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31 October 2005
One in six Brits has changed their mortgage, current account or savings provider in the past year, according to newly-released figures.
The survey by Group 1 software, from interviews with 1,000 British companies, suggests that this is double the number shown in its previous poll in 2003, when one in every 12 consumers had switched in the preceding twelve months.
BBC News quotes Group 1 software director Alex Greenyer as saying that customers are simply expecting more from the service they receive, and may be feeling alienated as face-to-face interaction with their bank becomes less frequent.
He explained: "People are getting more used to shopping around and are demanding higher service standards."
"The disappearance of bank branches and their replacement with call centres - often located overseas - has broken a link between the bank and the consumer."
The comments about call centres appear to hold considerable truth - a survey by Harris Interactive showed last week that four out of five British adults feel "negative" about the overseas location of front-line customer services, with over half claiming to feel "very negative".
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