Dornoch Bowling Club treasurer slams Bank of Scotland as 'ruthless regime' after withdrawal of free banking services
The Bank of Scotland (BOS) has come under fire for withdrawing free banking services from non-profit community groups in Sutherland and beyond.
Managers of Dornoch Bowling Club have branded the bank a “ruthless regime” after being told the club could no longer have the free bank account it has had for years and would have to switch to a fee-paying account.
The shock move comes just months after it was announced that the bank would close its last branch in Sutherland in February, leaving the county without a bank.
Bowling club treasurer George McCulloch said: “With this change the Bank of Scotland is showing itself to be a ruthless regime that does not care about communities, especially rural communities.
“A change like this could have an impact on all types of community groups that struggle to function year on year.”
The bowling club has asked Sutherland MP Jamie Stone and MSP Maree Todd to raise the issue politically and has also made a complaint to the Banking Ombudsman.
Mr McCulloch said: “In October this year, BOS wrote to infor us, and probably every other community group, club, and society in the county, that they were moving us from the Treasurer’s Account, which we have had for many years, to a new product called the Community Account.
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“BOS has advised that only registered charities now have access to the Treasurer’s Account.”
There is a monthly £4.50 bank fee for the Community Account, which will double in 2026. The first 100 electronic payments in a year are free, after which customers pay a charge thereafter. There are also charges for other types of transactions.
The bowling club told BOS that it met the criteria listed on its website for the Treasurer’s Account, but the complaint was not upheld and the club was told to accept the changes or close the account and leave.
Mr McCulloch continued: “In the bigger picture, BOS has been ruthless in their management of banking in Sutherland. In April this year they stopped the mobile banking service, which hit Sutherland rural communities hard.
“Since then they have indicated that they plan to close the Golspie branch in 2025, which will mean that Sutherland will have no banking service at all, a rather shocking state of affairs for our rural communities.”
MP Jamie Stone has called for the establishment of banking hubs in Sutherland - a shared space that provides cash and banking services to communities, often in areas where a bank branch has closed.
He said: “The simple truth is that the Bank of Scotland Group made a profit of £427 million before tax in the first half of this year. So they’re not exactly cash strapped.
“Something like the bowling club is really important to a community like Dornoch and has a lot of local support. That’s why I take a dim view of a money manager changing the type of account the club has at the stroke of a pen.
“I still believe that banks have a social responsibility to communities in Scotland and I very much hope the Bank of Scotland will remember its duties and reconsider.”
MSP Maree Todd said: “It is deeply disappointing that the Bank of Scotland has taken the decision to impose fees on organisations with already limited resources and to place the financial burden on groups that provide vital social, recreational, and cultural opportunities within communities.
“I have raised these issues with the Bank of Scotland. I believe it is imperative that the bank listens to its customers and works constructively to find sustainable solutions, particularly as it has already closed multiple branches in my constituency.
“I urge the Bank of Scotland to reconsider this decision and reflect on the significant impact this change will have on community organisations, which are the backbone of rural communities.”
A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group, which owns the Bank of Scotland, said: “We are proud to support over one million business customers and are the leading provider of clubs and societies in the UK. We have been getting in touch with customers to let them know that we are making some changes to our club and society accounts from December.”
