Norfolk post office operator 'can't cope' with demand for banking

A post office manager said she was struggling to cope with the growing demand for banking services.

Tina Kelly, who runs a branch in Norfolk, said that since local banks had closed, the increased in customers had been "phenomenal".

Ms Kelly said the pressure had taken its toll on her mental health and managers were not listening to her.

The Post Office said it always reviewed the provision of banking services at branches where demand had increased.

With a growing number of banks leaving the High Street, the Post Office has positioned itself as an alternative for "essential banking needs".

It said its 11,500 branches had seen "unprecedented growth in demand" for banking services and had supported £3.3bn worth of transactions in the UK in July alone.

Ms Kelly, who runs a small post office counter in a town where several banks had recently closed, said she had worked in post offices for almost 20 years and that she "loved being part of the community".

But she added that her workload had become unmanageable and some customers did not understand that a post office did not offer all the services a bank could.

"We can't cope with the demand. It's very stressful on our mental health... and physically," she said.

"When a customer comes and asks for mortgage advice or to pay credit card bills, they're unable to do that. They can turn aggressive [and] we've suffered a lot of abuse."

Ms Kelly said she had raised concerns with managers about a lack of staff and her branch's capacity to handle the increased trade, but she had not been listened to.

Others running post offices, such as Mark Eldridge at Great Massingham, have welcomed the additional custom, which he said amounted to an increase in banking transactions of nearly 11% over the past six to eight weeks.

He is postmaster of the service which is based in the village shop he took over five years ago.

The nearest town is Fakenham, where the one remaining bank is due to close later this year.

"I would expect that [rise in custom] to continue as other banks close," he said.

"Our opportunity is to try and raise awareness because there are customers out there who don't currently know they can do those everyday banking services here."

In a statement, a Post Office spokesman responded to the concerns raised by Ms Kelly and said the company "reviewed post office provision" where "there had been a significant increase in the number of banking customers".

"We have already been in contact with the operator of this branch and will continue to update them on this review and any changes that should be made," he said.

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