New charges on the bank accounts of community groups will see them losing free banking services. This came just days after closing the last bank branch in the town including two cash machines.
From January 14th, Bank of Scotland’s ‘Treasurer’s Account’ – which offered free daily banking to community groups – was stopped and moved to a paid-for current account leaving community groups with an added expense.
Larkhall Plan Partnership Chair, Nancy Barr, said: “I can’t think of any other reason for this change other than greed. This is a huge roadblock for people who want to start a group to contribute to and improve their community. Often they are usually starting from scratch and fees like this will take all or most of their funds.
“Folk in Larkhall are still reeling from the loss of our last bank branch and two cash machines, and now this added burden for folk trying to come together and contribute to their communities.
“This means a group such as Larkhall Community Council, which receives only a small amount of annual funding, will lose almost all of its cash due to these charges. Needless to say, local community groups and customers are looking for new companies to bank with.”