Mengham Post Office ATM

The following is the P.O. Chief Executive's Office reply to my fully detailed request, urging them to re-consider their closure of Mengham's Post Office ATM:

Thank you for your email of 31 May to our POL board. I am so sorry that it’s taken so long to come back to you with a full response.

As you may already be aware, unfortunately an attempted gas attack on the ATM facility at Hayling Island Post Office, resulted in damage to the machine, at this point our ATM partner, Bank of Ireland, decided to remove this facility instead of repairing the machine; this decision was wholly based on the very low number of customers using this ATM.

Together, we also considered whether or not the nearby bank closures would lead to the ATM achieving viability given the amount that would need to be invested to repair; Bank of Ireland believed this would still not justify the cost of fixing and maintaining the machine. We also looked at the local area and there are currently 18 ATMs - mostly free to use– including a Post Office/Bank of Ireland ATM (situated at 0.8km from the damaged ATM) in addition to those situated within Sainsbury, TSB and Cardtronices, that sufficient cover will be provided to the community at Hayling Island.

I would like to reassure you that Post Office will do all we can to try and alleviate the impact felt by the bank’s customers in communities where a bank branch closes. Our central Post Office banking team are alerted to impending closures by the relevant commercial team of the bank concerned so we can work with them to ensure that we both have the necessary messages and processes in place to ensure that the bank’s customers know where and how to access their transaction services.

This has meant that more bank customers can access their basic banking needs through our network. We have also made it better for local businesses – who play a vital role within local economies and communities – so they can now carry out larger transactions at some of our branches. We believe that we can deliver these services to personal and business customers, making it easier for those who prefer to use a physical branch to access their day-to-day banking, or who prefer the convenience of longer opening hours or being there on a Sunday.

I hope my response has clarified the position and thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Donna Gilhooly Office of the Group Chief Executive

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