BSA – Building societies on top for service, value and trust
Independent research from GfK NOP, published today by the Building Societies Association, shows savers and borrowers with building societies are more satisfied than customers of other financial service providers.
In the mortgage market, 74% of customers at building
societies are extremely or very satisfied, compared to 63% of customers at other mortgage providers. 67% of savers at building societies are extremely or very satisfied, compared to 53% at other savings providers.
The research also shows that building societies are perceived by their customers as outperforming banks on treating their customers fairly; providing better value for money and being more trusted to give good advice. This part of the research was conducted in October 2008, at the height of the instability in the financial markets.
Commenting on the survey, Adrian Coles, Director-General of the Building Societies Association, said:
“For the second year running, this research shows building societies beat the banks in every aspect of customer service. Societies pride themselves in offering the best levels of service possible to their customers. As mutuals, they don’t have any shareholders to please – they are accountable to the members.
“With household incomes being squeezed, consumers are looking for good value – this is an area where societies really excel over their plc counterparts. Recent falls in interest rates will make it even more important that consumers seek out the best deals on savings and mortgages.”
Summary of results
Customer satisfaction
¿ 74% of building society mortgage customers were extremely or very satisfied, compared to 63% of borrowers with other institutions.
¿ 67% of savers with building societies were extremely or very satisfied, compared to 53% of savers with other institutions.
Value for money
¿ 67% of building society customers consider that their provider
offers value for money, compared to 48% of bank customers.
¿ 32% of bank customers did not agree that their bank offered reasonable value for money, whilst only 10% of building society customers felt the same way.
Treating Customers Fairly
¿ 68% of building society customers agreed that societies treat their customers fairly, compared to 55% of bank customers.
¿ 29% of bank customers disagree that their bank treats them fairly.
This compares to just 7% of building society customers.
Trusted to give good advice
¿ 58% of building society customers agreed that they would trust their provider to give good advice. This compares to 50% of bank customers who felt the same way.
¿ 32% of bank customers would not trust their provider to give advice. 14% of building society customers felt this way.
Safety of deposits
¿ 69% of building society customers with a savings product felt their money was safe, compared to 64% of bank customers.
¿ 13% of building society customers who were surveyed did not feel that their money was safe, compared to 24% of bank customers.
~ Ends ~
Notes to Editor:
1. A copy of the research, Building Societies: Providing a Better Customer Service, can be viewed here on the BSA’s website here www.bsa.org.uk/publications/industrypublications/customer_satisfaction09.htm
2. The satisfaction questions were asked via GfK NOP’s Financial Research Survey which interviews approximately 5,000 individuals aged 16 or over each month across Great Britain. The six statements were posted in GfK NOP’s omnibus survey where the questions were asked face to face to 2,073 adults aged 16 or over, between 16 and 21 October 2008. In all this research, respondents were asked to identify with which brands they had savings or a mortgage. The researchers then allocated the responses to the appropriate type of institution to avoid any confusion about which are banks and which are building societies.
3. The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 55 building societies in the United Kingdom. Building societies have total assets of
£395 billion and, together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of £250 billion, more than 20% of the total outstanding in the UK. Societies hold over £235 billion of retail deposits, accounting for more than 20% of all such deposits in the UK. Building societies also account for about 37% of all cash ISA balances. Building societies employ over 51,500 full and part-time staff and operate through more than 2,000 branches.
4. Photographs of Adrian Coles are available from the BSA press office, or from the Association’s website at www.bsa.org.uk or Headlinemoney www.headlinemoney.co.uk
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Rachel Le Brocq
Press and Public Affairs Manager
The Building Societies Association
6th Floor, York House
23 Kingsway, London
WC2B 6UJ
Tel: 020 7520 5905
Mobile: 07773489644
Fax: 020 7240 5290
www.bsa.org.uk
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