First Direct and Clydesdale Bank top customer satisfaction poll

First Direct and Clydesdale Bank have been declared winners in a survey of how satisfied customers are with their current account provider.

Meanwhile, the "big four" banks - Lloyds, HSBC, RBS and Barclays - failed to secure any top positions in the survey of more than 10,000 current account customers for website uSwitch.com.

Customers could rate their current provider in various categories. Online and telephone bank First Direct, which regularly tops consumer surveys, came out top in nine out of 12 categories, winning awards such as best current account, overall satisfaction, most trusted, value for money and best overall customer service.

Clydesdale Bank was named best provider for customer service in branch, and was rated by customers as having the best switching service and the best app.

Both First Direct and Clydesdale offer cash to people looking to switch to them. First Direct offers £125 to switch to it, while Clydesdale Bank offers £150.

The price comparison website said that RBS takes the wooden spoon for the second year in a row, being ranked the worst provider overall as well as coming bottom in several categories including trust, value for money and online service.

RBS suffered its latest embarrassing banking glitch yesterday, when some customers found themselves struggling to use ATMs.

When it came to overall satisfaction, the annual survey also found that Barclays had fallen from fourth place to number 10.

The uSwitch.com survey asked people to rate their level of satisfaction - from very satisfied through to very dissatisfied - for each category. Final scores were used to determine each provider's ranking.

This month marks two years since rules were introduced to make it easier for people to ditch their old current account provider and switch to a new one. The service cut the length of time it takes to switch to seven working days, from up to 30 previously, and also provides a guarantee that current account customers will not be left out of pocket if something goes wrong.

The introduction of the service helped to ramp up competition in the sector, with many current providers offering cash to switch and introducing rewards programmes, as well as offering rates of in-credit interest that beat the rates offered on many savings accounts.

Nicolas Frankcom, a money expert at uSwitch.com, said: "With savings rates still at rock bottom, current accounts are proving to be much more than an everyday bank account...

"However, while customers are looking for value for money, it's important that the banks don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and don't take their eye off getting the basics right - customer service is key."

A statement from Barclays said: "Customer satisfaction surveys from third parties provide an interesting snapshot at any given time, however we speak to all of our customers directly on an ongoing basis. Where there are clear areas for improvement, we work hard to ensure that those are fixed."

Here is how current account providers were ranked in the best current account category in uSwitch.com's survey, from those with the highest ratings from consumers, to those with the lowest:

1. First Direct

2. Nationwide Building Society

3. Clydesdale Bank

4. TSB

5. Santander

6. Yorkshire Bank

7. Co-op

8. Halifax

9. Bank of Scotland

10.NatWest

11. Lloyds

12. Barclays

13. HSBC

14. RBS

And here is how they were ranked in terms of overall satisfaction:

1. First Direct

2. Clydesdale Bank

3. Nationwide Building Society

4. Yorkshire Bank

5. Co-op

6. Santander

7. Halifax

8. TSB

9. NatWest

10. Barclays

11. Bank of Scotland

12. Lloyds

13. HSBC

14. RBS

Responding to the news that RBS came bottom for customer service, a spokesman for the bank said: "Whilst we are disappointed in the results of the report, we believe we have made great progress in making RBS both simpler and fairer for our customers, to become the most trusted bank in the UK.

"We have scrapped unfair teaser rates and we offer our best deals to both new and existing loyal customers. We also continue to provide different ways our customers can bank with us, such as being one of the first banks to offer Apple Pay."

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Barclays rated worst for current account customer service in poll​