closure of lybster rbs branch

[landy]

today i have heard rumours that our lybster branch of the RBS is shutting!!!!does anyone know how we can fight this?it is a busy branch and one of only 3 businesses left in our village.plz can anyone advise or offer support to fight this.thanks

[Alli]

Get in touch with SNP MP Dr Paul Monaghan. I saw this on facebook today
ATTENTION RBS CUSTOMERS INVERGORDON:
RBS announced today they will close their Invergordon branch in August of this year. The Council are writing in the strongest terms to object. If you want to keep this branch please help me protest and write outlining your objections to this closure. Please do it soon, meantime the Council will launch a media campaign.
Write to:
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc,
36 St Andrew Square,
Edinburgh
EH2 2YB
Councillor Maxine Smith also wrote:
RBS had a policy of not closing if they were the last bank standing, so I am waiting to hear what their reason is. If enough folk write and enough larger institutions like The Highland Council object then they might change their mind.

All via Facebook

[carrepairman]

The Lybster branch is to close on the 13th of August, I got a smarmy and condescending letter this morning............

[midi2304]

it is a busy branch

Surely if it was that busy (and, by proxy, profitable/worthwhile), they wouldn't be shutting it?

I think people sometimes forget that companies such as RBS are business and don't exist to subsidise people like us who live out in the sticks. (Of course, the counterargument can then be that it was 'our' tax money that bailed them out, etc, etc but nevertheless, they aren't publicly run organisations either way.)

[landy]

if we all took that attitude then out in the sticks would be even more remote than it is.in lybster we have lost the butcher,one shop,the famous Portland arms hotel and due to the council cuts, the play group, based in the village hall and then the school swimming pool, all in the last 6 years.if we sit back and let this happen lybster will become a ghost village with commuters moving in as the older generation will be forced to move into wick.I think this is wrong.surely the village is worth protecting?a post office and a bank plus shops and the medical centre are important to the health of the village. yes rbs is a business with profits to be made but surely they could consult us, the customers on any branch by branch basis and also if they stopped paying all these outrageous bonuses maybe they could keep branches open to serve the community that bailed them out in the first place?????

[weeker2014]

I'm afraid I have to agree that when living in the country you have to make some sacrifices. In the day and age of online banking smaller branches are now far less relevant and I doubt profitable. Dunbeath lost its branch when I was a bairn. In addition to online banking RBS banking can also be done through the Post Office which makes the branch even less relevant. That includes business banking of cash, change, paying bills and withdrawals. If it was anything out with that I doubt a quick trip to Wick wouldn't put too many people out. We may well own the bank as you mentioned above, but rather than that being a reason to keep it open, I view it much more of a reason to close it to preserve profit for the tax payer.

[embow]

Having received 'the letter' today on this issue it seems that the transferring of accounts and other associated banking business will be a seamless transition to the branch in Wick. This includes an unchanged sort code and account numbers.This is good to know and therefore if it is so easy to do this in the modern digital age where we are all assured makes banking easy why not close the Wick branch and move its business to Lybster? Makes plenty of sense and the policy of not closing the last bank standing in a community is totally fulfilled! Let's try a bit of decentralisation in favour of the more rural areas instead of centralisation to the urban centres.

[midi2304]

if we all took that attitude then out in the sticks would be even more remote than it is.in lybster we have lost the butcher,one shop,the famous Portland arms hotel and due to the council cuts, the play group, based in the village hall and then the school swimming pool, all in the last 6 years.if we sit back and let this happen lybster will become a ghost village with commuters moving in as the older generation will be forced to move into wick.I think this is wrong.surely the village is worth protecting?a post office and a bank plus shops and the medical centre are important to the health of the village. yes rbs is a business with profits to be made but surely they could consult us, the customers on any branch by branch basis and also if they stopped paying all these outrageous bonuses maybe they could keep branches open to serve the community that bailed them out in the first place?????

You do not need a bank in Lybster to do banking. It's easy (and far better for the environment) to bank online now.

And they did 'consult' the village by keeping an eye on the footfall. It wasn't enough.

Expecting the bank in Wick to close for the bank in Lybster is frankly ludicrous for the reasons mentioned above - footfall. It still amazes me to this day that people don't understand that when amenities close - shops or banks or Post Offices or whatever - in the vast majority of cases it is businesses closing their doors because they were not profitable enough because there was not enough footfall.

'if we all took that attitude then out in the sticks would be even more remote than it is'

If you expect businesses to subsidise a lifestyle that allows people to live in the middle of nowhere, I don't know what to say. That's not how it has ever worked and I don't see why that should change now. I live in Barrock. We don't have ANY shops or Post Office or bank or pub or anything. And that's fine. If I was to open a business reliant on footfall, I sure as hell wouldn't build it in Barrock because that would be silly.

[Fulmar]

if we all took that attitude then out in the sticks would be even more remote than it is.in lybster we have lost the butcher,one shop,the famous Portland arms hotel and due to the council cuts, the play group, based in the village hall and then the school swimming pool, all in the last 6 years.if we sit back and let this happen lybster will become a ghost village with commuters moving in as the older generation will be forced to move into wick.I think this is wrong.surely the village is worth protecting?a post office and a bank plus shops and the medical centre are important to the health of the village. yes rbs is a business with profits to be made but surely they could consult us, the customers on any branch by branch basis and also if they stopped paying all these outrageous bonuses maybe they could keep branches open to serve the community that bailed them out in the first place?????

For folk on the East coast and Lybster, just a plug for the 'Biscuit and Blether' drop in held every Tuesday afternoon from 1 till 3 (except school hols) in Lybster Bowling Club Hall. This is for anybody and everybody- a chance to meet up with friends old and new and to have a chat in a warm and friendly atmosphere- and it's free. You don't have to come for 2 hours if you don't want to- it's just what it says on the tin. We have mature folk and very young ones too, all enjoying one another's company and would love to see some more coming along!
Sorry, it's not about the bank though. However, the last times that I tried the 'free' cashline machine in the Post Office mentioned in my letter yesterday from RBS, it no longer accepts my visa card, having used it previously for years without a problem. So I have had to go to the bank this last while
to withdraw cash. I am not the only one to whom this was happening. So I hope that they get that sorted out at least as I do not think the post master will be pleased if people are queuing at the counter to withdraw cash from him!

[porshiepoo]

Online banking is just much easier and more popular nowadays. I don't think we'll miss the Lycbster branch too much cos we didn't use it many times but I feel for the poor cashiers that are losing their jobs
Lybster is no more special than any other remote village and it's sacrifices that many other villages are having to put up with as well - doesn't make it right though.
It wouldn't be such a hardship for the locals if the ruddy council spent money on the Caithness transport system instead of building monstrosities in the town that a) look totally out of keeping with the rest of the town b) go millions over budget and c) won't get used much as our experience of the council in Wick has always been "Inverness deals with that".
If remote villages are going to become even more isolated due to the shutting down of all these facilities then the local council have a duty to at least make transport more accessible - the bus service here is naff and the train journey to inverness would be quicker on a pony and cart.

[BetterTogether]

I've used online banking for years and the bank I use does not have branches in towns. It's quite easy to do just about any transaction I require using online services or using my card. If I need to deposit cash that's easily managed through any post office. Not sure why people feel the need to keep a bank in towns when there is no real requirement for branches anymore.

[sprint95m]

Not sure why people feel the need to keep a bank in towns when there is no real requirement for branches anymore.

I disagree and surely the banks themselves think that having branches is necessary.

Of the personal account holders, a considerable number don't have an online facility. Furthermore a considerable number of folk don't have the confidence to do things online.
By retaining branches the banks are catering for more of the potential customers.
Personally I prefer the over the counter experience because I find it easier and more pleasant.



Whilst I appreciate that it is not one you were referring to, if I may I think we should include another major type of bank user,
one to whom the banks must give much consideration, since these account holders pay (high charges) for all the services provided......
namely business account holders, for whom the branches offer certain useful services, such as the availability of change, money bags, pay-in slips, account managers, etc.

[weeker2014]

I disagree and surely the banks themselves think that having branches is necessary.Of the personal account holders, a considerable number don't have an online facility. Furthermore a considerable number of folk don't have the confidence to do things online.By retaining branches the banks are catering for more of the potential customers.Personally I prefer the over the counter experience because I find it easier and more pleasant.Whilst I appreciate that it is not one you were referring to, if I may I think we should include another major type of bank user, one to whom the banks must give much consideration, since these account holders pay (high charges) for all the services provided......namely business account holders, for whom the branches offer certain useful services, such as the availability of change, money bags, pay-in slips, account managers, etc.

As pointed out above all day-to-day RBS business banking can be done at a Post Office so why do you need a branch? Its the same facility for many other banks.Seems a bit daft you have to go to Wick for Fuel and a supermarket but you expect a bank branch in this day and age. I find that when options become unavailable people are quick enough to find new ones which they may not have used before (ie Online or Telephone Banking). Again if they dont like it im sure the Post Office will give the personal touch.They have had decades to corner the Lybster market for potential customers so I doubt they will be attracting hoards now.The biggest surprise is why the Lybster branch wasnt closed years ago.P.s. In addition to the post office RBS have a mobile branch which visits the villages and outlaying areas. I dont see any other banks offering that up here....do you????

[midi2304]

The simple fact is, RBS wouldn't be shutting the branch if it was economical to keep it open.

Why people feel businesses should subsidise their choosing to live in the middle of nowhere, is beyond me. I choose to live in Barrock and as such accept that if I want food or fuel or banking or pretty much anything, I need to go to Thurso or Wick. I don't expect the private sector to subsidise my lifestyle. Public services such as schools and clinics? Yes. Businesses such as shops and banks? No chance.

And if you don't like the charges RBS are charging for your account, why not go to one of the other banks who have branches in Lybster. Oh that's right - there are none. I wonder why...?

[Redsnapper]

I suppose if we go down that line then Caitheness. Sutherland and Wester Ross isn't that economical to run either and we should all move down to Inverness

[midi2304]

I suppose if we go down that line then Caitheness. Sutherland and Wester Ross isn't that economical to run either and we should all move down to Inverness

If you were to look at it purely from a big-business perspective then you'd be 100% correct. Big businesses exist to make profit, not subsidise those of us who enjoy country living. You aren't entitled to a bank in your tiny village because it's always been there or because you personally feel you need it. That's not really how capitalism works.

Thankfully, that it isn't the case that big businesses dictate how we live in places like Caithness which is why we see such great local shops in Thurso and Wick. But even they have to stick to the denser patches of population which is why they are in town and not in Dunnet or Keiss or whatever.

[sids]

I suppose if we go down that line then Caitheness. Sutherland and Wester Ross isn't that economical to run either and we should all move down to Inverness

Yes, if you want big shops, banks and a council on your side.

[midi2304]

Yes, if you want big shops, banks and a council on your side.

Don't confuse public spending - council - with private spending - big shops and banks. The former is publicly funded and we should be getting far better service from the Highland Council than we are. Private businesses have no such obligations.

[Redsnapper]

Actually I was being a bit of a devils advocate and in the great scheme of things we should all go and live in a rabbit warren in the South East of England. Gosh no more high delivery charges, expensive fuel or or the other things that go along with living here.

[midi2304]

Actually I was being a bit of a devils advocate and in the great scheme of things we should all go and live in a rabbit warren in the South East of England. Gosh no more high delivery charges, expensive fuel or or the other things that go along with living here.

I know you were. And my previous response stands - from a big business perspective, you are spot on. If we choose to live in the middle of nowhere, we need to accept that living here has it's costs, financially and otherwise. To expect businesses to subsidise our lifestyle choices is misplaced entitlement, pure and simple.

As you correctly point out, we accept high delivery charges, expensive fuel and such like as part of the cost of living outside of the rat race. People here seem to want to have their cake and eat it. Doesn't work like that unfortunately.