Post Office closures

Karen · 07-11-2003, 15:45

Ive just been reading the Citizen and saw an article about the possible closure of 6 of the 22 post offices that hyndburn has.  What do u think about losing any ? and do you think  the general public are listened to when making a stand against any closures ?

Personally I don't think theres a cat in hells chance of changing Royal Mails minds.

lettie · 07-11-2003, 15:59

The royal mail has been losing money for years, and have had all kinds of cutbacks in the past. How much money was wasted changing the name to Consignia?  Only for it to be changed back again. My mum is a postwoman and had all new uniforms etc.
I feel sorry for the elderly and disabled who would struggle sometimes to get to a main post office and prefer to use local. I know that pensions can now be paid straight into the bank account, but not everybody wants that, and not everyone can get to the bank, if they are frail and it is miles from where they live.

Mick · 07-11-2003, 16:23

They are also trying to get income and disability payed stright into the bank i have had a few letters asking me to change instead of a book.

Fangio · 07-11-2003, 18:47

The sad thing is that no one really would like to see a loss of their own local post office or the service the Royal Mail postman brings.

But with this new fangled thing like the internet and e mail then an awful lot of transactions which were done by post in the past are now increasingly being done over the net.

I cannot remember the last time I went into my bank to do anything.

I suppose it is a price that we are going to have to pay for the convenience of doing things online in the future.

I do think though, that it should be providing more of a reason to find ways of keeping the personal service, rather than just cutting them out wholesale. After all, look what happened to the railways after Beeching in the early 60's.

Whilst we had a major rail network which should have been gearing itself up to take freight traffic from town to town, we built motorways instead - and look at the problems those have brought us.

Guinness · 07-11-2003, 21:28

The Post Office brought all this upon themselves with poor foresight. Refusal to take lottery and pay point machines, which would have been an absolute boon for the outlying offices was madness.

The Post Office is also a bank, why haven't they pushed this fact so that benefits etc.. that used to be paid over the counter could be paid through their banking facility.

Bill payers fall into 2 categories....Direct Debit and Cash payers.

Direct Debit via bank....post office dont even advertise their bank
Cash payers...Post office dont have paypoint machines

The only thing I use the post office for now is taxing my car, and I cant do that at my local I have to use the General.

Mik Dickinson · 09-11-2003, 17:29

[quote author=Guinness link=board=qanda;num=1068223502;start=0#4 date=11/07/03 at 22:28:45]The Post Office brought all this upon themselves with poor foresight. Refusal to take lottery and pay point machines, which would have been an absolute boon for the outlying offices was madness.

The Post Office is also a bank, why haven't they pushed this fact so that benefits etc.. that used to be paid over the counter could be paid through their banking facility.

Bill payers fall into 2 categories....Direct Debit and Cash payers.

Direct Debit via bank....post office dont even advertise their bank
Cash payers...Post office dont have paypoint machines

Will agree with you totally there Guinness.Time to drag the post office in to this century but not at a risk of a personal service.I like somebody to talk to over the counter and not a machine????

[/quote]

janet · 09-11-2003, 17:59

Well i hope the post office near me does not close down, i pay my gas, electric and water there. My gas and electric i pay using a payment card at a fixed sum weekly, get my benefit in one hand and pay a lot of it back to the postmaster, but as they say THATS LIFE.