Planned closure of HSBC branch in Barnard Castle 'will hit older people and harm our town'

THE imminent closure of a high street bank in Barnard Castle has been described as a bad mistake and a knock for rural customers.
While HSBC says it is closing its branch in Market Place because most clients contact the bank by phone or internet, customers complain that the town’s ageing population prefers one-to-one service. The branch is due to close on January 6.
Teesdale’s MP, Helen Goodman, is siding with customers saying she has already spoken to the bank about the situation. She said: “I have told HSBC that I think they are making a bad mistake.
“When they have the money to pay top executives millions of pounds but not the money to provide services for rural customers they are demonstrating that they have the wrong values and priorities.”
It has been widely reported that the bank’s chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, received more than £6million in bonuses and perks this year, on top of his annual salary of £1.25million.
But the bank says the number of people using the service in Barnard Castle has slumped dramatically and it needs to look at where its branches are located to keep its network sustainable.
News of the closure came as a shock to Neville Singleton, of Teesdale Disability Access Forum, which has a shop close to the bank
He said: “A tremendous amount of older people, and younger people, who come in to us use it quite a lot. It took us by surprise because it is quite a busy bank. We can see the people coming past us going in – it is quite continuous.
“They are not treating people like customers. It is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t think they care about rural people.”
An Age UK report indicates that bank branch numbers have halved in Britain over the past 25 years leaving many people without access to basic banking services. It estimates that 4.5million over 65s in the UK are “digitally excluded” because they cannot afford internet access or have few computer skills.
Age UK has called on banks to do more to respond to the needs of these people.
A pensioner from Victoria Road, in Barnard Castle, said he uses the bank on a weekly basis to access the automatic teller machine and to draw statements. The 70-year-old does not use internet banking.
He said: “I think it is disturbing news for customers, staff and the town, but I’m more concerned about businesses and farmers.
“I think the town has picked up in the past few months, the market has been good and there aren’t many closed shops. Having an empty bank doesn’t give a good impression. We don’t want to be like Shildon which doesn’t have a bank at all.”
Lesley Turner, who has been an HSBC customer for the past two decades, said: “Its disgusting. I was shocked. I prefer not to do online banking but I suppose I will have to. I tried it once and a Trojan virus got in and took a load of money.”
A spokesperson for HSBC said: “Over the past five years, we have seen an overall reduction in footfall at our Barnard Castle branch of 30 per cent, and sometimes we have to make the difficult decision to close branches. These are not decisions we take lightly and we work closely with those impacted, including customers, to help them understand their options.”
Customers say using the branch has been difficult in the past because there is no manager or senior clerk on site. Appointments have to be made for staff from Darlington to come out to open new accounts and other significant banking needs.
The bank spokesperson said a partnership has been struck with the Post Office to carry out some banking services and customers can still get face-to-face service at branches in Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Richmond.
The spokesperson added: “That said, 93 per cent of contact with the bank is now completed via the telephone, internet or smartphone, plus 97 per cent of cash withdrawals are made via an ATM.
“As a result, most of our customers are already carrying out their daily banking needs without need of the branch itself.”