A sign posted outside a Bank of Melbourne branch in Footscray that called a rough sleeper "inconsiderate" has sparked outrage.
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The homeless person had been sheltering in the entrance of the bank, blocking access to the branch's ATM, which led an employee at the bank to post the notice.
The sign read: "Due to an inconsiderate person using the foyer as a place to live and litter, we are having to close this part of the branch until further notice."
A photo of the note was posted on the bank's Facebook page by Gemma Carafella, who called the bank's thinking "out of touch".
"To think that the biggest victim in the scenario described in the sign is the bank demonstrates a fairly startling disconnect between your bank and the struggles of people who are experiencing disadvantage," she wrote.
"You are out of touch."
A representative for the bank apologised for the offending sign and said it would be taken down.
"We apologise for any offence taken as this was certainly not our intention," the Facebook reply read. "We will be addressing this directly with the branch manager."
One Facebook user said the bank's response would determine whether they stayed with the Bank of Melbourne. "I know banks aren't compassionate institutions, but this is too much," they wrote.
Another wrote: "If you had the capacity to put yourself in another's shoes, you'd realise that to the customers/business it is purely an inconvenience, but to the homeless it is quite literally a matter of life and death."
But some were supportive of the sign. One Facebook user wrote: "How would all of you people appreciate someone sleeping and littering on your property, especially if it affected how you ran your business?"