CUSTOMERS have been scrambling to find other arrangements after it was announced a town centre bank branch will be closing for good.
The Yorkshire Bank on Old Street in Ashton will shut its doors permanently on January 13.
That means anyone holding an account with them would face a journey to either Oldham or Stockport to visit their nearest branch.
It comes after Yorkshire Building Society in Stalybridge, Santander in Hyde and Lloyds in both Stalybridge and Droylsden went, while several other banks in Tameside have closed in the last decade.
Yorkshire Bank in Ashton is one of 31 stores parent company Virgin Money plans to close around the country – with around 112 jobs lost as a result.
A spokesman said it made ‘the difficult decision’ following a review of how customers are using its stores, with more people switching to online banking during the coronavirus pandemic.
Customers have been sent letters with more information and details of what they need to do.
Fergus Murphy, group customer experience director at Virgin Money, said: “As our customers change the way they want to bank with us and conduct fewer transactions in-store, we must continue to evolve the role of our stores into places where we showcase our products and bring our digital services to life.”
What a ridiculous state of affairs, we were not allowed in the banks during covid but I for one would have used the branch had I been allowed to. We need a person to person contact this is not acceptable.
I’ve switched to NATWEST after over 40 years with Yorkshire Bank and I’ve got £150 bonus for switching plus a branch in Stalybridge and Ashton.
Customer loyalty counts for nowt these days.
GET SWITCHING NOW.