The High Street’s big hitters are letting customers down with poor levels of service and a below par online banking experience. That’s one of the findings of the uSwitch Current Account Awards, based on the votes of over 10,000 customers. While internet banks First Direct and Smile took the lion's share of awards, Santander, RBS and Barclays failed to impress their customers.

First Direct won Best Current Account and came top for Overall Satisfaction and Telephone Customer Service. It was closely followed by Smile, which won categories including Most Trusted, Best Value for Money and Best Email Customer Service. The Co-operative Bank was given the thumbs up by customers, coming third in the awards overall. It also scooped the award for Best Branch Customer Service.

Santander was voted the worst current account provider in the survey, let down by its customer service, whether online, on the phone or in-branch. It also received the least votes for its online banking experience. Santander is attempting to address its customer service issues, and its 1-2-3 account could help win back the hearts of customers, demonstrated by the fact that it takes third place in the Benefits and Incentives category. Of all the current account providers in the survey, RBS is the least likely to be recommended and also falls down on its scores for Trust and Overall Satisfaction. Barclays, like Santander, falls short on its customer service and online banking experience.

Michael Ossei, personal finance expert at uSwitch.com, says: "Current accounts are the bread and butter of the money world - you need one just to live your life. But where you keep your hard-earned cash should be a place that you trust and are happy with - and many banks still have a long way to go to earn this respect. As people feel the squeeze of Government spending cuts and higher living costs, one thing they want to be sure of is that, if push comes to shove, they can lay their hands on their money quickly and easily. Low levels of consumer confidence and the new seven day switching process arriving in September mean that the current account market is all for the taking. The Post Office's decision to launch a current account next Spring will give banks a real run for their money. Not only will it benefit from its far-reaching network of branches, but it is a trusted brand. Value for money and customer service will be key to its success, but High Street banks should see this as a serious threat."

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