Withdraw cash? You’ll have to go to England!
PENSIONERS had to make lengthy trips to England for cash after their Borders village Post Office closed for more than a week.
Residents of Newcastleton, Roxburghshire, travelled 25 miles to Carlisle because of a faulty broadband connection.
With no cash machines and only one bank open two days a week, they faced a round trip of up to five hours as their most ‘convenient’ option. The branch reopened at 5pm yesterday after BT Openreach engineers fixed the line.
Former postal worker Jim Rowan, 71, said villagers had been ‘up in arms’. He added: ‘We have not been able to access our pensions or withdraw cash. If you miss the morning bus to Carlisle, the only other one is at 1pm and the return is not until 5pm. It is very awkward.
‘I tried to get cashback the other day but the shop said they did not have any more money.’
The Post Office branch serves up to 500 people a week from the village and its surrounding area. Postmistress Irene Bell,
‘Ran out of things to say to them’
67, described the issue, which began on December 6, as ‘a nightmare’.
She said: ‘All these elderly people could not get their pensions. Banks have been closing all around us, so now people cannot get their money out. They came in every day but I ran out of things to say to them. The Post Office just kept telling me that they were working on it.’
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk MP John Lamont said: ‘I have been far from impressed with the way this has been handled by the Post Office and by BT.’
A Post Office spokesman said the issue had been beyond their control and apologised to customers ‘for any inconvenience’.
An Openreach spokesman said an initial problem with making and receiving calls was fixed on December 7, adding: ‘The Post Office’s broadband provider reported a new broadband fault on December 13 and an Openreach engineer fixed a wiring fault at the telephone exchange on December 15. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.’
The Royal Bank of Scotland sparked outrage earlier this month when it announced closures that would leave 13 Scottish towns without their last bank branch.