Post office closures 'hit services' in Argyll and Bute

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/gla ... 407879.stm

People in Argyll and Bute believe the closure of eight post offices in the area has resulted in poorer services, according to new research.

A study commissioned by Consumer Focus Scotland found there were longer queues in remaining post offices.

It also said people had access to fewer services with some abandoning the post office as they could not get to one.

Post Office Ltd said customers were continuing to use its services and the survey only covered a "small sample".

The closures took place last year as part of the Post Office Ltd's Network Change Programme.

Argyll and Bute was one of the first areas of Scotland to be affected by the programme, which ran from 2007 to 2009.

Post Office spokesman
The research report involved five focus groups with consumers at selected locations where post office closures had taken place.

It also included interviews with sub-postmasters at post offices expecting greater business as a result of closures elsewhere.

Trisha McAuley, interim director of Consumer Focus Scotland, said: "Local post offices are lifelines for thousands of people in communities across Scotland.

"The negative impact of the network change programme on service users in Argyll and Bute revealed by this report is of great concern, particularly if it reflects the experience of consumers in other parts of Scotland."

"We want the Post Office Ltd to act on our recommendations in order to ensure that the concerns of post office users are addressed, but also to help inform future changes in the post office network."

'Sustainable future'

A spokesman for Post Office Ltd said "the migration of customers from closing branches" to those retained was about 90% and "clearly indicates that customers are continuing to access our services".

"This survey covers a very small sample and Post Office Ltd currently has 90 branches in the Argyll and Bute area and every single postcode district in Argyll and Bute exceeds the UK government criteria that over 95% of the population be within six miles of a Post Office outlet," he said.

"Post Office Ltd has also spent over £2.5m increasing capacity and improving accessibility at remaining branches throughout the UK."

The spokesman said the network change programme was "aimed at dealing with mounting financial losses and falling customer numbers in the Post Office network" and providing "a more sustainable future for remaining branches".