09 September 2015

Financial Times: Biggest UK banks drop down customer satisfaction league

Thousands of bank customers believe the UK’s biggest lenders are failing to improve services. Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays have all dropped down the ranks of customer satisfaction, according to a survey of 10,000 current account holders.

The survey findings come just weeks before the results of a review of the current account market, following concerns that it lacks competition and transparency over charges.

RBS came bottom in the poll, with customers voting it the worst current account provider for a second consecutive year, in terms of satisfaction, trust, online services, value for money and rewards offered.

The state-backed bank, which the government has just begun selling off in the country’s biggest privatisation, has suffered technology glitches that have affected customers’ access to their accounts.

The poll shows that HSBC has fallen eight places in the “most trusted” category, after months of negative publicity surrounding a tax evasion scandal at its Swiss private bank and recent systems faults.

Barclays has suffered the biggest drop in overall satisfaction, while Lloyds has also fallen across a range of aspects in offering current accounts.

Competition from so-called challenger banks, such as TSB, Metro and Virgin Money, is growing.

Nicolas Frankcom, of uSwitch.com, said: “With more challenger banks expected to shake things up even further in the future, the big four clearly have more to do if they want to be the big winners.”

TSB, which was carved out of Lloyds and recently bought by Spanish lender Sabadell, has risen up the ranks, improving on customer service, value for money and trust, according to the uSwitch poll.

Full article (FT subscription required)

© Financial Times