Top Banks Bad Value for Money
A recent survey of best buy current accounts by Which? Money magazine doesn't feature the big four high street banks.
Five of the seven accounts it named as best buys were internet and telephone accounts, with Smile coming out top with regards to customer satisfaction. Seven high street banks including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and NatWest/Royal Bank of Scotland scored only two stars out of five for customer satisfaction. banks in romania
Consumers borrowing or saving with the aforementioned banks are also receiving poor interest rates, such as a lowly 0. 1% on the majority of current accounts, according to Which?.
Other banks rated highly in the survey were First Direct, Intelligent Finance and Cahoot, with Alliance & Leicester's Premier Direct and Nationwide's Flex Account also well received.
Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? Money, said: “If you're still with one of the big four high street banks, then now is the time to move. Internet and telephone banks seem to treat their customers better and you can get much higher interest too. “
The survey found that 50% of people now bank online or by telephone, but 93% had not used a mobile phone for banking.
Nine out of 10 people still visit their branch, but half of people do so once a month or less. When people do go to their branch it is generally to amend personal details or pay in a cheque.
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.