I wrote to RBS, calling on the bank to stop its planned closure of the branch in Fareham town, and have received a response from an RBS spokesperson
It follows news earlier this month that RBS’ branch in Fareham is closing, along with a branch in Portsmouth and 160 others across England and Wales.
I wrote to RBS urging the bank to reconsider its decision, which will have an adverse impact on the vulnerable, elderly, disabled and residents that rely solely on the local branch for their face-to-face personal banking services.
I questioned whether the increased footfall at Natwest would be sustainable, requested clarity on how staff will be considered in future decisions so they do not suffer loss of employment or financial hardship and what measures are being put in place to protect vulnerable customers.
Responding to my concerns over the increased footfall at Natwest and vulnerable customers, RBS said: "I understand your concerns about increased footfall at the NatWest Fareham branch and assistance available for vulnerable, elderly and disabled customers.
To support our Royal Bank of Scotland customers with their banking needs, we will dedicate members of staff in nearby NatWest branches, to offer assistance. We know that not all of our customers are comfortable or familiar with using online or mobile banking, so we have created a new specialist taskforce of Royal Bank of Scotland TechXperts who will be dedicated to providing our customers with training and support with digital skills until the branches close. Our TechXperts will run specific events for customers on ways to bank, as well as arranging one-to-one conversations individually. Our telephone banking service provides another alternative to branch banking, and is available, 365 days a year.
Customers can carry out the vast majority of transactions available at a branch and telephony staff can also discuss our product range and arrange for a financial review over the phone. Most of our accounts can be applied for and opened in this way, meaning that a trip to the branch is not always necessary. We have also invested in our contract with the Post Office and 99.7% of all our customers will live within 15 minutes of a branch, a mobile branch or a Post Office location.
The Post Office has 11,600 branches across the UK and our customers benefit from longer opening hours with many branches open on Sundays. Customers can check their balance, deposit cash and cheques, withdraw cash and business customers can obtain coinage. The nearest Post Office to the Fareham branch is around 350 yards away. We are proactively contacting our regular business customers to discuss the best banking options, based on their individual needs. We have a Courier Service available, which is used by over 50% of our non-personal customers, and reduces the need for businesses to visit branches for cash."
Responding to concerns over staff redundancies, RBS replied: "our colleagues in Royal Bank of Scotland England and Wales have been through a lot of change and our goal is to give them clarity about their future. Where colleagues are impacted by changes across our business, we are giving them as much notice as possible and in addition they will have our full support to ensure they have access to the full range of assistance available and the choices open to them."
RBS has advised that Fareham customers looking for support can call into the branch, call on 01329 232211, or visit rbs.co.uk.