East Dulwich Barclays to close on December 2nd

[Bic Basher]

Barclays have announced that they're closing the branch on Friday 2nd December at noon. Nearest branches will be in Brixton and Peckham.

[singalto]

They only ‘renovated’ it recently! It’s ridiculous...

[Spartacus]

How many banks will that leave in East Dulwich ?

(Not including the post office)

[Bic Basher]

How many banks will that leave in East Dulwich ?

(Not including the post office)

 

A grand total of zero.

[Mystic Mog]

Perhaps it will be another restaurant.....yawn!

[NewWave]

No way!!!

I dont do online banking and this is the branch I use to do all my deposits, etc etc

Is there any way we can fight this??

I certainly dont have time to go to Peckham or Brixton on my day off to queue at a bank.

And before anyone comments..NO I will NOT do online banking.

[Bic Basher]

They only ‘renovated’ it recently! It’s ridiculous...

 

They did the same to Forest Hill, a year or so later it was closed and became a private dentist.

[Bic Basher]

No way!!!

I dont do online banking and this is the branch I use to do all my deposits, etc etc

Is there any way we can fight this??

I certainly dont have time to go to Peckham or Brixton on my day off to queue at a bank.

And before anyone comments..NO I will NOT do online banking.

 

You can do deposits at the post office. Cash without a paying in slip and cheques with.

[Moovart]

"So the banks can't really keep branches open for fewer and fewer customers."

No, not if they want to keep up their massive profits and bankers bonuses!!!!

Every time I go in to Barclays to use a service that can only be done at the counter, (because the machines don't have the capability) there is always a long queue of people also waiting for services that can only be done at the counter.

The closure of the last bank in East Dulwich is an absolute scandal and, be in no doubt, is done to maximise bank profits. Many of these bank buildings remain empty for a long time as they are difficult and expensive to convert to other uses. The departing banks should be made to provide funds to regenerate the buildings they leave empty and unused.

[Moovart]

So today there are 6 people queuing for the ATMs inside, 9 people queuing for the counter, one ATM machine not working, one customer complaining that the ATM inside has not registered her deposit accurately, one person wanting to make a formal complaint and several people with mobility issues who I doubt would be able to travel to Brixton or Peckham without assistance.

Not sure if Barclays are purposely making it so awful that we want to see the back of it. Personally I would like to see another front of house staff member and another on the counter.

[savvygirl]

I do not understand some people's reluctance to do online banking. I use it all the time. I can see immediately what's going in and out of my account and keep tabs on my household payments for things like gas and electricity which I have a separate account for. I have not used an actual bank in years for over the counter transactions except and only when the ATM is out of service. These days you can get cashback quite easily at most big stores or supermarkets if you need to carry cash. We just have to adapt and move with the times. I'm now 80 years old and much prefer doing my banking from the comfort of my home!

[Spartacus]

I do not understand some people's reluctance to do online banking. I use it all the time. I can see immediately what's going in and out of my account and keep tabs on my household payments for things like gas and electricity which I have a separate account for. I have not used an actual bank in years for over the counter transactions except and only when the ATM is out of service. These days you can get cashback quite easily at most big stores or supermarkets if you need to carry cash. We just have to adapt and move with the times. I'm now 80 years old and much prefer doing my banking from the comfort of my home!

 

Maybe put yourself in an elders shoes who don't use technology the same way we do

[Moovart]

I'm very tech savvy and the only reason I go to the bank is to do one of the many things that can only be done at the counter. This was also the case for others in the queue as you can of course hear why they are there when they explain to the member of staff front of house.

You're lucky you never have to go to a bank but there are many situations where it is necessary.

Neither of the staff I encountered want their workplace to close and I cannot see how the number of people needing to use the counter can be accommodated in existing bank space elsewhere.

 

I do not understand some people's reluctance to do online banking. I use it all the time. I can see immediately what's going in and out of my account and keep tabs on my household payments for things like gas and electricity which I have a separate account for. I have not used an actual bank in years for over the counter transactions except and only when the ATM is out of service. These days you can get cashback quite easily at most big stores or supermarkets if you need to carry cash. We just have to adapt and move with the times. I'm now 80 years old and much prefer doing my banking from the comfort of my home!

[Moovart]

Would be interesting to know if the Barclays ATMs will also shut down in December. If they do then Savvygirl, make sure your PIN doesn't accidentally get locked as you'll be travelling a much longer way to an ATM to unlock it.

[NewWave]

Its really so disappointing that Barclays consider it no inconvenience to leave only 1 branch that covers Dulwich to Catford and thats in Peckham.

Today I needed to go into the bank near my workplace only to discover that too is closing leaving the only branch in central W1 in Hanover Square.

I work in Marble arch-its a big chunk of my lunch hour getting to Hanover Square and the W1 branches all shut at 2.30pm

[Pugwash]

Barclays have informed our charity that in order to change a correspondence address and a change of officer, he/she needs to go in person to our local branch.

As a trustee for another organisation, it took several visits to 2 different Barclays branches with IDs in order to become signatories.

For those of us who do not have a scanner in order to scan cheques - on line banking is not an option

[sweetgirl]

I personally am not happy to move on with the times as some feel we should.

I like going into the bank & paying my bills etc over the counter.

The bank staff have made it difficult for me by pretty much trying to force me to use the paying in machine!

I point blank told this particular lady in the dulwich branch she needed to stop being so pushy about me using a machine I didn’t want to!

I also told her if she carries on like this she’d soon be out of a job as they’ll no longer require her services.

Her response was they still needed her to keep the machines in order!

Oh well……. I’d like to see if she’ll still have a job once the branch closes……

No she wasn’t an old skool employee, someone young & no doubt on a newer contract where she probably has few or not many rights!

The future is bleak………

No banks left locally……. Goodness knows what we supposed to do

[Spartacus]

For those of us who do not have a scanner in order to scan cheques - on line banking is not an option

 

Interesting issue as some banking apps (Santander for one) don't have the facility to scan cheques so you are forced to either go to a branch or request a paying in slip to be sent to you and then pay in via the post office... sheer madness 😠

[Bic Basher]

They chose the wrong time in December when the Post Office a couple doors down sees their busiest time of the year with people sending presents to loved ones for Christmas. It's bad enough waiting in a Barclays queue as it is.

Barclays have also seemed to have conveniently forgotten that during the pandemic, the queues for the bank would stretch down Ashbourne Grove.

[malumbu]

It's frustrating but how often do most of us use branches nowadays? I was one of the many that set up a flex account with Nationwide over ten years ago, all those benefits such as no commission on foreign exchange, then they closed every branch within five miles. And then ditched the benefits. ... 😟

A pooled arrangement would be nice where one bank could cover over basic services. Post Office does some of this but you usually need to queue behind someone with 37 packages to send out on e bay. But even that is changing as so many other delivery options.

[Spartacus]

It's frustrating but how often do most of us use branches nowadays?

 

That depends on multiple factors with age being one. Most older folk don't do online banking or don't trust it so for them a branch is essential.

For me, I recently got sent a refund cheque which sat there for 6 weeks till I had justification to go to a centre where my bank branch was as the costs associated with travelling (be it bus or car) made it expensive to deposit a small cheque.

The issue with closing all branches is that it alienates portions of the public who need a physical bank the most and makes it harder for those who do want to visit a branch to do so as there are no longer local branches !

[Bic Basher]

As part of Barclays reason for closure, they claim only 14 people use the branch as their only method of doing their banking while 93% of users who use the branch also use online or phone banking.

[Sue]

It's frustrating but how often do most of us use branches nowadays?

 

That depends on multiple factors with age being one. Most older folk don't do online banking or don't trust it so for them a branch is essential.

 

 

"Most" older folk?

Do you have stats to back that up?

I'd be very surprised if that was the case.

I'm old. I have old friends. So far as I'm aware, none of us are stuck in prehistoric times where our banking is concerned 🤣

[Jenijenjen]

I’m old too and agree with Sue. It seems whenever changes are proposed that (younger) people don’t like, the cry goes out “Won’t somebody think of the old people.” The group that calls themselves Age Speaks are a particular bugbear - they don’t speak for me.

“For me, I recently got sent a refund cheque which sat there for 6 weeks till I had justification to go to a centre where my bank branch was as the costs associated with travelling (be it bus or car) made it expensive to deposit a small cheque.”

Could you not have popped it in the post with a paying in slip having taken a photo of it beforehand?

[Bic Basher]

Barclays will argue that for most customers, they can still do basic banking a couple of doors down at the Post Office or use the cashpoints at the Co-op or PO, while the Peckham branch is a 5-10 min bus ride on the 37 from Goose Green.