First Direct tops our banking poll again as Barclays limps into last place
First Direct’s current account customers have once again voted its service the nation's best. More than 90% rated it as 'great' as it comfortably held on to top spot in our latest banking poll.
The bank has triumphed in every single banking poll we have ever done since we began asking you to rate your provider's customer service in 2010.
Bottom of the heap in our biannual poll, Barclays was rated worst current account provider for the fourth time running.
But its score was slightly better than in August 2015, with 42% rating it 'great', up from 38%.
Royal Bank of Scotland kept its position just one off the bottom, in 12th, just below joint biggest faller HSBC (with Bank of Scotland). HSBC tumbled from 8th to 11th, a slide likely helped by two cyber-attacks in January that locked customers out of their online accounts.
Nationwide switches places with Santander to take second spot; Co-op Bank, including Smile, remains in fourth; TSB climbs one spot to fifth; and Bank of Scotland falls to 10th from 7th in our last poll.
If you’re unhappy with the service from your bank, take action and switch. See our Best Bank Accounts guide to find the best deals, including accounts that pay 5% interest and give you £150 for switching or cheap overdrafts.
The full results
Here are the full poll results, as voted for by our users:
Current account service rating February 2016 (results and rankings from August 2015 in brackets)
| Rank | Provider | Great | OK | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) | First Direct | 91% (92%) | 6% (7%) | 3% (1%) |
| 2 (3) | Nationwide Building Society | 77% (74%) | 19% (21%) | 4% (5%) |
| 3 (2) | Santander (i) | 72% (75%) | 22% (21%) | 6% (4%) |
| 4 (4) | Smile and Co-op | 70% (73%) | 24% (20%) | 6% (7%) |
| 5 (6) | TSB | 69% (58%) | 24% (34%) | 7% (8%) |
| 6 (5) | Halifax (ii) | 60% (60%) | 30% (32%) | 10% (8%) |
| 7 (9) | Lloyds Bank | 54% (46%) | 34% (40%) | 12% (14%) |
| 8 (10) | NatWest | 50% (44%) | 36% (43%) | 14% (13%) |
| 9 (11) | Clydesdale & Yorkshire | 49% (43%) | 34% (41%) | 17% (16%) |
| 10 (7) | Bank of Scotland | 49% (49%) | 32% (37%) | 19% (14%) |
| 11 (8) | HSBC | 43% (46%) | 38% (41%) | 19% (13%) |
| 12 (12) | Royal Bank of Scotland | 44% (43%) | 34% (39%) | 22% (18%) |
| 13 (13) | Barclays Bank | 42% (38%) | 38% (42%) | 20% (20%) |
| 8,619 votes in total. Ranked based on two points for each 'great' %, one for each 'OK' % and zero for 'poor'. When scores are tied, the bank with the better 'great' rating goes ahead. We've excluded banks with fewer than 100 votes. (i) This is an average of the 123 account and other Santander accounts. (ii) This is an average of the Reward account and other Halifax accounts. | ||||
'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. 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 as Barclays limps into last place
What does Barclays say?
A Barclays spokesperson says: "We work hard to ensure we get things right the first time and, if we don’t, we listen to our customers' feedback in order to put them right quickly."
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17 September 2024
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