Current account reviews: Owners' views
HSBC current account customers get paid 0% interest when they're in credit
If you’re with one of the big high-street banks, it’s time to move. That’s the verdict from 15,262 Which? members who told us about their current account providers.
High-street banks
Most people still bank on the high street. But our survey reveals there’s little joy to be had there.
Eleven high-street banks, including the Northern Irish Northern Bank, scored below the average score of 62% for customer satisfaction. The exceptions to this are the Co-operative Bank, which achieved 86%, Nationwide, which scored 76% and Yorkshire Bank with 65%.
62% of people in our survey still bank with one of the big four high-street banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB/Halifax/Bank of Scotland or Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, even though only Lloyds TSB has an account which features as one of our Best Rate accounts. To add insult to injury, we found that these main players only offer a tiny 0.1% interest on most of their current accounts when you’re in credit, and some offer no interest at all.
Satisfied customers
Internet and telephone banks received some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in our survey.
First Direct and Smile are top of the pile again this year, with scores of 89% and 87% respectively. They were also two of only three banks to get five out of five stars for both their internet and telephone banking services.
Improve your service
Follow our top tips to make sure you get the best service from your bank.
- Complain If you have a problem with customer service or a product, complain to your bank in writing. Under the terms of the Banking Code, it has a maximum of eight weeks to deal with your complaint. If you are still unhappy, go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- Switch Don't put up with poor service or a bad deal from your bank. It’s easy to switch.
- Remove your details If you don't want to be bombarded with mail and phone calls from your bank, ask it to take you off its marketing mailing lists.
- Try phone or internet banking If you are fed up with queues in branches, why not try using your bank’s phone or internet service? Most banks now offer both options. If you have to visit your branch and face queues every time, write to the manager and ask for more counter staff.
- Cash machines Remember you can withdraw cash free from almost all bank or building society cash machines with a debit card. However, watch out for so-called ‘convenience’ cash machines that charge around £1.50 to £2 per transaction.
Banks rated
The table below shows how the banks we were able to rate scored in our 2009 survey. To receive a customer satisfaction score, a bank needed at least 30 respondents in our survey. Overall customer scores are worked out using a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely members are to recommend their bank to a friend.
| Customer satisfaction for current accounts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current accounts | Internet | Telephone | Customer score |
| First Direct |  | | 89% |
| Smile | | | 87% |
| The Co-Operative Bank | | | 86% |
| Cahoot | | n/a | 80% |
| Nationwide BS | |  | 76% |
| Yorkshire Bank | | | 65% |
| Alliance & Leicester |  | | 61% |
| HSBC |  | | 59% |
| The Royal Bank Of Scotland | | | 57% |
| Clydesdale Bank | | | 56% |
| Lloyds TSB | | | 56% |
| Barclays | | | 54% |
| Natwest | | | 54% |
| Halifax | | | 51% |
| Bank Of Scotland | | | 49% |
| Santander (Abbey) | |  | 48% |
| Other Accounts In Northern Ireland | |||
| Ulster Bank | n/a | n/a | 53% |
| Northern Bank (NI) | | n/a | 49% |
Table notes
n/a = sample size too small
Average overall customer satisfaction score is 62%
Sample sizes: First Direct (1098), Smile (513), The Co-operative Bank (352), Cahoot (118), Nationwide BS (1539), Yorkshire Bank (139), Alliance & Leicester (860), HSBC (1464), The Royal Bank of Scotland (804), Clydesdale Bank (173), Lloyds TSB (2191), Barclays (1902), NatWest (1879), Halifax (768), Bank of Scotland (411), Santander (507), Northern Bank (56). Total sample size: 15,262