MSP tackles Bank of Scotland on why its mobile service to Huntly is coming up short on reliability and time keeping
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THE Bank of Scotland is being taken to task after repeated instances of vans not turning up in Huntly, leaving customers, many of them the elderly, waiting to see if it would appear.
The inadequacy of IT hardware on the vehicle has also meant a diminished service on a number of occasions.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, has written to the Bank of Scotland expressing his frustration at the “poor” and “inadequate” service Huntly.
Mr Burnett has been contacted by angry constituents, many of whom are elderly, who say the van repeatedly doesn’t show up in the town, leaving them stranded without any banking services.
Other issues since February include the van being an hour late because the driver was “unfamiliar with the route” and on one occasion when the vehicle did turn up on time, the laptop wasn’t working which restricted the services available to customers.
The mobile banking service was launched when Huntly’s last remaining branch, the Bank of Scotland on Gordon Street, closed last year.
In a letter to the Bank of Scotland, Mr Burnett said: “I have now been made aware by constituents that the van did not appear on its most recent scheduled visit on June 1, leaving customers, quite often elderly ones, who rely on this service unable to conduct their banking and for a second time in a few months waiting outside wondering if the van would come.
“The increasing frequency of the issues plaguing the mobile banking service is clearly not sustainable and is causing significant frustration and inconvenience for those who rely on the service.”
Mr Burnett added: “Vulnerable groups such as the elderly are continually being abandoned by the shameful attitude of banks towards providing face-to-face facilities.
“This clearly is not adequate for those who rely on the mobile banking van to manage their bank accounts and improvements must be made to address the shocking service communities have seen in recent months.”
Mr Burnett has asked the bank of Scotland what steps are being taken to ensure that a reliable mobile banking service is delivered, how customers can give feedback on their experience of the service and what is being done to better inform customers of delays and cancellation to the service?
He has also asked the Bank of Scotland to ensure the equipment in the mobile van is checked to be working before leaving and that the timetables of where the van is meant to be is updated to ensure it is accurate and does not leave customers waiting in the future.
