HSBC 'clinics’ to be withdrawn

Following discussions with Sarah Driver, HSBC’s Norwich area director, and the Reepham Town Team, it has been agreed that, owing to the low take-up of the “HSBC clinics” being held in the Bircham Centre on a Wednesday morning, this service will be withdrawn with immediate effect.
 

 
The enquiry facility was offered every Wednesday since 14 October following the closure of the HSBC branch and ATM in Reepham on 9 October. The bank had earlier said it would make this service available until 23 December, subject to demand.
 
However, very few customers used this facility, explained Graham Everett, District Councillor for Reepham Ward, while HSBC stated that only five customers used the service in four weeks.
 
Although the town’s only bank has now closed, personal account holders can deposit cheques, deposit and withdraw cash, and check their balance at the post office.
 
It is hoped that HSBC business account holders will be able to use these facilities within the next few months, subject to the completion of an agreement between the bank and the Post Office.
 
Meanwhile, HSBC is understood to be in ongoing discussions with an ATM provider for the provision of an alternative cash machine in Reepham’s Market Place.
 
Use of the existing red telephone box outside the Bircham Centre has been suggested as one possibility, subject to planning approval.
 
BT says it is looking for new and innovative ways to maximise the use of its phone boxes, including combining cash machines with payphones in both modern and traditional red kiosks.
 
With the increase of mobile telephones, thousands of public phone boxes have been decommissioned, sold or scrapped in recent years.
 
See our earlier stories:

 

Related stories: