Brits have long grumbled about forking out 20p to use public toilets, but a new 50p charge left some people fuming.
A Reddit user brought the issue to light after spotting a costly conundrum at a block of conveniences and shared a photo on the CasualUK subreddit with the cheeky caption: “The people vs 50p toilets.”
A notice from Windermere and Bowness Town Council on the door reads: “The 50p entry to our 6 public conveniences goes fully towards covering the cost of the cleaning and maintenance contract.”
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Next to the door is a contactless payment terminal, ready to take digital payments via card or Apple Pay. It prompted one peeved Reddit user to blast: “They need the 50p to pay for the card machine they installed so people could pay the 50p by card.”
Another quipped: “The cost of s****ing crisis is about to hit Britain.” A third reacted lividly: “Should never have to pay for a basic human right. Ridiculous. Rip the thing off the wall.”
And a fourth vented in despair: “As someone with IBS, the very concept of paying to use toilets is incredibly infuriating to me. Public toilets is exactly the kind of thing our taxes should pay for.”
Some eagle-eyed Redditors noticed a crafty ploy had been established by a local, for closer inspection of the Reddit snap reveals a large stick wedged to keep it open, offering a free pass to penny-pinchers.
The cheeky trick left those that spotted it in stitches. “Your contribution keeps these toilets open and someone has contributed an extremely effective stick,” one observer joked. Another chimed in: “Took me way too long to find the stick at first. I’d be annoyed if I paid and only realised it was there afterwards.”
But not everyone was quite as amused, with one commenter predicting trouble: “You know there is going to be that one Karen that will remove the stick – then complains why they need to pay to use the toilet.”
(Image: No credit)
Others reckon a clean loo is worth the coin. “I honestly don’t mind paying for a toilet if it’s clean,” one person admitted. “The stench in the free ones makes me want to barf. It’s one of life’s small luxuries I don’t mind paying for.”
Echoing this sentiment, another added: “I agree, I think there’s a difference between this example which (I’m assuming) is a small, community-run one where the proceeds go towards upkeep and cleaning. As opposed to a train station toilet where they’re obviously just charging you for the convenience and not bothering to maintain/clean.”
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