Do you trust your Bank?

Published 16th Apr 2007

Barclays is the least trusted of the ‘Big 5’ high street banks according to the latest research.

According to independent personal finance website Fool.co.uk, two-thirds of the ‘big 5’ customers do not trust their banks to sell them the right products.

One in eight customers of Britain’s five biggest banks also claim that they have actually been mis-sold something. Additionally, one in six people state that money has gone missing from their accounts at some time.

Barclays fared worst with almost three-quarters of its customers voicing concerns about its intentions when selling them products. HSBC is the most trusted, though it was only slightly better than Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS.

In some cases, customer scepticism has been justified, with one in six Lloyds TSB customers claiming to have been sold an unsuitable product. HSBC fared best – just one in 11 of its customers claim to be victims of mis-selling.

Apart from mis-selling products, it seems that banks are also careless when looking after customers’ money. Barclays picks up the wooden spoon again with more than one in five customers stating that money has gone astray from their accounts.

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at Fool.co.uk, said: “The research suggests that consumer confidence in the ‘Big 5’ banks has plumbed to levels that are clearly unacceptable. Barclays has been singled out by Fool.co.uk readers as one of the least trusted, but the other four banks have nothing to be proud of.

“It is especially disturbing because financial products are now more complex. Consequently customers must be able to trust their banks to point them in the right direction, and not have to worry about being led up the garden path.”
By Jennifer Lowe

Source: ' Personal Finance & Savings '

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