The myth of the paperless citizen

Another day and another unasked for letter asking me to live online. This time it is from my bank, NatWest – and yes, yes, thank you I know that by not moving my account to a reputable bank I am endorsing the pocket-lining incompetents who helped bring Britain to its knees, but as gleeful financiers say: bank customers are more likely to divorce than change banks.

The heirs and successors to Fred Goodwin say they will now send me a bank statement once every three months instead of once a month. They will save on the cost of paper and postage if I agree, and I suppose that in the struggle to repay the billions they owe the taxpayer, NatWest believes that every little helps.

NatWest clearly wants me wants to dispense with paper statements completely and sign up to Internet banking. Indeed, when I pop into my branch, it obliges its wretched clerks, who will lose their jobs if customers go online, to ask me if I would like to go online.