KEETCH APPALLED BY COMPUTER FAILURE AT POST OFFICE

4.20.28pm GMT Thu 18th Aug 2005

Paul Keetch, MP for Hereford has acted upon calls from many elderly constituents in Putson, Hereford who have been unable to collect pensions and benefit entitlements due to a computer failure at their local post office.

The post office on Holme Lacy Road was without a computer system for over two weeks and with no back-up system in place a number of elderly and disabled residents were advised to travel over a mile to the central post office in Hereford to collect their entitlements.

Commenting, Mr Keetch said:

"I am appalled by this fiasco. The fact that the system had been down for over two weeks is bad enough, but to have no back-up paper systems in place is shocking! Elderly constituents have been forced to travel into the city. This is very difficult for many of them, particularly those who are disabled as it is some distance away entailing use of public transport and consequent extra costs to them.

"To add to the insult the Post Office tells me they were only entitled to a paltry £20 per person emergency payment and in many cases they were not even offered that! I can't believe they can justify this amount - how on earth can an elderly couple survive on £40 a week? This is just not possible, but more to the point disgraceful to expect that this would be acceptable.

"We have been receiving daily phone calls from distraught pensioners who are unable to collect their pensions and in one case having to pay for a taxi to get them to another post office!

"I have written to the post office to voice my concerns and they wrote back apologising for the inconvenience caused, but this is just not good enough, they should have had a back-up system in operation to enable pensions to be paid in the first place", "This could happen again, I will be pressing Ministers to change the system to make sure it doesn't," the MP added.

ENDS