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Milk & More, Britain’s largest traditional milk delivery company, has come under fire after announcing plans to go online only, leaving older people and vulnerable customers at risk of being disconnected from their service. .
The company, which has more than 1,000 delivery employees in the UK and serves more than half a million households in England, told customers they must create an online account for deliveries to continue after April 24.
The change affects people who use its call center or pay by bank transfer.
Milk & More said the move was crucial to “securing the future of Britain’s home delivery service”, which had been declining for some four decades until recently.
He added that the online switch would also protect the jobs of hundreds of colleagues and vendors and save administration costs.
However, the company, which is owned by German dairy company Muller, faced backlash on social media for the move, particularly as its service has been vital to elderly and vulnerable shoppers during the pandemic.
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“I see from a letter received today that you no longer want to serve older people who do not use the Internet,” wrote Michael Yarrow on the Milk & More Facebook page. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Fellow Liberal Democrat Kate Parminter, whose parents use the service, said: “This is being done during a pandemic when the elderly and vulnerable depend on their milk and bread being delivered.
“Deliveries will stop on April 24, which is still within the lockdown period. Frankly, I was upset that a company couldn’t develop a little more social responsibility. “
Milk & More has so far registered about 175,000 new customers online in the past two years amid coronavirus lockdowns and concerns about plastic waste.
About 80% of the company’s business is already online and its delivery distributes 90% of its pints in reusable glass bottles.
The company said the UK’s COVID-19 vaccine launch schedule and loosening of lockdown restrictions mean now is the “right time” to transition.
He added that if a customer cannot get an account online, he will help them as much as possible to find an alternative provider.
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