A councillor has claimed the Post Office failed to inform customers regarding a temporary closure of their main facility in Perth.
The High Street WH Smith shop, which also houses Perth’s main Post Office, re-opened its ground floor on Tuesday after being closed due to a burst water tank since last Thursday.
Scores of frustrated Post Office customers have hit out at a lack of information on the closure, with only a small notice stuck on the window of the shop notifying residents of alternative places to post their mail in Perth.
Despite being contacted several times by The Courier on Tuesday, WH Smith failed to officially confirm the Perth branch had re-opened.
However, its ground floor was indeed open for business, albeit without a carpet, while the first floor remained closed due to damage caused by the burst water tank.
Councillor Peter Barrett, one of the representatives for the Perth City Centre ward, described communications from the Post Office as “completely unsatisfactory.”
“The advice to customers to try the Craigie or Muirton Post Offices neglects to inform customers of the much more limited range of services available at these locations – particularly at Craigie,” he said.
“And the Muirton Post Office on Dunkeld Road is a mile and half away.”
“The Post Office should have had a business continuity plan in place for delivering full range of services from Perth’s main Post Office and their response to date has been wholly inadequate.”
Councillor Barrett said he feels the temporary closure of the shop will have had a “significant impact” on local businesses.
“These are businesses that rely on Parcel Force, Express Parcels and Drop and Go deliveries or bulk purchases of stamps who will have had to travel to Scone,” he added.
“If people wanted passport services then they would have had to go to Scone for that too.”
The Liberal Democrat councillor stated he has written to Post Office headquarters requesting an urgent statement on their business continuity plan for Perth city centre.
A Post Office spokesperson commented: “We are delighted that Perth Post Office re-opened on November 1 following its sudden closure on November 26.
“We apologise to our customers for the obvious inconvenience caused during this short time.”
