Njugle Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Somebody told me today that the, highly expensive to implement, "card" scheme for pensioners was being scrapped by the post office, nae time after it came in. Probably millions spent. Pensioners, and i presume other benefit claimants, will now get their payments from a bank only. Is this much use to someone in Sandness with an account with a bank that has no van? The alternative to this is these private cash machines which charge £1.50 per withdrawal, which is probably the value of at least one meal to an average pensioner. What has our MSP voted on this? Should he campaign for a retraction of the government proposal? And is the proposed closures of rural post offices because of the money wasted on this shambolic card scheme? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I can understand in some places getting rid of post offices, like in cities where there is an easily avaliable post office not too far away. But for somewhere like Shetland we cant justify not having a post office in most villages. The other option is a travelling post office, much like a bank van. DL - post office worker in sunny Sandwick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted March 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Do you know anything about the card scheme? It was a pensioner who mentioned it and seemed quite concerned about it.ie, soon to be scrapped and money only available at banks thereafter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 The plan is for it to be done away with in 2010. I don't know if this plan is 100% confirmed yet, but the goverment are certainly thinking about it. The plan is to pay the money directly into pensioners bank accuonts, however many pensioners dont even have bank accounts, and have only just got used to the whole card idea. The card accounts make up a considerable ammount of revenue for the Post Office Ltd, so loosing this would be a pain for them, the pensioners and the community as a whole. If we loose the contract for this, Post Office Ltd will be forced to close more branches than its already planning to. Now is the time to kick up some fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted March 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Now is the time to kick up some fuss. Good answer! I'm on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 As an ex post office manager, the card scheme was doomed from the beginning, the government in its wisdom forced the major banks to pay part/all of the cost of the setting up off the system, as the theory was they were going to make so much extra business with the majority opting for bank account payment method as opposed to the post office card account. The banks were only being made to pay for this upto 2008 so i assume for the following 2 years till 2010 the government will be coughing up, but no further cause it cost them a serious amount of money. To be brutally honest the card account was doomed from the start the government/dss has always preferred money to go directly to bank accounts as opposed to card accounts as it cost them more. The dss especially went completely against the post office has many leaked memos and tests be postmasters over the years proved. The upshot of this decision will basically kill off many post offices, the small ones like sandwick will more likely survive, but the slightly bigger ones where most of their business is card based will go to the wall, in shetland brae and freefield po's are at major risk also due to the fact their private businesses will suffer due to the reduced footfall as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Ok.....the facts as I see them are that the Post Office card was introduced as a way for benefits to be paid into a bank account. This was only one alternative as benefits could also be paid into peoples bank accounts OR they could open a "basic bank account". Either of those alternatives offer a card which can be used in cashpoints and at post offices which makes them more flexible than the Post Office card. This means that pensions etc. can still be collected at post offices as long as Post Office Counters Ltd. continue to accept cards and keep rural post offices going......could the government be prepared to help with subsidies for the least ecconomic branches keeping the rural post office as a part of British life. Cashpoints that charge for withdrawals certainly exist in large numbers in places where it is profitable for the owners to install them. Note the word "profitable". They are not run by the banks but by companies that provide extra cashpoints for the convenience of the public and as as many "convenience" stores it costs more to use them. Now going back to that word "profitable" I just cannot see them making a profit in Shetland while the banks provide cashpoints, shops offer cashback and the post office dispenses cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 A few relevant links.... Shetland News - Campaign to save rural post offices BBC News - Call to retain post office scheme BBC Action Network - What can you do about rural post office closures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Alistair Carmichael seems to be trying to do his bit in saving the rural post offices, he's staging two seminars on the subject. Click here for full story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeriebryan Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 (** Mod edit - taken from another thread **) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6176929.stm I'd imagine this would bring bad news to Shetland... however, In rural areas, 95% of the population would be within three miles, doubling to six miles in remote areas. I just caught the end of the SIBC news piece regarding this, he was saying something about island's having some kind of special status which might lessen the cuts up here. Did anybody catch the whole story? I wasn't really listening properly. It would be pretty crap if all the small post office around here closed. Everybody would have to go to LK and it's busy enough as is... I'm imagining that Christmas cue at the Lerwick post office now.... I can't see how they could close many post offices in Shetland. Christmas, lunch time, days that finish in the letter Y, it's always busy when I'm forced to go there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggismaker Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 KEEP THE POST OFFICES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 KEEP THE POST OFFICES.Ok then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 I think that the Post Office is a wonderful institution full of dedicated staff. None more so than the people who deliver the post. I remember having a letter delivered to me which was addressed to "the house with the new fence" then the neame of the village and the county, in a village about the size of Scalloway. I was told by someone here that if I didn't remember their address if I just put their first name and village name on it the letter would get to them. Now that is brilliant service! Where I find frustration is for instance in the Lerwick branch where they installed a shiny new stamp machine and after a few months it stopped working. I haven't been in there for a while, but I am sure that it must be about 2 years since I saw it working. Now I am sure that the branch staff have done whatever they can, but who is failing the system by not getting it fixed. Disclaimer. Chances are that by now it has been fixed and I will look a little silly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junior Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 They should have trebled the price of stamps a long time ago. If you don't like it, take your 90p and deliver the letter yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 They should have trebled the price of stamps a long time ago. If you don't like it, take your 90p and deliver the letter yourself. One can take self-reliance too far. Later I will be knitting my own tyres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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