Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates has written to the Financial Services Authority to highlight concerns over the proposed service cuts in Llanidloes, Montgomery and Llanfair Caereinion, following criticism by the Financial Services Authority over the poor way in which the UK’s main High Street banks deal with their customer complaints.
Mr Bates states:
“The report by the Financial Service Authority has struck a chord in Montgomeryshire following the proposal to cut services at Natwest branches in Llanidloes, Montgomery and Llanfair Caereinion, without fair warning or consultation.
“Customers have expressed their anger and frustration at the blatant lack of consideration for their needs. Locally, car ownership is low, disability is high, we have a large proportion of elderly and more people are likely to be self employed. Add this to the lack of public transport infrastructure, lack of broadband infrastructure and the decline in local service provision really galvanises social and economic exclusion.
“Local tax payers in Montgomeryshire have supported the bail out of the RBS Group and now will be paying twice through loss of their local service. Poor internet provision means customers cannot easily switch to online banking, nor do they have convenient access to public transport to take them the fifteen miles or so to the nearest branch and back again.
“Most importantly customers have expressed their anger and frustration over the blatant lack of consideration for their needs and the lack of consultation on the proposed service cuts. I have written to the Financial Services Authority to highlight concerns over the closures in Montgomeryshire and to determine what influence the FSA has over banks which are so clearly failing to listen to the needs of their customers.”
