First Direct tops latest official banking league table - MSE News 17 February 2020 at 4:29PM in Budgeting & bank accounts 19 replies 1K views

Former_MSE_Naomi

First Direct has pipped Metro Bank to the post to top the latest official banking service league table, while RBS took the wooden spoon for the fourth time...

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'First Direct tops latest official banking league table'

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colsten

Yawn.

PRAISETHESUN

Just another excuse for MSE to trump up how "great" FD is...

Tildaplum

...or, just maybe, having topped the polls 'n' times on a row, they are a pretty good bank? 

Highland76

The Institute of Customer Service (UKICS) also lists FD very high up in the charts (# 2) in their January 2020 report. Pretty impressive by FD to beat the likes of Amazon UK for customer satisfaction.

[/url]https://lp.instituteofcustomerservice.com/hubfs/UKCSI%20Jan%202020/ICS%20UKCSI%20Exec%20Summary_January%202020%20INTERACTIVE_22.01.20_LP-1.pdf

penners324

Found FD pretty poor to be honest. But then I do 99.99% of banking through an app. The FD app is rubbish.

colsten

Tildaplum said:

...or, just maybe, having topped the polls 'n' times on a row, they are a pretty good bank? 

I have held FD accounts for at least as long as these Cust Service polls have been running. The only reasons I am an FD customer are

1. their joining bonus (which I got many, many moons ago)
2. the interest rate of their Regular Saver

Apart from that, I see absolutely no reason why I would choose FD. I don't want to talk to someone to make banking transactions which I can do in a fraction of the time online. FD have improved their online and app a lot, and at long last got rid of that awful number-generating pad which provided anything but great CS. For as long as there are current accounts that pay me interest, I wouldn't keep a penny in a current account that doesn't.

But hey, it seems those people who love to vote on "Customer Service" are in a long-term, loving relationship with FD. Even though there is no definition of what "Customer Service" actually is, and everyone will have their own opinion what it consists of.

No amount of CS polls will ever make me put any bank top of my list, and I can't see a day where I can talk about "my bank". I have always spread my dealings  across at least 2 or 3 banks / building societies / mortgage companies / credit card providers, and I can't see this change going forward.

colsten

Highland76 said:

The Institute of Customer Service (UKICS) also lists FD very high up in the charts (# 2) in their January 2020 report. Pretty impressive by FD to beat the likes of Amazon UK for customer satisfaction.

It's getting ever more ridiculous. Why would anyone compare - undefined - "Customer Service" of a bank with - undefined - "Customer Service" of an online or bricks & mortar retail outfit, or a car and motorbike dealer?

Highland76

Surely 'Customer Service' is self explanatory?

IMHO what makes FD far better than other banks isn't because of their excellent iOS app (I find it far slicker than other banks), or the fact that they (usually) pick up the phone within 2 rings on their 0113 number, or the fact that they offer an interest-free £250 overdraft. No, its the fact that they do what you would expect your bank to do when its comes to solving issues. No bank is perfect (incl FD) but with FD you have the re-assurance that any issue will almost certainly be resolved and very quickly over the phone. Compare that, for example to Barclays horrible support. Last time i checked, their New Delhi based support team took over an hour to answer the phone when trying to unblock a debit card transaction. And when they did answer the phone, the dummies were reading off a script.

FD are only made to look very good by other banks' very poor support. I would rather bank with someone like FD and forgo a few pennies interest rather than earn 5% elsewhere and have to experience shocking support should I ever need to call them.

colsten

Highland76 said:

Surely 'Customer Service' is self explanatory?

In which case, would you be able to provide the definition here, with a guarantee that everyone subscribes to your definition? And can you guarantee that everyone who took part in the polls also shares your definition?

Tildaplum

Hey Alexia: define customer service.

customer service

noun

noun: customer service; plural noun: customer services

1. the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services.

FD have, and always have had, excellent customer service. Don't take my word for it - just look at the polls.