First Direct tops our banking poll again, while Barclays takes the wooden spoon

In fact, First Direct has trumped its contenders by winning every single banking service poll we've ever conducted. We first began asking you to rate your provider's customer service levels in our biannual poll in 2010.

At the other end of the scale, Barclays has been ranked as the worst current account provider for the third time in a row – despite unveiling its Blue Rewards scheme in April, which sees current account customers pay £3/month to get at least £7/month in return.

However Barclays isn't the only banking giant to score badly, as NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – both part of the RBS Group – fell from ninth to tenth and from eleventh to twelfth respectively.

In comparison HSBC has improved, climbing from twelfth place in our last poll to eighth place now, although it's still a long way off from contending with the top providers.

If you're unhappy with your bank, use your feet and switch. See our Best Bank Accounts guide for the top deals, including free £240, 5% interest or free travel insurance.

The full results

Here are the full poll results, as voted for by our readers:

Current account service rating August 2015 (Results and ranking from February 2015 in brackets)

'Customer service really counts'

Guy Anker, managing editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, says: "With current accounts, customer service really counts. Whether you bank online or in a branch, this is the one financial product you do genuinely have a real day-to-day interaction with.

"Our index shows once again the strength of First Direct's service and the continued improvement from Santander, which used to languish at the bottom. However, the bottom of the pile is dominated by many high street banks. This should be seen as a stark warning that they risk losing customers if they don't raise their game.

"Anyone unhappy with the service they're getting from their bank needs to ditch it, especially as some of the best deals are from banks with good service. Switching is no longer the chore it used to be – all your direct debits and standing orders can be moved within seven working days, and any payments made in error to your old account will be auto-forwarded."

First Direct tops our banking poll again, while Barclays takes the wooden spoon

What does Barclays say?

A Barclays spokesperson says: "Our goal is not just to meet our customers' expectations but to exceed them and to remove any cause for complaint. For this reason, we are continually working to simplify our products and services, create greater transparency and free up our colleagues to help customers."