"Post Office closures leave poorest paying more", says Bridget Fox

3.52.15pm GMT Tue 22nd Feb 2005

Local Lib Dem campaigner Bridget Fox has highighted another impact from the spate of Post Office closures in Islington - elderly and vulnerable residents being hit by exorbitant charges from private cash dispensers.

Some 20,000 cashpoints in Britain charge fees to withdraw cash, about 40 per cent of the national total. According to one industry estimate, there were 98.8 million withdrawals from fee-charging machines last year, leading to £140 million in charges. Most fee-charging dispensers levy a flat fee of £1.50 for every withdrawal, regardless of how much is taken out, inevitably hitting the poorest, hardest.

Bridget says, "Cash machine charging is hitting the poorest hardest. This particularly affects people using Islington's neighbourhood shops, where there are no bank branches and now we have seen valued local post office branches close. Pensioners are being forced to use bank accounts whether they want to or not - and now face exorbitant fees being charged by private cash machines.

Pensioners are a captive market - they need to get their cash locally to buy their essentials. But often there is a high fixed charge, even on the smallest cash withdrawals. This will encourage pensioners to keep larger amounts in cash - which places them at greater risk of crime.

The Labour government spent millions of pounds supporting post office closures. As ever, it seems to be the poorest residents who end up footing the bill."