Building Societies Association
Feature
Mutuals offer great customer service…. and more
BSA comments on Metro Bank launch|
Date:
30 Jul 2010
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The arrival of Metro Bank on the high street has caused a stir this week. With promises of “unparalleled customer service” will this really change the face of the high street and are there better alternatives out there already?
Whilst time will tell if Metro Bank can live up to its promises, local building societies on high streets throughout the UK have been delivering quality service and market leading products for many, many years.
Independent research from GfK NOP shows that mutuals outperform their banking counterparts on various aspects of customer service, including treating customers fairly, value for money and being trusted to give good advice.
The research shows savers and borrowers with mutual financial providers are more satisfied than customers of other financial providers. 70% of mutual mortgage customers were extremely or very satisfied, compared to 63% of borrowers with other institutions. 59% of savers with mutuals were extremely or very satisfied, compared to 47% of savers with other institutions.
It’s not just service levels though. Moneyfacts shows that building societies dominate the most consistent savings tables, taking 73% of the top spots in their last survey.
BSA Chairman, David Webster, said “There has been much hype about Metro Bank this week, but consumers should not forget their local building society. Not only do we provide better customer service, but we also offer fantastic products and care about the communities in which we are based. Societies have this down to a fine art and whilst we don’t have men on stilts outside our branches, we can certainly offer consumers a great deal.”
