Santander have written to Andrew today to inform him that they will be closing their branch at 31 Boothferry Road, Goole, East Yorkshire, DN14 5DE on 13 June 2019.
Andrew says, “I understand that with a huge take up of online banking, the way people bank has changed significantly, but I am still very disappointed to have received this notice from Santander regarding their branch in Goole. It's important that account holders make their views known or perhaps even consider changing to a bank that remains committed to the town!”
You can read the full letter from Santander below.
Dear Mr Percy,
I’m writing to let you know that Santander has taken the difficult decision to close our branch at 31 Boothferry Road, Goole, East Yorkshire, DN14 5DE on 13 June 2019. This follows extensive consideration and a comprehensive internal review.
I realise this will be disappointing to some of your constituents, which is why I wanted to explain our decision in detail.
As you will appreciate, we constantly review our branch network to take into account changes in how customers are choosing to conduct their banking and the need to operate an efficient and cost effective branch network. Having reviewed in detail the usage of this branch, we have found 84% of our customers who use this branch, either at the counter or the cash machines, are also using additional ways to complete their banking – 24% at another Santander branch and 50% through Online, Mobile or Telephone Banking. Therefore we have taken the difficult decision to close the branch.
It is clear with the growth of digital banking that the branch network of the future will inevitably look and feel different to today’s, with more of a focus on larger community branches alongside smaller ‘digital branches’ that use the latest technology to provide access to banking services.
We are writing to all branch customers today to let them know of the closure. This includes customers who have transacted at the branch in the last 12 months and any other customers who live in the local area. The branch team will be talking to all customers visiting the branch to explain the alternative options, providing help and guidance where needed, for example with setting up and using our online or mobile banking services. The branch team will also be proactively contacting known vulnerable customers to ensure that they are properly supported and advised on how to continue to bank locally. An impact assessment explaining our decision, alternative ways to bank with us and details of the local branch manager is attached, and can be found on our website (www.santander.co.uk/uk/ourbranches) and in branch for customers.
As well as using any of our branches, customers can bank with us through Online, Mobile or Telephone Banking. For those customers not currently using these services, we can help set this up for them, giving them flexibility in how and when they manage their money. Customers using Online Banking can also set up free alerts about their account balances, deposits and payments. In addition, all Santander current account holders can do their everyday banking at their local Post Office; pay in cash and cheques, withdraw money from their account and check their account balance. The local Post Office is located nearby at Hedley Court, 80 Boothferry Road, Goole, East Yorkshire, DN14 6AA.
This decision will also unfortunately impact a number of our colleagues. We will be working with them to explore redeployment opportunities within Santander or further employment outside of the bank. This will include access to training support as well as making time available for colleagues to attend job interviews. We appreciate the loyalty and pride that our people have in working for Santander and the chance to help customers every day and we take our obligations to them very seriously.
The decision to close this branch has been one that has not been taken lightly and we understand it will be a difficult one for a number of our customers, however, we are committed to providing them and our staff with whatever assistance they need in the coming weeks and months.
