Money News

Brits utterly dissatisfied with their credit card issuer

Wednesday 18 January, 2012

By Martin Fagan

Consumer satisfaction with credit card issuers hits all time low.

UK consumers’ overall satisfaction with their credit card providers has dropped to the lowest level ever and satisfaction with customer support has also plummeted, according to new research.

uSwitch.com’s latest Customer Satisfaction Report reveals an overall drop in satisfaction with providers and, although all providers have seen a slip in standards, the traditional banks continue to be the biggest losers - failing to win a single award between them for the third year running.

The survey of over 10,000 credit card customers revealed Marks and Spencer reclaimed the top spot for overall satisfaction while ethical bank Co-op climbed two places into second position.

American Express came third in overall customer satisfaction table with supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s coming fourth and fifth respectively.

Virgin was the most improved, rising seven places from 15th to 8th with 74% of its customers now satisfied with the service it offers.

At the wrong end of the table, the big banks continue to dominate, said uSwitch.com. While new entrants to the report Vanquis and Bank of Scotland were voted bottom for overall satisfaction, they were closely followed by Barclaycard, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds TSB and Santander.

None of the high street banks topped any category - only RBS managed second place for its balance transfer service. And although overall satisfaction across the board has slipped, uSwitch says things are worse for the banks. Last year, the best high street bank was 15% off the top performer. This year the gap has widened to 19%.

“2012 is set to be another tough year for consumers, and for those worried about starting the year in debt, credit cards may be the only option,” said Michael Ossei, personal finance expert at uSwitch.com.

“However with overall satisfaction and customer service getting worse across the board, and the high street banks still providing some of the worst service, consumers should look around further afield at new providers for the best credit card for them.”

Despite almost two million Brits dissatisfied with the everyday service provided by their card company, consumers are holding onto their cards. Over half (51%) have had their credit card for more than five years. A quarter (25%) admits to having three or more credit cards.

Photo by Andres Rueda