BROWN CASH VOW LEAVES PENSIONERS PENNILESS

The millions of pensioners who will have to wait until Monday will be left with just a few hours to do last-minute Christmas shopping.

Those who collect their money from a post office rather than have it paid into bank accounts will find that virtually all branches will close at 12.30pm on Monday.

Tens of thousands of other benefit claimants, including those on disability allowance, have also had their payments brought forward to Monday.

A Help the Aged spokesman estimated that around three million claimants will be queueing up on Monday morning for money to see them through the week. But a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions insisted that the system would be able to cope.

He said: “Every pensioner will receive their payment before Christmas and three-quarters of pensions due during the Christmas week will be available on December 21.

“Pension credit customers have had their money advanced to Christmas Eve, and the post office has assured us that they will be able to serve all our customers on these days.” But postmasters were reporting chaos up and down the country last night.

Stephen Barnes, who runs a branch near Kendal in Cumbria, said he had been forced to turn away dozens of disappointed pensioners.

“We’ve had about 30 or 40 in who’ve believed the Prime Minister when he said their pensions will be paid on Friday.

“A lot of elderly people don’t know if they’re on pensions, pension credit or whatever. But what Mr Brown said wasn’t clear anyway.

“It’s a mess. I feel sorry for them, but we’ll be closing at 12.30pm on Monday whatever happens.”

Meanwhile, a problem with at least one of the leading high street banks prevented other pensioners getting any money at all yesterday. Worst hit were pensioners who use the post office card account to take cash direct from local branches.