Edward Davey

Liberal Democrats | Kingston and Surbiton

MP takes action to protect pensioners at the Post Office

Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton, has added his support to a Parliamentary motion fighting to protect users of the Post Office Card Account.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has decided to withdraw support for the Account when the existing contract expires in 2010. The DWP is also working to preempt this by moves designed to disadvantage existing Account customers.

Edward Davey commented,

“The Post Office Card Account system is used by over four million people every week to draw their pensions and benefits. Many of them are frail and elderly, and being forced to switch to new technology and new systems could be a major problem for them.

“When the Government was acting to scrap pension books, I warned that the bureaucracy of applying for a Post Office Card Account would be too much for some people. I know from the overwhelming response I received from people across the Borough that this was a serious concern for many.

“Now the Government want to make people jump through even more hoops to get the money they are entitled to.

“This move threatens the consumer and the Post Office network and will cost subpostmasters and their customers dear. I will be writing to the Minister to take this up with him.”

Notes to editors

The full text of the Motion runs as follows:
That this House is gravely concerned by the Department of Work and Pensions' (DWP) decision to withdraw support for the Post Office Card Account when the existing contract expires in 2010 and in particular by the Department's attempt to kill off the Account in advance of 2010, through pilot schemes being introduced immediately when it will deny to new benefit claimants the option of opening a Post Office Card Account, inform 35,000 existing customers that they will have to use a bank or building society instead of the Post Office Card Account and require them to provide their account details, and pay benefits of 2,500 existing customers into a bank account rather than the Post Office Card Account, ignoring the preferences they made when their benefit books were stopped; condemns the fact that, in breach of all plans, these pilot schemes are being introduced without consultation; and calls on the Government to halt these pilot schemes immediately and to institute an immediate review of the DWP's proposal to abolish the Post Office Card Account by 2010.