A thousand village stores are facing closure as a result of draconian rules that will ban them from offering rival postal services after their post office sections are shut, the Daily Telegraph reports today.
It said there was mounting concern among from retailers after Post Office bosses said they would only pay full compensation to shop owners affected by closures if they agreed not to offer any competing services for a year.
Shop owners will be prevented from selling lottery tickets, offering bill payment services for utilities, council tax and other charges through private operators and providing private mail, courier or foreign currency services.
Sub postmasters whose branch is axed face losing compensation payments if they provide utility services or lottery. The average payment to post offices is £60,000.
Ken Parsons, chief executive of the Rural Shops Alliance said many village shops relied on business generated by customers coming into their premise to pay bills a the Post Office counter.
