Thurso 'worthy of being an exception to the rule' as TSB is urged to think again on branch closure
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TSB bosses are again being urged to rethink their closure plan for Thurso, with a local Highland councillor arguing that the town centre branch is "worthy of being an exception to the rule".
Councillor Matthew Reiss reiterated his concerns about the distance factor for customers who wish to do their banking in person, and said a change of heart would be "an example of a large organisation actually having a listening ear".
TSB announced in November that it will close its Traill Street premises in April as part of plans to shut 70 branches across the UK.
Councillor Reiss made a fresh plea for a rethink in a follow-up email to Andrew McIntyre, the bank's senior communications manager for Scotland.
The independent councillor for Thurso and Northwest Caithness was told in December that the Thurso branch was reduced to one regular weekly customer before the closure plan was announced. When he questioned the "specific metric" on which that figure was based, he was told it was used by the banking industry "to measure vulnerable customers who rely on an individual branch" and that "a regular customer is therefore someone who used the branch 48 out of 52 weeks of the year".
In an email to Mr McIntyre on Friday, Councillor Reiss said he would be happy to attend a meeting in Edinburgh to discuss the matter. He has pointed out previously that some customers make a 50-mile journey from north-west Sutherland to do their banking in Thurso.
"We are so remote the standard 'specific metric' of a regular customer being a person who attends 48 weeks in a year is almost discriminatory in that people without cars are not going to do a 100-mile round trip every week just to bank what may sometimes be small sums of money," Councillor Reiss wrote. "Please would you consider this point."
He also told Mr McIntyre: "You explained that you have visited our county – therefore you will know the road system is not the M90 and travel in winter months especially is quite a serious undertaking, particularly for the elderly.
"If the consultation about proposed closures is to be meaningful, and not simply a procedure to be carried out with no expectation of reversing a decision, then may I respectfully suggest your most northerly branch is worthy of being an exception to the rule.
"Not only would such a change of heart be met with great relief here but it would finally be an example of a large organisation actually having a listening ear and receptive social conscience."
Caithness Roads Recovery co-founder Iain Gregory has also called on the bank to reconsider.
He told Mr McIntyre: "This is an extremely remote and indeed vulnerable community, and the TSB branch in Thurso has played an essential role in the way of life in the far north for decades.
"We know that digital banking has become popular – but not for very large numbers of people in this area. The TSB is seen locally as the friendly, approachable face of personal banking – surely an excellent gateway to the business?
"Caithness Roads Recovery is campaigning to make sure that life in Caithness and Sutherland remains sustainable, and the continued presence of the TSB is vital."
TSB says there has been declining branch use and increasing numbers of customers switching to digital banking. The bank will provide a "pop-up" service in Thurso one day a week.
Ross Gurdin, TSB's government affairs manager, told Councillor Reiss in an email at the end of November: "As more customers choose to shop and bank online, we have seen a 28 per cent reduction in average branch transactions across the TSB network since January 2019. And there is no prospect of these returning to pre-Covid levels.
"Thurso branch customer transactions have fallen by 48 per cent over the same period and there is currently one customer using the branch on a regular weekly basis."
