Satisfaction with High Street Banks

Abbey ranks bottom of 'fairness league'

A new study by Ipsos Financial Services has shed fresh light on the public's view of high street banks with a league table showing how the various industry players perform in the 'fairness' stakes.

Based on interviews with over 5,000 customers, the news is mixed for the banking sector. While customers tend to think their banks treat them fairly some or most of the time, only a quarter of people say that they are always treated fairly by their banks.

Crucially, of those customers who feel they are getting a fair deal , two thirds are very likely to recommend their current account provider, compared with an average of just 49% amongst all customers.In addition, the study highlights that consumers remain sensitive on the issue of bank charges. Those who have paid bank charges in the past year are less likely to feel they are treated fairly than non-charge payers. In particular, only around one in eight of charge payers feel they are always treated fairly.

Comments Alastair Whitmore, Head of Ipsos Financial Services:

"Our research is a wake-up call for the high street banks. If they want their customers to generate positive word of mouth for them they must ensure customers feel they are getting a 'fair deal'. Perceptions of what this means are down to the individual customer, but interestingly our study shows that it is the higher earners (over 16330,000 per annum), and those under 55 who feel most disgruntled by the treatment received from their bank."

When it comes to the 'fairness hall of fame' it is Abbey which tops the list of worst offenders with a score of 7.7 and less than one fifth of its customers saying they are always treated fairly. At the other end of the spectrum it is First Direct and Coop who share the top spot. They have an average fairness score of 8.8 (against a sector average of 8.0) and around one third of their customers saying they are always treated fairly.

Customers in Wales and the East are most happy with their current account providers with an average fairness score of 8.5 and 8.4 respectively, while those in the East Midlands and London are least content (7.5 and 7.6).

Technical details

Ipsos interviewed 5,032 current account holders aged 16 and over between August and October 2007 and asked them to rate how fairly they felt their current account provider treated them, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being never treated fairly, 10 being always treated fairly). The sample was chosen to be representative of the population of GB aged 16+. The data were weighted using target rim weights for social class, TV region, working status, age within gender and MOSAIC code. This was to adjust for any discrepancies in the coverage of individual sampling points and to ensure representatives.