20,000 Leave First Direct Over £10 Bank Charge
IT is only five months since First Direct bank decided to introduce a £10 a month fee on current accounts, but already 20,000 customers have decided to leave the bank for another competitor.
The charge only targets those customers who pay in less than £1,500 to their accounts each month, leading to rather justified criticism that it is nothing more than a tax on the lower paid. However, now it has emerged that 20,000 First Direct customers have left the bank since the fee was introduced.
Now according to the BBC, that number represents “an exodus” from the bank.
However, the Guardian, on the other hand, sees the figures as “only 20,000”. Not surprisingly, First Direct agree with the newspaper. A spokesman says a “small number of people out of our 1.3 million customer base have closed accounts following our decision to charge, but we are pleased with the numbers given that it was a significant move for us.”
Expect other banks to now follow suit.
Posted: 10th, July 2007 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
