CRAWCROOK Post Office is expected to close by the end of September. Sub-postmistress Alison Sherborne blamed the decision on the government’s decision to axe the Post Office Card Account (POCA).
POCA is used by older people to collect their state pensions through Post Office branches but a recent government decision to axe POCA will mean pensioners being forced to get their pensions paid through bank accounts instead.
Liberal Democrats had warned that the decision to axe POCA would lead to thousands of Post Office branches closing because of the loss of income they receive from handling pensioners’ money and loss of trade.
Crawcrook is the first in the area to be hit but many more could follow.
Local Lib Dem councillor Noel Rippeth said, “Labour’s decision to stop pensioners getting their pensions through Post Offices has been a nail in the coffin for many branches.”
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