Public back campaign to save Post Office Card Account

1.37.05pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 14th Aug 2008

Chelmsford residents have been contacting local Liberal Democrats to register their concerns over the future of the Post Office Card Account (POCA). The current contract runs out in 2010 and the Government will soon choose a successor, prompting fears that the Post Office will not be awarded the new contract.

POCA earns the Post Office £200 million a year and many feel that without that income thousands of branches are unlikely to survive.

Said Stephen Robinson (Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Chelmsford), "I and my Lib Dem colleagues believe the Government's priority should be protecting the long term viability of the Post Office and avoiding yet more closures, but their track record does not give much cause for hope. In recent years, TV licence payments have gone, post offices have not been allowed to extend their involvement in delivering passport services and people are being encouraged to use channels other than the post office for renewing a driving licence.

"Only the Post Office has the network to allow people from all over the country to access a card account of this kind, and currently 4.3 million people across the country do just that. Removing their custom would be a further blow to what remains of the Post Office Network."