‘It’s a betrayal,’ say Brits over plans to close vital banking service that will hit thousands

THOUSANDS of customers are set to be hit by a major change and said ‘it’s betrayal’ as Lloyds Bank strips away a crucial service.

Loyal members of the banking group were devastated after learning a helpful scheme is set to be slashed in May this year.

With a string of high street branch closures, Lloyds had introduced mobile vans that provided services for those in rural areas.

Customers could withdraw and deposit money, as well as have one-to-one chats with bank employees.

The praised vans were welcomed in 170 communities and helped 6,500 struggling people across the UK.

Natwest and Barclays hail similar fleets of mobile banking vans for fortnightly services across England and Wales.

Now, Lloyds Bank has confirmed they will be scrapping the service in May – and informed customers they should switch over to online banking.

Concerned client Richard Moore, 77, told the MailOnline he was “speechless” to hear the news.

“When the bank was shut down in the town, Lloyds said it will be fine because of this mobile van,” he explained.

The pensioner branded the move “scandalous” and a “real slap in the face” to those who can’t access the internet.

“It is betrayal by Lloyds Bank who said they would not desert us – but they have,” he added.

Meanwhile, head of policy at the charity Age UK Christopher Brooks, claimed the decision could isolate older community members even more.

And, Richard Foord, a Lib Dem MP in Devon, slammed the bank, calling it “disgraceful” for disadvantaging the more vulnerable sectors of society.

Liberal Democrat councillor Brian Larcombe agreed the news was “disappointing” and there are customers who “rely” on the service.

To compensate for the removal of mobile vans, Lloyds Bank claimed it will provide ‘community bankers’ to 39 areas.

A spokesman for Lloyds Bank said: “Customers have used our mobile branches much less over time and some locations now have as little as two customers using the service.

“We will be introducing more community bankers, alongside the other options customers already have for their banking including the Post Office, online, our mobile apps, phone banking, video services and web chat.”

It comes as a total of 189 bank branches are set to close their doors next year.

Barclays is shutting 34 branches while Lloyds is closing 60 and the Bank of Scotland (BoS) will be shuttering 16, according to LINK which keeps track of any planned branch closures across the UK.

Meanwhile, 47 Halifax branches will close and NatWest will shut 21.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ulster Bank will also be closing up shop in one and 10 locations respectively.

The high streets are being hit with closures due to an increase in online banking to manage finances – while banks and building societies look for ways to cut costs.

The Sun contacted Lloyds Banking Group for comment.