High Street providers of personal and business bank accounts are still not doing enough to provide their customers with better service according to one new survey.
Moneywise magazine recently polled its readers to rate the trustworthiness of financial service providers in the UK in regards to their offerings ranging from credit cards to life insurance and current accounts. The survey garnered in excess of 12,000 responses – and the verdict seems to be in regarding the High Street – it stinks.
The survey found that out of the top six most trusted current account providers, only one High Street institution was named. First Direct, the direct banking offshoot of HSBC, was ranked highly, along with Nationwide Building Society, National Australia Bank-owned Yorkshire and Clydesdale, and both Co-operative and Smile, Co-op’s internet banking division.
Johanna Gornitzki, editor of Moneywise, stated that the magazine’s survey highlighted once again that UK consumers have lost faith in High Street’s banking giants. Instead there seems to be much more activity in regards to consumers using traditional building societies, supermarket-branded banks, and internet banks – where customer service seems to be the main focus.
Both the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Authority recently published complaints figures that reinforce the assertion that the High Street is still lacking in service to customers. The data clearly states that out of the entire financial services industry, the banking giants have abysmal customer service scores.
These criticisms has prompted some High Street banks to attempt to rehabilitate their image. One such bank – Santander – has stated that they have made a commitment to instituting improvements to their levels of customer service.
Ana Patricia Botin, chief executive of the Spain-based bank, stated that she has become determined to make the bank better as well as bigger.