High street banks- what we hate about them

Banks

The public perception of high street banks has taken a beating in recent years, and reports have filtered in of complaints reaching all time highs. For expats, this should not be a concern, as all expats are encouraged to take advantage of the benefits that are available to them via offshore banking.

What of those who have yet to venture offshore? What kind of service do they receive from high street banks? Well, not a very good one it seems.

A recent poll conducted by The Telegraph has revealed the public’s most hated aspects of high street banks.

First on the poll, with 397 votes, is overdraft charges- people do not like getting charged for going over their limit.

The second big issue was having their phone queries handled in call centres, which received 269 votes. Offshore banks rarely use call centres and generally have an excellent line of in-house customer care.

Next, 238 votes went to high street banks’ age old practice of offering the better rates to new customers. Offshore banks treat their customers the same and often offer a bespoke service tailor made to their financial situation.

A further 205 complained that banks took too long to clear cheques, with general poor service gaining 196 votes. Offshore banks are renowned for their excellent, personal, service. Tying into this came the next problem, not enough staff. High street banks have notoriously lengthy queue due to low staff numbers, again not a problem at offshore banks as there are not thousands of people clamouring to pay their bills.

High charges for calls made to the bank drew 126 votes.

Offshore banks do away with many of these problems, and are vital for expatriates. Learn more by reading the information in our Offshore Banking section.