CMA director: Worst banks for customer service have ‘nowhere to hide’

A senior director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has encouraged customers to ‘vote with their feet’ when it comes to their banking.

Adam Land, senior director at the CMA, commented: “Current account holders and small businesses should consider voting with their feet and switching their bank or building society if they aren’t getting a good service.

The statement comes as the latest customer satisfaction results of an independent survey are released, a year after the survey was introduced as a result of a market investigation into the retail banking sector in 2016.

Metro Bank joins First Direct in top spot with 82 per cent for overall service quality, with RBS with the lowest level of satisfaction in this category at 46 per cent.

Other categories in the survey include satisfaction levels for online and mobile banking, overdraft facilities and service in branches.

As part of the investigation, current account providers are required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to publish details of available services and relevant helplines, as well as account opening and operational timescales and incidents.

Christopher Woolard, FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, explained: “It is now a year since we required firms to start publishing this data, providing people with the tools to work out how easily they can carry out day to day banking activities, as well as the reliability of the service they receive.

“The figures provide a more established basis for consumers, small businesses and comparison services to compare current account providers and find the right solution for their needs.”

Adam Land added: “These league tables help show what’s out there for customers and hold the providers to account. There’s nowhere for the worst performers to hide now.”