Millions to switch bank accounts after rule change

As many as 14 million people are prepared to shift their bank accounts when new legislation comes into force next year, according to research out today.

Almost one in three high-street bank customers told YouGov that they were very or highly likely to move bank if the process was made simpler.

Following the Vickers report into banking this year, the Government is drawing up legislation which will enable consumers to shift banks as easily as they can now move between mobile phone companies under number portability rules.

But with less than 12 months to go, banks are doing little to win over existing customers and convince them to stay with them, according to industry experts.

The survey by YouGov and business analytics firm SAS found that while two out of three bank customers are dissatisfied and feel their bank has done nothing to improve customer service, relatively few have ever actually moved their account.

Recent figures from Which? said 55 per cent of people had never switched their current account.