Pensioners fuming after post office fails to deliver

9:47am Thursday 17th January 2002

FRUSTRATED pensioners are having to travel miles to collect their pensions claiming they never know when their sub-post office will be open.

Residents and councillors claim the sub-post office in Aylesbury End, Beaconsfield, was closed for a long period over Christmas and failed to tell customers when it would be open.

Eileen Biestro MBE, 75, who helps the Beaconsfield Old People's Welfare Age Concern organisation, said this was distressing for numerous old people in the town who live "week by week" on their relied on their pension and live 'week by week'.

She added: "It's terrible because a lot of old people can't get down to the New Town and they are only allowed to have two weeks of pension at one time. There are lots of old people who depend on their money weekly.

"People assume that because we live in Beaconsfield everyone is rich but that is not the case. This post office is very important for the community.

The pensioners' cause has been taken up by town councillor Ann Main (Con, South Ward) who described the service at the sub-post office in the Old Town as "shambolic". She added: "There have been a huge number of complaints regarding this post office. It has been closed intermittently since Christmas.

"When you think of the number of businesses as well that use this as a banking facility then this is a very serious problem."

Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve has written to one of Consignia's customer care managers stating his concerns for pensioners and people who were unable to get their benefits.

He added that he was concerned at how difficult it was for customers to get information as to what was happening at the store.

A Consignia spokesman said they apologise for the problems but the office's computer, recording all transactions, had crashed and fixing it took longer than first thought.