Protect our Post Offices

WHO is championing Britain’s Post Offices?

They are a vital, trusted hub in local communities — particularly in our rural towns and villages.

And with banks abandoning the High Street at a rate of around 60 branches a month, they should be cherished. Yet, as we reveal on page 35, the Government is intent on pushing pensioners towards banks instead.

When Post Office card accounts were introduced 15 years ago they were hailed as an important lifeline for vulnerable customers who were looking for an alternative to conventional bank accounts.

The take-up was beyond what anyone expected, with one million accounts still being used today.

The Government says people who open a current account with a bank can continue to collect their pension at the Post Office, as many allow you to carry out basic banking transactions.

But people love the simplicity of the card account.

Unlike a bank account you can’t set up any direct debits, there is no overdraft and no pushy staff trying to get you to download a mobile app you don’t want. And, as readers tell us, they just don’t want to be at the mercy of banks.

Meanwhile, if everyone ditches the card account, the Post Office’s contract with the Government will likely be scrapped.

Any loss of income to Post Offices could mean more closures and would be yet another blow to our struggling High Streets. So don’t be fooled: no one has to give up their card account.

The letters sent out are wildly misleading and fail to mention that pensioners can keep their accounts until at least 2021, and possibly beyond.

(By the way, since when is it advisable to send people letters out of the blue demanding they reply with their bank details?)

Instead of trying to strong-arm people into closing accounts they trust, perhaps the Government should listen to customers and consider how else the Post Office’s role could be enhanced.

Post Offices are the lifeblood of our towns and villages. Let’s resolve to keep it that way.

Benefit shambles

THE taxman has finally started to come clean over just how many families have been let down by its shambolic management of the child benefit system since means testing was introduced in 2013. Around 100,000 parents face demands for thousands of pounds.

Some are being chased for money from years ago after the taxman repeatedly failed to notice they were wrongly claiming the benefit.

After Money Mail exposed the growing fiasco last month, HMRC has now belatedly held its hands up and promised to stop fining families who’ve been caught out.

It says it is also ‘looking at ways to improve communications further’ and asking half a million employers to remind staff to check their annual earnings.

But surely there is more the taxman can do. HMRC has all the pay data from P60s and administers child benefit. This means it ought to be able to match people on higher incomes with child benefit records and tell people what they owe at the end of the year.

And what about those families who have already paid the penalties? Will they be getting a refund? Write to us at moneymail@dailymail.co.uk if you’ve been affected.

Slam the scams

WE PROMISEd we would not let the banks off the hook in our fight against fraud. And, as you can see on page 43, we have every intention of keeping our word.

In the meantime, please, please keep telling us your stories.

As one reader wrote to me: ‘Victims and near-victims should ignore any embarrassment and talk to others, because this is what scammers don’t want you to do.’

He also asked if I would promote National Trading Standards’ Friends Against Scams campaign. I’m happy to do so.

This brilliant scheme is designed to educate all of us about different types of scams and encourage us to share this knowledge with family, friends and neighbours.

You need to attend a short awareness course near you or you can complete it online. To sign up, visit friendsagainst

scams.org.uk, or write to Friends Against Scams, St Mary’s House, St Leonard’s Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3UU.