THOUSANDS of Lloyds TSB customers will find themselves forcibly transferred to a new bank next month.
Overnight on September 9, 631 Lloyds TSB branches will be closed down and reopen as TSB – a new bank.
The Tadworth branch is among those which will morph into a TSB bank, taking all its customers with it.
But long-term Lloyds customers are furious that they are being given no say in the change.
Phyl Cambridge has banked with Lloyds for more than two decades, but has been told she will have to open a new account to stay with the bank.
"We got this letter just saying we were being moved over to TSB," the Mogador resident said.
"It's because our account is with the Tadworth branch, but I do all my banking at the Redhill bank, which isn't changing.
"Apparently if we stay with TSB we get to keep all the benefits we have built up, but we would lose it all if we stayed with Lloyds.
"I don't want to change; I like the bank I go to in Redhill, we've been going there for years."
The change follows Lloyds' takeover of the struggling HBOS brand in 2008.
At the time, Lloyds was allowed to take over HBOS to save the bank from financial problems, but were warned some of its branches would eventually have to be sold to comply with EU competition rules.
The new TSB brand, made up of 468 Lloyds TSB banks and all the Cheltenham & Gloucester branches, will be the eighth biggest bank in the country.
Julia Chapman, of Lloyds, said customers will be able to use both banks initially.
She said: "We're helping to create a new bank in the UK, bringing more competition and choice to the high street."
But she admitted customers wanting to stay with Lloyds would have to close their current account and open a new one with Lloyds after the changeover.
"We can confirm that TSB's proposition will be different from Lloyds TSB's," she said. "However, we are unable to reveal any details until we launch."
For more details, visit ww.lloydstsbtransfer.com/search
