Just eight months after Coulsdon’s banking hub was opened and welcomed by the town’s previously de-banked residents, two of the major banks which have been part of the collaborative enterprise have decided to pull out of the scheme.
Hub service: Coulsdon welcomed the return of banking services when the hub opened in April
Customers of Lloyds and Bank of Scotland received letters last month announcing their banks’ intention to cease using Post Office counter services and banking hubs.
A banking hub is a shared banking space on the high street which offers a counter service operated by the Post Office, where customers of all major banks and building societies can carry out regular cash transactions, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.
The hub also offers a “Community Banker” service where customers can talk to their own bank about more complicated issues. The bankers work on rotation, with a different bank available on each day of the week. Community bankers are usually provided by the banks with the most customers in the local area.
Lloyds joined the Coulsdon rota in May, their community bankers operating on Friday each week.
Lloyds have also recently announced the closure of their bank branch in New Addington, the last high street bank in that district centre.
When residents in bank-less Selsdon tried to get a banking hub on their high street last year, they were told that they did not qualify because there was an operating high street bank nearby… Lloyds in New Addington.
Coulsdon’s was the fifth banking hub to open in the London area when it opened its doors in April this year. Coulsdon had been without a high street bank for more than a year until the hub opened for business. As “high street banks” retreat from the high streets of Britain, there are now 150 banking hubs opened across the country, with more planned.
In the letter to Bank of Scotland customers in Coulsdon, they were told that the Post Office and banking hubs “would no longer be accepting our cheque deposits”. The change in service will take effect on December 31.
Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds are part of the same banking group.
King’s gambit: ECRA’s Charlie King wants more help from the local MP
“The Coulsdon banking hub has been working very well and local residents and businesses have been so pleased at not having to travel to Croydon or Redhill to do their banking,” said Charlie King, the chair of the East Coulsdon Residents’ Association, which did so much to secure a banking hub for their town.
“However, many of our residents that have accounts with Lloyds and Bank of Scotland have received a letter this week telling them that they can no longer use the banking hub for depositing cheques and cash after December 31. They will have to use the Lloyds app or go to a branch. The nearest branches are in Croydon or Redhill. This is an hour round-trip for most people.”
King said: “What is the point of a banking hub if you can’t bank there?”
King says the decision to end the service had been taken at chief executive level, which would mean by Charlie Nunn, who last year was paid total remuneration including bonuses of £5.6million.
Chris Philp, the shadow Home Secretary, who is MP for the area, was quick to try to take credit for the opening of the Coulsdon banking hub earlier this year. Locals are now calling on him to do his job and use his influence to get Nunn, and Lloyds, to reverse their decision.
King says that the Lloyds decision is “unfair on both the Post Office and the very pleasant staff that work at the hub”, and who have had to face customer complaints about the withdrawal of service.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
