John Baron MP presses HSBC to stop closure of branch in Billericay
Banks are increasingly closing local branches but what about the elderly and vulnerable?
HSBC have just announced that they will be closing their Billericay High Street branch. As you all know, the branch is in my ward and many of my constituents use the branch.
Our local constituency Member of Parliament, John Baron MP, was informed of the decision in writing by HSBC and has criticised the decision, which has been taken as part of a wider programme of branch closures across the country, consisting of sixty-nine branches in total. Customers will be written to formally on May 30th to inform them of alternative services, but we have been advised that administration of customer accounts will ultimately be transferred to the Basildon Town Centre branch.
John said: “This is disappointing news. The nearest alternative branch is nearly 5 miles away which will prove problematic for elderly and vulnerable customers who rely on in-branch services to manage their money. Furthermore, the town’s population is increasing. I have written to the Chief Executive of HSBC asking them to change their decision and will be meeting with the local management team.”
As the local ward councillor, I very much share John's concerns, so shall be liaising closely with his office over the issue. HSBC are, of course, not unique and they are not the first bank to close their local branch (which are fast becoming an endangered species in a great many high streets!). I think I broadly recognise that, for the banks, much has changed. In their letter, they advise that over the past five years the number of customers using branches has fallen by a third, nine in ten customers now do their banking online or over the phone, and 99% of all cash withdrawals are made at a cashpoint. So these trends were already well-established, even before the Covid-19 pandemic, which of course prompted most of the hold-outs, like myself, to finally give up the ghost and get to grips with online banking (I am a terrible Luddite in such matters).
Nonetheless, if you or somebody you know is affected by this decision, please do get in touch with me at andrew.schrader@members.basildon.gov.uk or by calling 07769 651708. There is support available through various agencies and banks themselves can offer 'financial education' (i.e., show you how to bank online). HSBC are offering one to one appointments to provide support, including training on telephone and internet banking and can even provide vulnerable customers with free tablet devices.
Many services, such as withdraw cash, checking balances, and depositing cheques, can also be accessed from the local Post Office.
**UPDATE** MP meets with HSBC
John Baron discussed closure of Billericay branch during visit
HSBC agree to help vulnerable constituents
Following the recent announcement that HSBC are to close their Billericay High Street branch, John Baron, MP for Basildon & Billericay, paid the branch a visit and met with Karen Collier, Local Director, to discuss the closure, which was announced as part of a wider branch closure programme consisting of sixty-nine branches across the UK.
"We agreed a number of initiatives to particularly help the elderly and vulnerable customers who largely rely on in-branch services to manage their money." ~ John Baron MP
John said: "Although the branch closure is disappointing, we agreed a number of initiatives to particularly help the elderly and vulnerable customers who largely rely on in-branch services to manage their money. The bank understands that not everyone has access to or is comfortable with online services, and using public transport to access the nearest branch in Basildon is a challenge for some people.”
“The initiatives we discussed include regular ‘pop-up’ services once a month in Billericay High Street which offer face-to-face advice and help from HSBC UK staff for the next six months, which will then be reviewed with me as to the feasibility of these continuing. In addition, HSBC UK will help to ensure sufficient investment in all local Post Offices so that basic cheque and cash handling is offered to bank customers.”
“Further meetings are planned but I would like to thank Karen Collier for a very constructive meeting. We will be keeping in touch.”
"We will continue to support people with their more complex banking needs..." ~ Karen Collier, HSBC
Karen Collier said: “The way people bank is changing - something the pandemic has accelerated, and that is true both nationally and in Billericay. We will continue to support people with their more complex banking needs through our Basildon branch, but the way we can do this has also evolved, with additional tailored local support, community pop ups and continued use of the Post Office network. Rather than a one-size fits all branch approach, it’s an approach built around the way different customers are choosing to bank in different areas.”
**2nd UPDATE** MP meets with HSBC
Local M.P. launches survey
John Baron, M.P. encourages residents to respond to consultation
Residents will recall that I wrote a blog back in March when HSBC announced they were closing their Billericay High Street branch. That seems like a long time ago now. Lloyds closed last month, after reporting that more than 80% of its branch customers were now using Internet or phone banking, with less than 100 customers regularly using the local branch over the previous 12 months. This followed the closure of Barclays in August and NatWest also left recently as well. Halifax has been gone for a while. Santander is now the only remaining bank with a branch in Billericay.
They all seem to have fallen like dominoes but, of course, for several years now high street banks have been reporting similar diminished footfall in local branches. Things appear to have been brought to a head by the pandemic, during which many of us who had hitherto resisted Internet banking had little option but to embrace it. Personally, I have rarely set foot in a branch in years. I am not self-employed, rarely pay in cheques and I can do the vast majority of my day-to-day banking online. Concern remains, nonetheless, for the elderly and vulnerable, who still rely on in-branch services to manage their money. Let's face it, anyone who didn't embrace Internet banking during Covid-19, is never going to!
Our local M.P., John Baron, has had some success in negotiating with our departing banks. Following the closure of HSBC, John persuaded them to hold pop-up events at Billericay Library for the next 6 months following the closure. A similar scheme was agreed by Barclays, located at the Chantry Centre but there also remains the issue of the drastic fall in cash points available in the High Street.
To that end, John met recently with U.K. Finance, who are in charge of the 'Access to Cash' pilot scheme, which has been announced for Billericay in response to concerns about access to cash in the local area. The pilot is predominantly targeted at business banking needs but John is exploring whether there is scope to expand this and has set up a survey to gather evidence from residents.
Please follow the link below to complete the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BILLERICAYCOMMUNITY
