Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and NatWest were all outperformed by web and phone banks in a survey of 4680 of Which? members. The high-street banks were all given 2 out of 5 for customer satisfaction.
In contrast, The Co-operative Bank’s direct banking division, Smile, was found to provide the best service, with 80% of current account holders saying they were very satisfied overall. Alliance and Leicester’s Premier Direct operation, First Direct, Cahoot, and Intelligent Finance also scored highly in the poll.
If you’re still with one of the big four high street banks, then now’s the time to move, said Martyn Hocking, Which? Money’s editor. Internet and telephone banks seem to treat their customers better and you can get much higher interest too.
