Retirees who invested their life savings in post office schemes, working professionals who trusted the government-backed institution, and agents who built careers helping customers navigate its corridors, are now caught in an administrative tangle that nobody seems able to quickly resolve.At the heart of the problem is a structural change: the Chinchwad East Sub Post Office was upgraded to a full Head Office (HO) in February. It now oversees 30 post offices across Pimpri-Chinchwad. The move was intended to decentralise operations and speed up services such as death claim settlements and others. But one critical step has been delayed: the new Head Office does not yet have its own government bank account.How it used to workUntil recently, all post offices in Pimpri-Chinchwad fell under the Pune Head Office. When a customer’s investment matured – be it a Public Provident Fund (PPF), Monthly Income Scheme (MIS), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS), or Recurring Deposit (RD) – the maturity amount would be automatically credited to their chosen bank account, say SBI or HDFC or any of their choice, through an Electronic Clearing Service (ECS).The customer simply had to fill out an ECS form and attach a cancelled cheque of their preferred bank. Payments and cheque issuances were all handled by the Pune HO. If an ECS transfer failed for any reason, Pune HO would issue a maturity cheque to the customer, who could then deposit it in their bank.What went wrongWith Chinchwad HO now in charge, all cheque book issuances and maturity payments for the area fall under its jurisdiction. But since the HO does not yet have its own government account, the process with the State Bank of India’s Kasarwadi branch is still underway, and ECS transfers are failing across the board. And unlike Pune HO, Chinchwad HO is not able to issue maturity cheques either.The result is that customers’ maturity payments have been pending for over 45 days. “Earlier, after maturity, we just filled an ECS form and attached a cancelled cheque of the receiving bank and the payment used to be completed by Pune HO,” said a postal agent. “But now the Chinchwad HO is not able to give maturity cheques, so the payments are just stuck.”Alternatives are not workingPost officials have urged customers to open a Post Office Savings Account, so payments can be credited internally. But many customers, particularly senior citizens, are reluctant.Story continues below this ad“Post officials are asking to open a new post account, which many customers don’t wish to do as they cannot manage multiple accounts, being senior citizens,” said an agent. “And for those who have opened accounts, there is no new cheque book issuance for over a month now.”New account holders face further delays. KYC forms are physically sent to a Mumbai office for scanning and processing, a procedure that is taking two to three weeks. Until KYC details like signature and photograph reflect on the system, a chequebook cannot be issued, and without a chequebook, payments cannot go through.Net banking has been suggested as another workaround. But a large share of post office customers are elderly and not comfortable with digital systems. Some senior citizens, agents say, also worry and are insecure that digital access could allow family members to withdraw funds without their knowledge.Withdrawing cash directly from the post office is also being encouraged, but it comes with its own problems. “Many post offices face a cash crunch, and customers looking to withdraw large amounts, say Rs 10 lakh, are being asked to return daily to withdraw Rs 2 lakh at a time. How can working professionals or even senior citizens visit post offices over a week daily?” said an agent.Long queues, no systems, no reliefStory continues below this adThe payments crisis is compounding existing infrastructure gaps. Post offices across Pimpri-Chinchwad, including those in Chinchwad Gaon, Pimpri, Bhosari, Pradhikaran, Phule Nagar, and Tathawade, have limited service counters, no token system, and no self-service passbook printing machines.“The Post gets crores of rupees of business every year, yet there is not a single machine for self-printing of passbooks like in banks,” said a customer. “For even updating a passbook entry, one has to stand for hours in the queue. Senior citizens are forced to remain standing, and when someone sits to rest and takes their place upon their turn, there are frequent quarrels.”Agents say new passbooks for investments made over the past month have not yet been received, shaking customer confidence. “How would anyone trust us and invest in Indian Post?” one agent said.What officials sayPost officials at Chinchwad HO maintain that the transition is a positive long-term step. “The Chinchwad East Sub Office has been converted into Chinchwad Head Office to decentralise and cater well to increasing business in Pimpri-Chinchwad, and for swift services,” a post office official explained.Story continues below this adOn their government account opening, they said, “The process with SBI’s Kasarwadi branch involves integration between SBI, the Director of Accounts (Postal) in Nagpur, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The proposal is under consideration at DAP Nagpur, and SBI is in the process of mapping post offices under the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) of Chinchwad HO.”Officials expect the process to be completed in about eight days. “Following this, we can issue new chequebooks with new MICR codes to savings account holders, and payments would be streamlined,” an official said. For urgent cases in the interim, they added, they have coordinated with Pune HO to issue some maturity cheques where ECS has failed.Customers and agents say the disruption could have been avoided with better planning. “The Indian Post would have better planned, opened their account for the new Head Office in advance and then started operating,” said a customer. “But now there is complete chaos, causing major inconvenience to all, particularly senior citizens.”