Under-investigation Mintlaw Post Office temporarily open

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A BUCHAN post office has re-opened on a temporary basis after suspiciously being closed last week.

Mintlaw’s busy outlet, which is managed by Linda Finnie, was suspended without warning following a financial audit on October 27.

Since then, an internal investigation has been ongoing into apparent discrepancies uncovered during the accounts review.

Customers who went along to the post office to make use of the services were greeted with a sign which read, “Closed until further notice”.

They were redirected to the nearest services at Longside, Maud and Peterhead.

A Post Office Ltd spokeswoman said: “Following a recent financial audit, Mintlaw Post Office branch has been temporarily closed.

“Post Office Ltd is pleased to announce that the branch has reopened to provide a temporary service, which began on November 3.

“This temporary service will be on a reduced hours basis in the first instance with the branch opening on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and from 9am until 1pm each of those days.

“We intend to return to normal service as soon as possible and apologise to customers for the inconvenience they have suffered over this period.”

Banff and Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford was pleased to hear from Post Office bosses that a temporary service will be provided to customers in Mintlaw.

Speaking after her discussions with Royal Mail, Dr Whiteford said: “I welcome the steps taken by Royal Mail to minimise disruption to customers while their investigations continue, and hope the temporary arrangements will help mitigate the inconvenience to members of the community.

“Mintlaw is an important crossroads in the Buchan area and I hope a full, normal service will be restored as soon as possible.”