The latest figures show that a smaller percentage of the big banks’ customers are satisfied than those of building societies and credit unions.
 
Overall, 80% of Aussie customers were happy with their banks in January – the highest level in 16 years.  Satisfaction among all the Big Four banks continued to rise; NAB’s satisfaction level topped the Big Four, rising by 7.7%. “The star performer was clearly NAB, which is clearly getting traction with its campaign and becoming a leader amongst the big four,” says Roy Morgan’s Norman Morris.
 
But despite the positive results for banks, they can’t beat the approval rate of the non-banks. Overall, 90% of customers were satisfied with their building societies and 88% with their credit unions.
 
Meanwhile, credit disputes during the December 2011 quarter were 25% higher than a year earlier; these complaints are commonly made once credit providers start the process of debt recovery.
 
Customer satisfaction - banks
  Percentage of each bank's customers who are satisfied (January 2012)
NAB 79.5%
ANZ 78.6%
Westpac 76.3%
Commonwealth Bank 77.6%
Adelaide Bank 76.7%
Bank of Queensland 82.2%
Bankmecu 86.9%
Bankwest 81.3%
Bendigo Bank 89.5%
Citibank 63.9%
Heritage Bank 91.5%
HSBC 77.3%
ING Direct 89.2%
Macquarie Bank 81.5%
ME Bank 86.1%
St George 83%
Suncorp 85%

Customer satisfaction - credit unions and building societies
  Percentage of each non-bank's customers who are satisfied (January 2012)
Credit Union Australia 85.9%
MyState CU 87.5%
People's Choice Credit Union 87.7%
Queensland Teachers  82.5%
Teachers Credit Union 92%
Victorian Teachers 88.5%
Greater BSoc 88.7%
IMB 89.6%
Newcastle Permanent BSoc 93%

Source: Roy Morgan

 

Do you have a problem with your bank or credit union?
 
“If a customer has a concern, they should raise it with their bank.  If they are not satisfied with the initial response, they can request that their issue be escalated to the bank’s internal dispute resolution area,” says Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) spokesperson Hannah McVean. 
 
Once you have issued a formal complaint with your financial institution, they have 45 days to resolve your complaint. If you’re unhappy with the outcome, you can then contact FOS on 1300 780 808 to discuss free dispute resolution.
 

-- By Stephanie Hanna

 

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