Letters: Bank branch closures betray a culture of contempt for the consumer

SIR – Somewhere along the line, British companies seem to have forgotten about customer service, and the value of discussing a problem with a human being. 

Banks are closing their branches and encouraging internet banking (Letters, August 4), saving on rent and building costs. However, not everyone in Britain has reliable access to the internet. Meanwhile, if you try to phone a bank, you will be answered by a robot, providing a series of options that do not address your problem. You will then be asked to wait for an adviser, before being placed at the end of a long queue.

Whose money is it anyway?

Margaret Wilson
Blackburn, Lancashire

SIR – It is now clear that the major banks’ decision to exclude customers and lead the drive towards cashless transactions is not only about their own convenience, but also social control. 

Is it not time that one of them – or a new entrant – had the guts to say, “Enough is enough”, and reverse the trend?

I accept this may be wishful thinking, but any bank that took the initiative would be so inundated with new customers that it would have to consider reopening branches.

Guy Bargery
Edinburgh

SIR – Even more aggravating than the letter Tom Stout received from Barclays, informing him of his local bank branch closure as if it were a “day-to-day business decision” (Letters, August 2), was the one I received announcing closures in my two nearest towns. 

Both branches are always busy, and relied upon by their many elderly customers. The letter actually had the temerity to gush that these closures would result in “even higher levels of service to … valued customers”.

The main banks abandoned “service” as a priority years ago, and I think we all know how much we are valued by them.

Jane Knott
Blandford Forum, Dorset

SIR – Banks are very keen to get customers to use apps rather than visit a branch. My husband and I are happy to use an app, but recently discovered that there are limitations. For instance, it is possible to pay in a cheque by taking a picture, except when the value of the cheque is too high or the contrast on the document is too low. 

This happened to us when we tried to pay in cheques from HMRC. We were told that we would have to go to a branch, but our local one was closed for refurbishment, meaning a trip to Carlisle – 30 miles in all, and not possible during banking hours if you have a regular job.

Elizabeth Forbes
Penrith, Cumbria

SIR – Completing a form for a major high-street bank, I was somewhat confused by the final tick box request: “Please tell us your communication preference if you would prefer we did not contact you.”

S K Cobes 
Pangbourne, Berkshire

A stunt too far

SIR – I have supported Greenpeace financially for around 35 years, but the idea of being associated with an organisation that considers it acceptable to demonstrate by clambering over the roof of a private house is embarrassing, to say the least.

Even though I struggle with much of the Conservatives’ politics, I am totally in agreement that home-sourced energy security is more important today than at any other time in the past 100 years. My membership of Greenpeace has now come to an end.

Jo Willis
Stamford, Lincolnshire

SIR – I disagree with Lord Frost. The climate emergency – coupled with the crippling effects on the lungs of dirty air – means that the so-called war on motorists is right. 

I am young and may still be around in 70 years’ time. Millions in Britain are younger than me and will live well into the 22nd century. It is therefore the duty of people now to make sure that the future is safe, clean, habitable and comfortable.

We need to massively improve our bus, train, tube, tram and cycle infrastructure, and finally push cars into a position where they aren’t prioritised above all else.

Sebastian Monblat
Surbiton, Surrey

SIR – Stuart Thomson (Letters, August 4) reminds us of the looming 2026 deadline for the replacement of oil-fired boilers. The Government’s aim is clearly to cajole people into becoming reliant on electricity alone. 

My community is increasingly sceptical, having endured 10 power cuts since the start of the year, several of them more than four hours long. We are located in a conservation area and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Some are able to rely on solar panels and batteries for emergency electricity – but not all, because of planning and conservation constraints. 

Others rely on petrol generators, but one wonders how long petrol stations will continue to exist as the number of electric vehicles increases. There is an urgent need for radical, joined-up thinking on the supply and distribution of domestic power for heating, lighting and cooking if rural communities are to survive.

H J P Exon
Blandford Forum, Dorset

SIR – I replaced an ageing coal boiler in a late 1960s bungalow with a heat pump. I had already had cavity wall and loft insulation installed, as is prudent with any heating system. I also upgraded my radiators to larger types, but they look much smarter than what they replaced.

The system runs perfectly and is cost-effective. It takes a little longer to heat the house, so I just turn it on earlier. I am amazed by all the scepticism about these devices.

Tim Reynolds
Cottenham, Cambridgeshire

Action on shoplifting

SIR – Shoplifting (Letters, August 3) is often linked with violence towards those who work in shops. And verbal assault on shop staff is still assault.

That’s why I have reservations about the plans for first-time shoplifting offenders to receive only a caution.

More police are also needed within our communities, and a lot of the red tape that obstructs them needs to be removed. This will free up time for officers to patrol – and respond to (as well as deter) incidents of shoplifting.

John Barstow
National Executive Council, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Pulborough, West Sussex

The BBC’s role

SIR – Your Leading Article suggests that the BBC is needed less today because there is more choice in the market. 

The BBC wasn’t invented simply because of a lack of choice. It was invented so everybody could get trusted news, great British entertainment and an organisation that benefits all. The case for it is as strong as ever. Britain, like any country, needs strong institutions, and the BBC is part of the fabric of our society, investing in creativity and talent across Britain. At the same time, BBC iPlayer has over 40 per cent share of the broadcaster video-on-demand market, and over 30 per cent of broadcast TV viewing. The BBC also delivers things that others can’t, like the World Service and the Proms.

Yes, long-term trends show that traditional viewing and listening are declining, but we are seeing record growth for our digital services. BBC iPlayer streams are up 11 per cent on last year, and BBC Sounds plays are up 50 per cent from the same period last year. Moments that bring the country together on the BBC, such as the World Cup, Eurovision and our Royal coverage, are reaching record numbers of people across TV and online. So, while the way audiences are consuming media is changing, the BBC is evolving to deliver the content people want, how they want it. In fact, BBC television programming today sees higher levels of viewing each week than Amazon, Disney and Netflix combined, and we remain Britain’s number one media brand.

It is important that the public can continue to rely on high-quality content from this country that informs, educates and entertains.

Rhodri Talfan Davies
Director, BBC Nations
London W1

Claws out

SIR – With regard to Ed Cumming’s article (“Every time something goes wrong in France, we should be thankful”, Features, August 3), my partner and I once ordered lobster in a restaurant in Normandy. 

There was a French teenage boy behaving like Harry Enfield’s Kevin. Other eaters were subdued. As I tried to eat my lobster, it flew out of my utensils, smacking the boy on the side of the head before landing on his lap. The waitress added further humiliation by wiping his face, head and lap with damp tea towels. Giggles were suppressed, but the people who looked happiest were his parents.

Jennifer Shipman
Bedford

The rich life found in roadside hedgerows

SIR – I have been cycling the country lanes around Shrewsbury for more than 30 years.

Back when I started, the council did not begin cutting hedges until September. During my rides I used to see miles of blackberry brambles, teeming with birds feasting on the berries. 

Now the council starts cutting in July, and by the time they are finished the hedges are devastated and barren. 
Not only that, but many birds have more than one nesting a year, so the prolonged cutting season does untold, unnecessary damage. You can well imagine what happens to the fledglings after the hedge has been ransacked by the mechanised cutter. No wonder there is a shortage of bees and birds. 

The council might as well rip up the hedges and replace them with a plastic hedge that never needs trimming.

Rob Bell
Church Stretton, Shropshire

Dress-down burial

SIR – The correspondence (Letters, August 4) regarding burial attire has persuaded me to consider my choice.
Last November you published my letter commending the onesie as being comparable to Winston Churchill’s siren suit, and expressing the hope that my wife would buy one for me as a Christmas present. 

This did not appeal to her, but our younger daughter’s sense of humour accords with mine. I am, therefore, the proud owner of an orange and black striped onesie complete with tiger head and tail, which surely would bring a lighthearted touch to an otherwise sombre occasion.

Derek Morgan
Cowbridge, Glamorgan

SIR – In the early 2000s I often visited the restaurant the Guinea Grill, where I was introduced to the wine Chateau Musar by the then sommelier, who was born in the Bekka Valley in Lebanon. He would save the corks for me. Since then I have amassed over 500 corks from various bottles of wine.

After discussing what to do with them on my demise, my children and I have decided that I will be buried with them in my coffin.

Stephen Barklem
Woking, Surrey

SIR – Christina Pymont (Letters, August 4) buried her husband with, among other things, a cricket bail and a small banoffee pie. I have asked my sons to place the bulb horn from my ancient car in my coffin, just in case.

Roger Collings
Presteigne, Radnorshire

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