Thurso TSB closure is a disgrace, say Caithness couple who have been customers for 60 years
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A Caithness couple who have been TSB customers for 60 years have described the imminent closure of the bank's Thurso branch as "a disgrace".
Donald (known as Dodo) Farquhar and his wife Mary, who live at Spittal, are now in the process of switching their account to another bank that still has a branch in the town.
They say online banking is not an option for them and they feel their needs would not be met by TSB's proposed pop-up facility in Thurso one day a week.
Mr Farquhar, who will be 85 in March, and Mrs Farquhar (80) are both retired Dounreay workers. They began banking in 1962 at the Aberdeen Savings Bank which later became part of TSB.
The bank announced in November that it will close its Traill Street premises in April as part of plans to shut 70 branches across the UK.
TSB bosses say there has been declining branch use and increasing numbers of customers changing to digital banking.
“It will be very inconvenient for us," Mrs Farquhar said. "We'll have to transfer all our savings into another bank, because we don't do online banking.
“We didn't hear anything about it until we saw it in the paper.”
They feel a pop-up facility would not be suitable for them. “It's different if you live in the town, but living this distance from Thurso it wouldn't be handy for us if it was just a set time," Mrs Farquhar said.
“I'm sure a lot of customers are not going to be happy about it. It's different for younger folk, but we're both in our eighties.
"There are weather conditions and everything to consider if you have to get in for a special time for this pop-up service. It would be no use for us.”
The couple say they prefer a face-to-face service for transactions and they have arranged an appointment with a different bank this week.
Mrs Farquhar said: “We've never done online banking and I'd be frightened in case I do something wrong when you're working with money. It's quite a worry – we're not happy at all.”
Mr Farquhar added: “After this amount of years, giving them business, all of a sudden to just close like that, it's a disgrace.”
A spokesperson for TSB said: “We have not taken the decision to close the Thurso branch lightly, but we have to respond to declining branch use and increasing numbers of customers switching to digital banking services.
“Customer transactions at the branch have fallen by 48 per cent over the last two years and we see no prospect of branch transactions returning to pre-Covid levels.
"In communities like Thurso, where it takes longer to get to the nearest branch, we are introducing a pop-up service which will be available in the town once a week to support customers with their banking needs.
"For customers wanting access to cash, they can do this at the post office at Meadow Lane or the ATM at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Both these facilities are less than a mile from the closing branch.”
The spokesperson added: "At pop-ups, TSB advisers provide face-to-face support, including making payments, providing product information and helping customers get started with digital banking.
"We are still looking to identify a location but these tend to be in popular locations already used by members of the local community for other services like town halls, libraries, places of worship or community centres.
"Customers will be able to do most of the things in a pop-up that they can do in the branch, with access to cash needs being met by the post office and ATMs."
The Thurso closure means there will no longer be a TSB branch in Caithness after the bank pulled out of Wick in March last year.
Highland councillor Matthew Reiss has been calling on TSB to reconsider, pointing out that some customers make a 50-mile journey from north-west Sutherland to do their banking in the town.
