The Post Office Respond to the ABC Question For Brian

POST OFFICE RESPONSE - Further to our enquiry from Brian who asked: I am a little bit confused as to whether my state pension will be available at any Post Office using the card system in the future. I am 87 years old and have got used to the PO system. Can you advise, please, whether the present system will come to an end for us old citizens? Best regards. Keep safe. Wear the mask.

Our suggestion is that Brian does a Freedom of Infomation request.

By email

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By post

Freedom of Information requests
Department for Work and Pensions
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9NA
United Kingdom

The Post Office response: 

Hi Simon, thank you for your email to the Post Office and apologies for the delay in coming back to you. In summary, the Post Office Card Account are a product owned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and which we enable their customers to withdraw their benefits in cash at our branches. So can I advise, if you haven’t already, to contact the DWP directly.

In terms of a Post Office response to your enquiry, I trust the statement below is of some help.

A Post Office spokesperson said:

“The decision to end the Post Office Card Account is one that has been taken by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The account is one that we provide on behalf of the DWP for their customers.

“Post Office has an important role to play in supporting these individuals. Our agreement with over 30 banks and building societies means that customers with their current accounts can withdraw and deposit cash at the Post Office, deposit cheques and check their balance all over the counter with a friendly Postmaster and their staff.

“We have also created a leaflet that can be handed out to Post Office Card Account customers which has some helpful information about how they can switch to a current account. We have just launched a trial of this leaflet in 1,000 branches and will be evaluating how helpful the leaflet has been for customers before rolling out more widely across our network.”

ABC Note: Brian can send an email to the DWP marked FREEDOM of INFORMATION REQUEST and he should get a reply within a calendar month. If he does not, he should ask his or her Member of Parliament to intervene. Organisations can argue they need more time to identify who you are, and this is a net little way they can avoid a response that should be immediate or within a calendar month. However, your MP should get a result, that is if you can afford to wait for him or her to respond. 

ABC Comment, Have your say below:

Happy Christmas to all those at the Post Office, we know you will be very busy:

The Post Office Leaflet: