Short-changed as cash machine fails to pay out more often than it works
Jackie Baillie MSP with disappointed customers of the Royal Bank in Alexandria.
The Royal Bank of Scotland closed the doors to its Alexandria Branch in 2016 leaving customers to travel four miles to the next nearest branch in Dumbarton.
At the time, the Royal Bank of Scotland promised not to leave its customers without a service in Alexandria but it took two years before a mobile branch was officially routed to the town. However, the mobile branch stops for just one hour every two weeks.
MSP Jackie Baillie, questioned Simon Watson, managing director of personal banking at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee earlier this year. At the meeting Mr Watson assured the MSP that customers were not left without a service when the bank closes branches.
However, since its closure in 2016 customers have experienced problems with the cash machine which was left behind. The cash machine breaks down regularly and it can take days for the problems to be fixed leaving customers to rely on the fortnightly mobile branch.
The MSP said: “RBS have shut 70% of branches across Scotland since 2010, leaving communities with no access to their bank.
“When RBS shut the branch in Alexandria, they promised customers that a mobile branch would be routed through the town but this took almost two years to come to fruition and stops just fortnightly.
“The cash machine in Alexandria plugs the gap in service in the area but the Royal Bank of Scotland can’t even ensure that this works year round. I have had a number of constituents contacting me to tell me that the cash machine is broken, again.
“I hope that the issues with the cash machine can be fixed permanently, and that the bank will consider a more regular mobile service so that customers can access their bank when they need to. Otherwise the promise from RBS to be the last bank in town is sounding pretty hollow.”