Abbey has finished bottom of the J.D. Power and Associates UK Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study for the second year running.
The Co-operative Bank was the outright winner of the survey, which canvasses over 3,000 customers’ opinions on the 13 largest high-street banks in the UK. Respondents were asked to rank their bank based on transactions, account opening/product offerings, fees, account statements, problem resolution and convenience.
Nationwide was the runner up, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland, Alliance & Leicester and Halifax.
At the other end of the scale, Barclays and Clydesdale Bank fared marginally better than Abbey. While most of the banks remained in a similar position compared to the 2007 study, one of the most dramatic movers was HSBC, which fell from fourth to ninth.
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Overall satisfaction improving
The survey highlighted the fact that, despite the “unfair bank charges” debacle and generally difficult economic conditions, overall customer satisfaction has actually increased since 2007.
Furthermore, a significant 75% of respondents indicated that they would recommend their bank to family and friends. “The satisfaction increase across the industry in 2008 is particularly beneficial for both customers and banks,” says Caspar Tearle, director of service industries research at J.D. Power and Associates.
“High levels of customer satisfaction inevitably impact the number of positive recommendations that customers are willing to give, which in turn vastly reduces potential acquisition costs and positively impacts the bottom line for banks.
“Recommendations are also the single most important resource when customers want to switch their bank, so more positive recommendations can give customers more options and more confidence as they search for a new retail banking institution.”
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Problem solving a key gripe
Yet while the banks achieved an overall improvement, Tearle says there were still massive variances among the banks.
According to Tearle, key areas of improvement for lower-ranking banks include efficiency in resolving problems within the branch and through a UK-based call centre.
“Avoiding charging customers fees and ensuring that service times are kept to an absolute minimum - regardless of which channel a customer chooses – are other areas that need improvement.”
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Other key findings of the survey:
-More than 50% of all bank customers pay no fees or charges. Only 10% of customers pay charges for insufficient funds or overdraft fees, and 14% pay account service charges.
- Nearly 85% of all customers indicate that they would prefer to speak with a customer service representative located in their own country rather than a representative in a foreign call centre.
- Nearly one in five customers (18%) has had a problem or complaint with their bank in the past 12 months.
- Among UK banks, the rate of customers switching banks is particularly low, with only 2% of customers indicating they “definitely will” switch their primary financial institution within the next 12 months.
How they lined up: Results of the 2008 survey
| Bank | Score (out of 1,000) |
| Co-operative Bank | 746 |
| Nationwide | 706 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | 703 |
| Alliance & Leicester | 697 |
| Halifax | 685 |
| NatWest | 673 |
| Lloyds TSB | 672 |
| Yorkshire Bank | 671 |
| HSBC | 664 |
| Bank of Scotland | 661 |
| Barclays | 637 |
| Clydesdale Bank | 633 |
| Abbey | 611 |
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