Customer forced to travel nearly 100 miles to pay in cheque after rule change

A woman was forced to travel almost 100 miles to pay in a cheque. Annabel Yates, from Cornwall , received a £900 cheque from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), but found she was unable to deposit it online. The reason, she says, was that the cheque did not have perforated edges and would not scan. Instead, she took to cheque to her local post office branch, only to be told that customers of her bank, Lloyds Banking Group , could no longer pay in cheques through the Post Office after the service was stopped in January. It left Ms Yates, from Crackington Haven, with no other option than to travelling to Truro, a near 100 mile round trip, to visit a branch. She told the BBC that she thought Lloyds’ policy “disenfranchised the rural population”. And she added: “I think the bank’s theory is everything could be done on an app and that’s just not always the case. It’s very backwards thinking.” Ms Yates says she was told she could send the cheque using a freepost option, but “did not want a cheque in the post for such a large amount of money when you are not sure it would actually reach its destination”. She added: “Back in the day, Lloyd’s ethos was to make banking easy. I think this is a reversal of that.” Her story come as banks have closed thousands of branches across the country, arguing it was because so many customers chose to do their banking online instead. But campaigners say this ignores the needs of very many people who either cannot use online banking, or trust the face-to-face contact and support of going into a branch. Lloyds Banking Group says it updated the terms and conditions on some accounts last year and let customers know they could no longer pay cheques in at the Post Office. It told the BBC: "Customers can use our app to pay in cheques, visit any Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch, or get in touch with us about our freepost cheque deposit service." A HMRC spokesperson said: "Most customers can request a refund via bank transfer using their personal tax account or the HMRC app, and the vast majority of repayments are now issued this way." It comes as the Treasury this week launched a review of access to face-to-face banking. The work, to be led by Richard Lloyd, former Which? director and ex-board member of the Financial Conduct Authority, will be fed back to government when considering what action could be taken. Lucy Rigby, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “Banking services are a really important part of lives and communities, and it’s critical we can all access what we need – whether through local banking services or strong community-based alternatives like credit unions. “We are supporting industry’s roll out of banking hubs , but we also need a clear picture of where communities are still losing out. “This independent review will show us where the problems are and what further action may be required – and we will move quickly to legislate where the evidence shows it is needed”. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, said: “People and communities losing access to face-to-face banking services is a serious problem. “Which? research has highlighted the scale of bank branch closures across the UK and the significant impact this is having on communities.” Caroline Abrahams CBE, charity director at Age UK, said: “This review is very welcome as we hear regularly from older people who find their bank branch shuts and it then becomes very difficult for them to manage their money. “While there are strong rules around cash access, banking services are less well protected, and we’ve long argued that access to face-to-face services should be put on a statutory footing as well. It’s true that only a minority of people rely on face-to-face banking, but for them it’s absolutely imperative that they can manage their money in a way that meets their needs.