Business banking news review: week ending 7 Nov 2013
Well it’s official – the nation’s personal and business bank account providers are letting the side down when it comes to current account switching.
Banks and building societies are supposed to court new customers by providing attractive deals for their products like current accounts, as the Government has been ‘strongly suggesting’ competition amongst High Street lenders be increased. However, a spate of news stories this week have revealed how lenders are bollixing this up in a major way.
The latest bank to experience a major cock-up is The Co-operative, and to its credit at least it’s come right out and admitted the fact it’s bloody useless when it comes to attracting new current account customers. Co-op executives have reported a significant drop in new customers transitioning to them from a rival bank, even in the face of the new Government guidelines of having current account switches be handled in seven days or less.
Meanwhile it’s not just the Co-op that’s running into problems with this whole switching business. A new independent research study found that more than one bank is lagging behind in implementing the new guidelines. Reports have been emerging from all quarters that while many customers are switching without a problem, there’s a significant percentage that are encountering problems with things like mysteriously disappearing direct debits and standing orders despite assurances by banks and building societies that nothing of the sort would happen.
Honestly I can’t say I’m surprised by the fact that there are serious hiccoughs in this new switching initiative. I’m not saying that banks should be given more time than a single week to get everything straightened out, but for what it’s worth UK banking institutions are so bloody inept that I’m surprised any of them can find their proverbial arse with both hands.
I mean this is the same industry that, despite the spate of bank failures that required major taxpayer bailouts, kept on paying its executives massive sums in annual bonuses. Apparently it’s fine to take millions in bonuses even though the Government just spent a few billion on your bank to keep it from shuttering – especially when your bank is failing because of the mismanagement of these same damned executives. This kind of rampant stupidity and egotism makes me think that we’re lucky if any of these new seven-day transfers went through successfully at all!