The Last Bank In Bakewell To Close Soon.....

I hate to say this, but is this another sign of the north south divide. That is from a southerner that has managed to integrate in the North.
I can see the challenges on both sides, my daughter struggling to find anywhere to live on her wages, she hasn't had a permanent address since August, but we are definitely being forgotten, the bank going isn't a simple case of going to Chesterfield or Matlock if you dont drive, the buses haven't had enough investment for years, so many services barely run due to breakdowns or lack of drivers, and if you live one of the villages you have to rely on more than one bus running.

Natwest was notorious for opening 3 to 4 branches on a high street .
I've banked there for ever mainly because that was my father bank.
Covid was helpful to the banking institution.as they have for years tried to introduce online banking.
I still resist to a degree and go into the bank if I want a discussion.
They always try to get me to sort out on line which I refuse there are questions I'd like to ask a human .
I remember going into a branch near my office the customer service staff were talking about how many people had been laid off.
This is is the new era we see this in the supermarkets.
I feel really irritated at times, when I have to scann a half trolley load .
There is only one till that's manned and there are so many customers .
Sainsbury's is guilty if this I don't go there anymore due to this .
It might be different for others but I do feel there should be a balance.
Many small business suffer or have to pay for secure service to take the cash for banking .
Many who are not as able online do suffer as well .Thirs with difficulties as well as the elderly who are not as able as others.

In our lovely Market Town in the East Mids- all Banks closed recently, bar Lloyds. Not only the Banks, but also the cash/account machines.

It is the same everywhere - there are relatively few banks left and many of those that still exist don't actually have any money you can withdraw, which makes them rather pointless , nor can you buy foreign currency in them.

I have had an internet bank account for years - I honestly can't remember how long, probably since 1985, or thereabouts.

I wouldn't be without it for the world. I can withdraw cash in any ATM in any country in Europe, I can pay all my bills by direct debit on the due date, or before if I so choose.

I can check what is actually in all of my accounts at any hour od the day or night and on any day of the week I chose.

So I honestly find it hard to understand why anyone would rather have to leave home to go to a bank and queue to attend to their banking.

I have banked on line for over 25y. It’s easy and so convenient. That said my Nat West branch is only round the corner. I use the ATM occasionally. But there’s 2 ATMs outside Sainsbury’s in the square and 2 more at the Santander bank on the next block. I suppose in that regard we are very fortunate. But things may well change at some stage.

The last bank in my town is closing in March taking the last cash point with it. I’ll be fine but I feel so sorry for those who don’t do internet banking and/or who don’t drive.

Banking online is great, I do it myself, but there are often reasons why you do need to visit a branch. For example if you need more cash than you can get from an ATM or if you have a cheque to pay in that is over the online limit.
I share Mae133's irritation, my two nearest branches closed in the last couple of years and now the next closest is going. It will take me about three quarters of an hour to get to the nearest by bus once this happens, and there are always huge queues for the manned tills and for customer service at large branches.
NatWest say they've surveyed the branch and it only has two regular customers per week. This is total rubbish, my husband and I have both been going three times a week for the past six months (since the other branch closed) as have many other customers whom we see regularly. It transpires that they did their survey during lockdown, when many of us did not either go shopping or visit banks. There are also many traders who regularly pay in cash at the branch.
NatWest are an utterly uncaring company, especially considering that the British public still own much of the company since the great economic bank melt-down.
Over the past few years there have been four other branches that I have used, all of which have now been closed. The worst is Axminster, where there is supposedly a van for less than an hour in the car park at Tesco on Mondays.

the wretched banks made use of the covid situation to push everyone into using cards etc not cash. They do not provide a service at all just try to make the most from us giving as little as possible help. With the fraud situation it adds to the worry about banking online and I am glad that I have a bank locally so that I can go there and bank safely. They are very busy as most of the others have closed down. When I had a problem with another bank a year ago tried to contact the fraud people on the phone and no answer for a long time. It was lucky that my bank account wasnt emptied. I am now with my present bank, who know me in person, give very good service and know my banking habits and I confirm with them if there is to be an extra large amount taken out . I can withdraw money from an atm inside the bank which is also safer and we will fight to keep it here. Up in the dales there are various places where there is no signal and it doesn not matter how much money or what sort of a phone you have it would not work there. I support the market and small business as much as possible and intend to do so as long as possible

flappergirl

BlueBelle

Not sure how NatWest has butchered your high street ? we have a NatWest in ours small high Street plus a Midland, Nationwide, Barclays, Halifax and Lloyds there doesn’t see any butchering going on We don’t have too many shops though any more and that’s the saddest part
One of our largest shops is now going to be a slot machine arcade Now that is BUTCHERING the town
I ve done online banking for donkeys years it’s just so much easier than going into town and queuing I can do it in the evening or on a Sunday I m not a youngster I m in my late 70 s so it’s not an age thing
There are so many other ways of getting human contact

Good for you. Where on earth do you live to have 5 banks in a small high street?

Quite right, we live in greater London and it is the NatWest on Chiswick High Street that is closing (along with most other cash outlets there, including building societies). It's hardly a small high street but will soon have no bank at all.
One local trader has told me that he plans to close his shop there and concentrate on his other outlet, partly because of the bank closure which will stop him banking the cash on which his business relies. Even the charity shops have said that it will cause problems for them as volunteers don't want to have to carry cash about to take it to a bank much further away.

NanKate

We have NO banks in our very busy small town in South Bucks. Fortunately we have a Nationwide, which hopefully will see me out ! I like to be able to access cash, speak to a teller and be able to ask advice, instead of phoning and having to work out if I press 1, 2, 3, etc.

I live in South Bucks and our Nationwide, which was thee last bank in the village, closed a couple of years ago. I wrote a number of times to no avail before the closure. We had already lost our Nat West bank who never even informed me, despite me being treasurer of a local charity with an account with them. I literally turned up one day with a cheque to deposit and found the branch was no more!
Now to my utter disgust Nationwide are advertising as 'the bank who doesn't close branches' despite having closed two that I know of locally! I have told them what I think! Frustratingly the other bank I have accounts with has also closed my nearest branch, such that it is difficult to get to a branch on a weekday if I'm working. I'm retired now so less of a problem, but I can't get to any branch without using my car now. I use online banking most of the time, but there are occasions when we need to speak to someone and the phone just isn't the same!

When HSBC closed in my town, leaving only the TSB clinging on (for how long?) we were all assured that we could bank at the post office - which ensures long queues at all times - but now the PO has announced that it'll be closing soon...!We already have to travel 15 miles to reach the nearest bank that will accept coin payments - irritating if, like me, you collect small change and then pay it in a couple of times a year - and even more annoying for shops paying in their takings...!
No idea where we'll have to go to pay in cash and cheques when the PO goes...🙄

jocork my sympathies. Sadly there is nothing we can do about it.

When Barclays closed I sent a letter of complaint and said there were a number of people in my Women’s Institute who would be in great difficulty without a bank to visit. They offered to come and explain to us how easy it was to open an online bank account. Sadly they just couldn’t get into their heads that some of our older members didn’t use the Internet at all and using the phone was problematic for those with hearing difficulties.

I suppose they are just waiting for our older members to die off and stop complaining.

We have a town of 25,000 people ….i don’t know whether that is considered small or large….we have no banks and no post office. Both of which now you have to board a bus to access these things. I do banking on my phone but I know of many people who just can’t use it ….borderline dementia a couple of them. These are people in their late 70’s and early 80’s…..why oh why aren’t these people catered for by something like our mobile libraries used to do.

The town where I was brought up lost the last of three banks about 8 years ago. Very poor bus service to nearest town so the bank laid on a mobile bank one morning a week. Was upsetting to see several elderly folk queued outside it in the pouring rain ( the bank did provide umbrellas but really?)
The last bank in the town I work in closed last year. Again very poor transport links to nearest town. A banking hub has recently opened three days a week - one day each for Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale bank, I think. It seems to be well used but the cash machine is no longer there. Only two free to use cash machines in the town one of which is in a shop so obviously only available during opening hours. I use Internet banking but really don't like it and do prefer going into a bank.

We use Internet banking of course. But there are times when you need to speak to someone. I found an envelope full of £20 notes which were no longer current, so we had to go in to get them paid into account. My Bank closed (HSBC), OH's Bank closed (NatWest)- Post O could not do it. Lloyds was the only one still opened but could not do it as no account with them. So we had no choice but to travel 30M to go to the town where OH used to work, and his old bank. As I was sitting waiting, the Manager came out of his office, and I smiled and said how nice it was to be able to come into a Bank with real people. He smiled and said he fully understood.

Support Bank of Dave.
I am very into technology but object strongly to the closure of banks. My local NatWest is closing next month. I’m in my 70s and feel for those who struggle with the internet. Poor mum had little idea of what it all meant but did enjoy Tom Jones on my iPad before she passed away in her mid eighties.

We used to have 4 banks in the village but that gradually reduced and now we don't have any.

Here's the Money Saving Expert article on digital banking. Quite an extensive guide.
www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/digital-banking/

The Post Office in Bakewell is open 8 til 8 most days, and they do services for most online banks these days. Yes, losing the bank is a nuisance, but Bakewell is unusual, busy with tourists, but a tiny population, under 5K I think? Matlock is 20mins on a bus, Buxton half an hour?

We now have no bank in a small market town. The PO is part of a local shop and that helps but it's not the same.

There was an article about the Bakewell closure in the Daily Telegraph this weekend

It seems decisions are made not on how many people use a bank, could be hundreds every day, but how many regular customers the bank has. A _regular- customer was defined as someone going in every week for 6 months - on that basis, Bakewell only had 6 regular customers, plus probably another half dozen who probably went on holiday one week in the 6 months.

Just how daft can you get? Surely the decsion should be made on average number of customers a day. What the Natwest has done is set up a statistic can can be used to huarantee they can close any branch they want and claim 'lack of use'