COIMBATORE: Consumers complain that India Post is delaying the issue of ATM cards for the last four months. Senior citizens said they have to wait in a long queue at the counters in the post office to withdraw their pension.
K Kavitha (name changed), who retired from the postal department said, “I submitted a request for a new ATM card after my old one expired in November 2022 in the sub-post office in Marudhamalai Road, but am yet to receive the card. Because of this, I have to go to the sub-post office situated 2.5 km away from my home and have to climb the stairs to the first floor to withdraw money, which is very difficult.”
Another pensioner, K Selvan said, “I submitted a request for a new ATM card last November, but it is still pending. The same issue persists in many places.” A young consumer S Sarveshkumar from Kavundampalayam said, “When I put it in a request for an ATM card, the staff said it will take some time to receive the card.
So, I switched to a nationalised bank instead of a post office savings account for my transactions.” He opined that the postal department, which has the largest network, should upgrade its services like banks.
When contacted, a top officer from India Post, Coimbatore told TNIE, “We don’t know the reason for the delay. This issue is not only in sub-post offices, but also in head post offices as well. The cards will come from Bengaluru and will be issued soon.”