Customers least satisfied with High Street banks
By Elliot Wright, 12th January 2010
Supermarkets such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer offer better
credit cards than traditional financial institutions, according to
a survey by comparison site uSwtich.com.
Tesco and M&S jointly topped a table of overall customer
satisfaction in a poll of over 10,000 credit card users, with 89.4%
of their customers satisfied. Whereas banking giant Halifax came
bottom with just a 67.5% rating.
Customers are said to be attracted to supermarket credit cards
as they offer incentives such as loyalty points which can be
converted into cash, airmiles or money off at the tills. This is on
top of more traditional offers such as 0% interest on purchases and
0% balance transfers.
Customers are said to be attracted to
supermarket credit cards as they offer incentives such as loyalty
points
The big banks also languish at the bottom of the Everyday
Customer Support satisfaction table with Natwest, Lloyds TSB and
Halifax scoring 64%, 63% and 62% respectively. American Express
came top with an 83% satisfaction rating.
The survey also reveals that two million customers are not
satisfied with their credit card overall. Despite this, 50% keep
their main credit card for over five years - this is perhaps due to
the fact that over a third of credit card users do not know how
their interest rate compares to other cards on the market, while 8%
are aware they are not getting a good deal yet still do nothing
about it.
Louise Bond, personal finance expert at uSwitch.com,
said: "it's disappointing that customer
service is still letting the card companies down, and the huge gap
between the best and worst providers shows just how different one
customer's experience can be to another's.
"By not taking the time to research the best deals available,
millions of consumers are letting their providers get away with
levels of customer service and value that are far from
competitive.
"And in the current climate more than ever, savvy consumers need
to make sure they are taking matters into their own hands and
finding the best deal for their individual needs."
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