aluncairns.co.uk

The Vale MP recently met with the local CEO for Glamorgan regarding the bank’s decision to reduce the opening hours of the local branch in Dinas Powys.

Alun Cairns MP has spoken with Huw Jones, the senior executive responsible for all the NatWest operations across Glamorgan to raise his and local residents’ opposition to the substantial reduction in the number of hours that the branch in Dinas Powys will open for customers to call in at the branch.

Mr Jones took the MP through all the reasons why the bank has made the decision to reduce the hours for the branch which serves Dinas Powys, St Andrew’s Major, Michaelston-le-Pit and surrounding communities.

Mr Cairns noted the strong opposition by local residents and businesses to the new hours which now mean the local branch will only open on Mondays and Fridays between 10am to 2pm from the 20^th February 2012.

NatWest have been working closely with the Post Office to make changes to its IT systems to enable customers to use the Post Office branch network. Both personal and business customers can now carry out cash withdrawals and balance enquiries at the local Post Office using their debit card.

Mr Cairns said:

“Though I’m disappointed that NatWest are substantially reducing their opening hours at the branch in Dinas Powys, I’m reassured that they will not close the branch at any point, as this goes against the bank’s charter.”

The Local CEO explained that the bank would not reverse its decision to reduce the hours for the time being, but confirmed that it would consider increasing the hours in the future, should demand dictate.  NatWest have extended their opening hours in their Barry and Penarth branches, which are now open on Saturday.

Mr Cairns added:

“I wanted the bank to understand the issues raised by local customers – that many don’t have computer or online access to the bank’s services. Mr Jones was able to reassure me that their NatWest customer advisor service would be proactive particularly during the early days of the new reduced hours.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 8:29 am and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.