Another Stourbridge bank is closing down. Are you OK with that?
Late in 2022, NatWest Bank quietly let slip that its Stourbridge branch will close in February because of what it claims is declining demand for over-the-counter services and that local people want to carry out their banking online.
38 Degrees members in the town went out to find out how their customers actually felt.
In under two hours talking to visitors and passers-by outside the branch, we got the message. Surprise, disappointment, anger and actual worry among people who don’t know what to do next. But NatWest insist that they have only had one complaint.
With its closure, thousands of local bank customers will be deprived of face-to-face relationships with a local manager. And many of them don’t do online banking at all and may not even use the internet.
So we’re taking action by releasing our findings to local media and other news platforms and challenging NatWest itself to actually listen to its customers. There is a petition you can sign here* but this is just the start. NatWest isn’t the only High Street bank planning to abandon their branches.
We hope that local people will add their voices to resist the shutting down of our High Street. You can take part without even leaving home by joining us on Twitter, Facebook and other channels that we’re setting up.
Because is not just about banks.The truth is that in the interim local people have became even more powerless to speak out about what they think is wrong. Many have lost faith in the traditional avenues for having a say - members of parliament, political parties and ‘surveys’, often conducted by faceless corporations and other vested interests.
Please - if you are worried or concerned about the future of democracy and the quality of life for all Stourbridge’s people then we can all start to do something about it.
If you would like to be part of the resistance then let us know if you would take part in an online discussion to help shape it. Just reply to this ‘event’ post. And tell us what is bothering you personally about the way community life is going, for yourself or others you know.
If you’re interested, please raise your hand by responding to this post or join us on Twitter @38DegreesStourbr or on Facebook at 38 Degrees Stourbridge where you should find news of how we caught NatWest fiddling the figures on support for their branch closure.
You can also email us in confidence at [email protected]
*The online petition is here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/my-natwest-bank-branch-in-stourbridge-is-closing-8th-february
38 Degrees members in the town went out to find out how their customers actually felt.
In under two hours talking to visitors and passers-by outside the branch, we got the message. Surprise, disappointment, anger and actual worry among people who don’t know what to do next. But NatWest insist that they have only had one complaint.
With its closure, thousands of local bank customers will be deprived of face-to-face relationships with a local manager. And many of them don’t do online banking at all and may not even use the internet.
So we’re taking action by releasing our findings to local media and other news platforms and challenging NatWest itself to actually listen to its customers. There is a petition you can sign here* but this is just the start. NatWest isn’t the only High Street bank planning to abandon their branches.
We hope that local people will add their voices to resist the shutting down of our High Street. You can take part without even leaving home by joining us on Twitter, Facebook and other channels that we’re setting up.
Because is not just about banks.The truth is that in the interim local people have became even more powerless to speak out about what they think is wrong. Many have lost faith in the traditional avenues for having a say - members of parliament, political parties and ‘surveys’, often conducted by faceless corporations and other vested interests.
Please - if you are worried or concerned about the future of democracy and the quality of life for all Stourbridge’s people then we can all start to do something about it.
If you would like to be part of the resistance then let us know if you would take part in an online discussion to help shape it. Just reply to this ‘event’ post. And tell us what is bothering you personally about the way community life is going, for yourself or others you know.
If you’re interested, please raise your hand by responding to this post or join us on Twitter @38DegreesStourbr or on Facebook at 38 Degrees Stourbridge where you should find news of how we caught NatWest fiddling the figures on support for their branch closure.
You can also email us in confidence at [email protected]
*The online petition is here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/my-natwest-bank-branch-in-stourbridge-is-closing-8th-february
Starts on
Wednesday, 1 February 2023 at 11:00 AM GMT
