible trouble with this bank and their caring attitude. It was not like she even owed them money, they were just being cunts for the sake of it.

As for Barclays, I had a bad time with them as a graduate, but when things got hard for me and the wife last year, they could not help us enough. I was actually impressed by them.

Mind you, I still hate Banks for being evil corrupt fuckers!
( Rev. Jayneflakes Buy my book, I need the cash for drugs and hookers, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 13:29, closed)

If it's any consolation a guy I used to go to school with used to work for the local Co-Op and nicked a telly off them.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 13:33, closed)

I did a really bad guff in a co-op once.

( Undulating Tentacles of Love getting fun down to acceptable levels, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 13:54, closed)

My water just went up my nose...
...and I made a rather ungainly squeak. The word guff is brilliant :)
(Nightviolet, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 15:37, closed)

^this
I just got some very funny looks from my colleagues because of this guff post.
( Moey, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 16:03, closed)

Surprised you haven't looked down the route of Enduring Power of Attorney over your brother, which I think could get round issues like this and it something a good bank would understand.
(imp123, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 14:20, closed)

I work as a support worker for learning disabilities
and we constantly have problems with the medical side of things, it's like they know they should be seen to be helpful but don't actually have the first clue how to deal with someone who isn't 'normal'.

"can you bring him into the surgery?"
"Not really, you have it on your records there that we need home visits because he can't handle waiting around, and gets upset by the waiting room"
"well we don't have a doctor or nurse doing home visits today so you'll have to or else wait until next week"

*brings the guy in*
*is made to wait for 40 minutes*

Things have got a lot better since we got a drop in centre at the hospital though, to be fair they are excellent, I guess it's just going to take a while for industries to catch up with actually training their staff rather than wasting their energy fluffing up about how 'person centred' they are because they let you sit with the normals.

We had problems with the bank a couple of years ago when they tried to follow policy about the account holder always needing to be present despite him having zero understanding of why, and again finding it upsetting, but they soon applied common sense and actually go out of their way to be helpful these days.
( Jessie © needs pirate name suggestions, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 14:21, closed)

And people struggle with the idea of someone who is disabled but not in a wheelchair.

( Bob Todd whee, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 22:12, closed)

^this
i'm disabled, but you wouldn't know it to look at me. the amount of people who will say to my face "there's fuck all wrong with you, you're just lazy" is unbelievable
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 22:15, closed)

Ahh Yes
The "your walking around, there's nowt wrong with yer" people. Twats
(Sadarse works like Mist condensing mud flaps, Thu 1 Apr 2010, 23:47, closed)

i'd love to swap places with them for an hour or two
that'd shut them up pretty sharpish
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Fri 2 Apr 2010, 0:29, closed)

and again
There is a student PE teacher at the school I work in who always parks her BMW (WTF!!) in one of the two disabled parking places we have (I use the other one as I have a blue badge) No matter how many times I complain she just says that 'nobody else is using it'. Unfortunately it's not on the public highway so I can't call the Police and my school are too tight to buy wheel clamps otherwise I would.

Luckily due to building works just started the whole car park is closed now. I have a new reserved spot and she is going to have to park on the road and walk. A PE TEACHER FFS!!!
(MadBouncyDog Barking at the moon since, Fri 2 Apr 2010, 13:59, closed)

PE teachers
What a load of fuckholes... "oh I have a degree in sports science!" Oh well fuck you, I have a degree in physics, a real science! Cunts!
( Rev. Jayneflakes Buy my book, I need the cash for drugs and hookers, Fri 2 Apr 2010, 19:05, closed)