Post Office Ltd has continually refused to elaborate on the “operational reasons” for the sudden closure of several branches
Queues for the cashpoint at the shuttered Watts Lane Post Office, Bootle.(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
At least seven Liverpool Post Offices remain closed today after they were suddenly shuttered on Thursday. Post Office Ltd has refused to elaborate on the “operational reasons” it blames for the closures.
This morning, Friday, the ECHO visited branches in Walton Vale and Bootle Watts Lane to find they remain closed. Yesterday we confirmed Woolton and Penny Lane Post Offices were both shut. In total, it’s believed 10 branches across Merseyside are affected. but Post Office Ltd has refused to provide a complete list.
The ECHO understands Royal Mail workers were asked not to collect parcels from locations in south Liverpool this morning with post offices, post boxes and parcel shops in the area marked as “inaccessible”.
No notes were left on the pulled down shutters of the Post Offices in Walton Vale or Bootle Watts Lane when the ECHO visited, unlike notices left on the Woolton and Penny Lane branches. One of those signs read: “This branch is temporarily closed until further notice. Apologies for inconvenience.”
Other Post Offices in the city are open as normal, including the Eldonian Village Post Office, located within the One Stop off Vauxhall Road.
Empty desks at the closed Walton Vale Post Office(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
The Post Office has continually refused to elaborate on the statement it provided to the ECHO yesterday, which read: “There are some Post Office branches in the Liverpool area that are currently closed for operational reasons. It is not known when these branches will re-open.
“In the interim there are nearby alternative branches and customers are advised to visit www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder to find out the locations, opening hours and the range of services offered.”
At the time of writing, the branch finder tool the Post Office has provided is still showing closed branches as open.
The Department for Business and Trade, the government department that oversees Post Office Ltd refused to comment, saying the issue was the remit of the Post Office as it fell under day-to-day operations.
Zaid Al-Dheleai works at Walton Vale Local Convenience, which houses Walton Vale Post Office. The Post Office desks are dark and quiet, as is the shop, which draws many of its customers from those visiting the Post Office.
When the ECHO visited, a customer entered hoping to post a parcel, still unaware the service was unavailable.
He said: “The Post Office is always busy; the shop is quiet. A lot of people rely on the Post Office.”
Mr Al-Dheleai said he had been told “computer issues” were to blame for the closure. Post Office Ltd has twice denied IT issues are behind the closures during conversations with the ECHO.
Walton Vale Post Office is part of Walton Vale Local Convenience (Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Carole Wragg, 66, of Formby, said she was “in shock” over the shuttering of her local branch. With the Post Office at Hightown already closed, Ms Wragg must travel to Crosby to send post to family in Australia and access cash. She said: “The Post Office is always busy, and we enjoy great customer service. It also brings trade into the village.
“Post Offices are public facilities and are vital to our communities. I will admit that as I am in my sixties, I am not that computer savvy and find it difficult coping with change.
“I also feel angry that all our banks have disappeared taking their cash machines with them but leave a reassurance that we can withdraw cash from our local Post Office. That resource has been removed now and it is very much a lottery finding a local cash machine with cash in it.”
Ms Wragg continued: “The needs of the public have not been taken into account and this surely needs Government intervention before any permanent closures.”
Is your local Post Office closed? Contact jonathan.blackburn@reachplc.com