Thousands more switch away from TSB after IT meltdown

The latest figures from the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) show that the bank lost 18,022 and gained 1,880 customers between 1 July and 30 September 2018, equalling a net loss of 16,142.

It recorded a net loss of 16,641 between April and June, meaning during the middle six months of last year it suffered a net loss of nearly 33,000 customers through CASS.

However, TSB says customers can open accounts outside of the CASS and that 22,000 customers opened a bank account or switched to it between 1 July and 30 September 2018.

TSB's IT disruption started on 20 April 2018 and saw many locked out of online banking and their mobile apps. In some cases, customers were even given access to other people's accounts and in other cases, customers were stopped from switching to another bank. Wider problems continued throughout the summer.

The latest CASS figures also show that over 5.3 million bank switches have been completed using the official seven-day switching service since its launch in 2013, with over 900,000 switches in the last 12 months alone. Yet many more could benefit from switching.

See our Best Bank Accounts guide for top switching offers – including how to get cash or vouchers.

How does bank switching work?

CASS was launched in 2013 to simplify the process of switching between banks and more than 40 providers have now signed up.

It's completely free – you simply contact the new bank or building society you want to switch to and ask it to move your old account using the CASS (often this is part of the application process).

You can choose a switch date to suit you as long as you allow at least seven working days.

All payments going in and out, except for recurring payments set up with a debit card such as a gym membership, will be moved to your new account. Any wrongly applied charges, eg, for a missed direct debit, will also be refunded.

What did the latest switch figures show?

While TSB took the wooden spoon in the latest CASS figures, Nationwide was the overall winner, as it was in the second quarter of 2018, with a net gain of 31,773 customers. HSBC (which includes First Direct and M&S Bank) came in second with a net gain of 16,430, suggesting that consumers are taking advantage of bonus switching offers.

App-based Monzo saw its biggest ever net gain of 5,363 and Starling Bank also saw further growth with a net gain of 2,116 customers.Another of the new breed of challenger banks, Triodos, saw data published in its own right for the first time and had a net gain of 284.

What does TSB say?

A TSB spokesperson said: "Customers do not solely need to use the switching service, they can open a new bank account with us via our branch network or online.

"In reality, in the third quarter of 2018, over 22,000 customers opened a new bank account with us or switched their account to us."