Pelham man unhappy at bank's decision to close side entrance
BY JOHN CHICK Special to the VOICE
The robbery of a Fonthill bank last year appears to have ultimately cost a Pelham senior some freedom of mobility. Frank Piper says the TD Canada Trust branch on Pelham Street has decided to permanently close its back entrance, as a security measure, in the wake of the March 8, 2018 heist, in which two reportedly armed men held up bank staff for cash.
“They’re going to make it an exit only, and that’s all there is to it,” Piper, 79, told the Voice last week.
Piper says that’s a problem because his disability makes the door along Pelham Town Square—where the arches formerly stood and closer to the back parking lot— easier to use.
“I’m about as handicapped as it can get. I use either canes or a walker,” said Piper, who has had two back operations and requires a knee replacement.
“Trying to get my walker all the way up to the front door … there’s never parking on [Pelham Street].”
The side door is up four steps from the parking lot. Still, Piper says using those stairs is more accessible for him than the slope of Pelham Town Square.
“When I complained, they said, ‘Well, it’s hard for you to get up the stairs.’ Well it’s a lot harder to walk all the way up the grade. I mean, for somebody that’s able, it’s not much of a grade, but you try pushing a walker from the parking lot to the front door.”
The branch referred the Voice to the banking giant’s PR division, which said they are trying to find a solution.
“TD takes customer accessibility very seriously,” Bianca Mondino, TD’s Manager of Corporate and Public Affairs said via email. “We are working with our customer directly to identify a solution.”
Piper, however, has heard nothing from TD as of this writing.
“I’ve called the customer number in Toronto, but I haven’t got any word about it,” he said. “They said, ‘We’ll send you a package, you can complain to the ombudsman.’”
He added he’s disappointed with the bank he’s been using since 1994.
“They’re supposed to be making it easier for seniors to get around, but unless I do all my banking at Meridian, I’m s—t out of luck.”
