Survey embarrasses top banks
by Kay Murchie
The consumer group, Which?, has issued its best buy survey of bank accounts and top banks such as Lloyds TSB, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC were not featured.
Consumers borrowing or saving with the aforementioned banks are receiving poor value interest rates, along with customer service that is below the standard of smaller rivals, according to Which?.
In addition, Which?, established that Internet and telephone banks provided a better service for their customers and offered better interest rates. The Co-op owned Internet bank, Smile, came top in the customer satisfaction stakes, with First Direct, Intelligent Finance and Cahoot also named as good performers. Alliance & Leicester’s Premier Direct and Nationwide’s Flex Account were also rated highly.
Lloyds TSB, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC were criticised for their poor 0.1% rate of interest on the majority of their current accounts and were only given a 2-star rating in terms of customer service.
Of the 4,600 consumers surveyed, 61% still bank with the top 4 banks and Which? suggests that many have concerns about the problems when switching bank accounts. However, 72% of respondents who had switched found the process straightforward.
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I wonder if CFS group will take this into consideration following their recent decision to cut jobs.
Comment by Selina — August 20, 2007 @ 9:43 am