Britons more likely to get divorced than switch banks despite

Britons more likely to get divorced than switch banks despite 1 in 2 claiming to be unhappy with their current service

Recent research, analysed by Mintel on behalf of the BBC’s Watchdog viewers, has underlined the general apathy amongst British consumers when it comes to seeking out a provider for their day-to-day banking needs which is in stark contrast to the growing numbers of people opting out of marriages, business partnerships and employment.

It’s a sobering fact that people in the UK who are married are more likely to get divorced than they are to switch

their bank accounts even when they are extremely unhappy with the service, as demonstrated in the Watchdog survey of over 13,000 people where 1 in 2 respondents were rated as being either ‘dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied’ with their bank’s service.

However, despite the unhappiness of a large number of high street bank customers The Co-operative Bank and its sister company internet bank smile emerged triumphant in the customer satisfaction stakes both appearing in the top trio of UK financial providers for overall service – 74 and 82 per cent respectively - with the bank being crowned the overall high street winner above Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds TSB.

Almost 60 per cent of people who took part in Watchdog’s ‘bank and building societies vote’ claimed to have been with their providers for over 10 years, with a quarter of respondents remaining faithful to their current providers for over 20 years - almost twice as long as the average length of marriage for UK divorcee’s*.