Thursday May 15, 11:28 AM
Are You Happy With Your Bank?
By Jane Baker
Does your bank really get your goat? A new survey from The Fool reveals more than one in five bank customers are unhappy with their current account and plan to switch to a new bank in the future.
No great surprises there. The survey also reveals
a massive grey area, with more than 40% of bank customers undecided whether they will switch or not.
And it seems you are not afraid to vote with your feet either -- 57% of you have already dumped an old bank in the past. So banks beware!
But why are you unhappy with your bank?
There are two clear reasons which crop up time and time again: Firstly, you won't stand for poor standards of customer service. Secondly, you flatly refuse to put up with paltry rates of interest on your balance when you're in credit.
This could see current accounts such as the Alliance & Leicester Premier Direct win a growing number of new customers, with an enticing 8.5% interest rate payable on your cash.*
Interestingly, it appears you are less concerned by high interest rates charged on authorised and unauthorised overdrafts. Just a handful of you - 1% and 4% respectively - cite these as reasons for switching. The Big Five So let's take a look at how the Big 5 banks fared in the Fool's survey.
First of all we asked: Are you happy with your current account?
Bank Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) HBOS (LSE: HBOS.L - news) HSBC Lloyds TSB Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: 91ID.L - news) ** Yes 43% 58% 45% 55% 44% No 29% 22% 30% 26% 32% Undecided 28% 20% 25% 19% 24% Then we asked: Will you be switching your current account in the future?
Bank Barclays HBOS HSBC Lloyds TSB Royal Bank of Scotland** Yes 27% 25% 28% 24% 24% No 30% 22% 31% 34% 31% Maybe 43% 53% 41% 42% 45% As you can see, HBOS has the highest number of happy current account customers (58%) and the lowest number of unhappy customers (20%). That said, it has the fewest current account holders who are prepared to stay loyal (22%), and the largest number in the grey 'maybe' category (53%) who remain undecided whether they will switch to a new bank or not.
There's a real mixed bag of responses when it comes to customer service ratings. But it's interesting that roughly an equivalent number of customers rate the service they receive from the big five as exceptionally poor as those who rate it as excellent! That makes it somewhat difficult to draw any definitive conclusions. The Cream Of The Crop But there are banks which are seemingly head and shoulders above the rest. Believe it or not, 100% of cahoot's customers claim they are happy with their current account and none of them are planning on switching (although 42% are unsure). Almost two thirds (62.5%) rate cahoot service standards at the top end of the scale, with 21% rating it as excellent.
Meanwhile, over 80% of Co-op Bank customers are happy, with 29% putting customer service in the excellent category. First Direct has done pretty well out of the survey too. Almost nine out of ten (88%) of its customers are happy and only 8% are planning on switching. Impressively, 42% give service from First Direct 10 out of 10.
Although not a bank, the UK's largest building society, Nationwide is worthy of a mention too. The vast majority (93%) of its customers say they are happy with their current account. What's more, less than 2% are convinced they will move elsewhere, which is one of the best results in the survey.
But what does all this mean to you?
Well, it's easy to focus on the doom and gloom, but there are plenty of people out there who are satisfied with their bank and have no intention of leaving. So don't tar all banks with the same brush. If you're unhappy with yours, there's no real reason why you can't move to a new bank - whatever your gripe.
So what are you waiting for? If you do decide now is the time to get switching, The Fool's current account centre is the perfect place to start.
More: How Generous Is Your Bank?
* 8.5% interest payable on balances up to £2,500 fixed for one year, 0.1% interest on balances over £2,500.**This includes customers of NatWest.
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