Switch banks – but for the right reasons

SWITCHING current accounts is a step few are prepared to take. Despite measures to make the process as stress free as possible, one in three bank customers have resisted the temptation. Indeed, the latest data indicates that fewer people switched accounts last year than they did in 2015.

Such reticence is understandable. Sometimes it is better to stick with the banking devil you know than step into the unknown. So far, most people have switched to take advantage of incentives offered by selected banks. But some of these are now on the wane.

Halifax’s £100 switching bonus is being reduced from the start of next month by £25. This follows the trimming of the monthly sum paid to those switching to its Reward current account from £5 to £3.

The only bank bucking the trend is Tesco Bank, which has just guaranteed to pay at least three per cent interest on current account balances up to £3,000 for two years beginning this April. Although the start date is April 1, I have been told it is NOT an April Fool.

Tesco’s move is welcome, especially given that it extends to all existing customers. But it is probably more a response to the damage that was done to its business late last year when criminals hacked into customers’ bank accounts and walked off with £2.5million.

If I were looking for a new current account home, I would not be tempted. Instead I would visit website Fairer Finance and choose an account that gets good reviews on a range of key issues – for example, customer trust and complaints handling.

First Direct, Metro Bank and Nationwide Building Society all score highly.

COVENTRY Building Society is a business I have a lot of time for. Its mantra is ‘TLC, not PLC’, the TLC standing for tender loving care. Although I am not a customer, it looks after savers and borrowers and strives to give them as good a deal as possible.

It also has an exemplary record when it comes to resolving customer complaints (Fairer Finance scores it highly).

Its latest initiative is to allow society savers to go on to its website and see how their accounts fare against the competition – not just in terms of interest offered but how they can be accessed. All the comparative data is supplied by Moneyfacts, renowned for its independent scrutiny of the savings market. You might think such transparency is commercial suicide – it is the first savings provider to do this – and an open invitation for existing customers to jump ship. But Coventry believes it will only enhance its reputation for fairness by being so open. The terms ‘tender loving care’ and ‘financial institution’ are often oxymorons. But Coventry breaks the mould. PARCEL delivery firm Yodel was recently voted the country’s worst for ensuring goods ordered over the internet or by phone arrive on time, in pristine condition and at the right address.

The poll was conducted by financial website MoneySavingExpert, whose founder Martin Lewis was scathing about the service standards of some firms (City Sprint, iPost Parcels and DX came in for criticism as well).

‘They don’t ring the doorbell, parcels are misdelivered, they’re left in bins or under cars – and it leaves many grinding their teeth in frustration,’ he remarked.

Recent personal experience supports both MoneySavingExpert’s findings and Lewis’s forthright words.

A bottle of champagne sent to a friend in the West Country to celebrate their birthday never arrived. Yodel, it transpired, had delivered it to the next village.

Although the address was as explicit as you can get (down to the cottage’s name), the bubbly ended up on the doorstep of a home in the next village – and has not been seen since.

Admittedly, I got the last digit of the postcode wrong (wonky fingers) but you would have thought that a delivery earmarked for someone living in Fitzhead, Somerset, would not end up being left in nearby Combe Florey.

Majestic Wine kindly sent a replacement bottle via Yodel, but it arrived two days after the birthday, rather spoiling the exercise.

Coincidentally, the person whose birthday it was returned home later in the week to find another Yodel delivery waiting for them.

This time the package, which had been ripped open, was not for them but for someone else. As befits a good neighbour, it was duly handed over to the rightful owner.

Is Yodel as bad as it seems? If you have suffered at its hands – or indeed been bowled over by the quality of its customer service – do let me know.

Choose an account which gets good reviews for trust and the handling of complaints