RBS customer charter welcomed as step in the right direction for UK bank reform

News - Banking

Written by Ray Clancy

Tuesday, 15 June 2010 10:00

The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest have launched a customer charter which means branches will remain open longer and customers served more quickly.

It pledged to make sure a real local banking service is available and that its customers can monitor its services regularly.

The charter claims to set out the things that really matter to customers and what they have a right to expect from the Bank which had to be bailed out by the UK government at the height of the financial crisis. ‘The Bank is committed to making these things real in its aim to become Britain’s most helpful Bank,’ it says.

It gathered the views of more than 30,000 customers which have now been condensed into the 14 point Charter. The progress made against each promise will be monitored by customers each year and the results made transparent in an independent audit by Deloittes and published every six months.

The charter includes early morning and late night opening in 200 branches by the end of the year and a promise to serve the majority of customers queuing in branches within five minutes by introducing a queue measurement tool to the busiest 300 branches.

The Bank has also shared the Charter with consumer organisations including Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), Consumer Focus and Money Advice Trust.

‘We warmly welcome RBS’s new Customer Charter and are pleased to have been consulted on its contents. It is always a positive step to set out for customers what they can expect and we look forward to working with RBS as this new initiative develops,’ said Joanna Elson, Chief Executive, Money Advice Trust.

‘We had a searing experience as a business and are thankful we were rescued. We have since taken stock on how we do things. There’s a lot we do well for customers, but we can do more and we want to change. This won’t happen overnight, but the Customer Charter is our pledge that we are on the case and will be held to account against the progress we make,’ said Brian Hartzer, chief executive officer of RBS and NatWest.

Peter Vicary-Smith of consumer giant Which? said it is a step in the right direction but the UK banking system needs more robust reform. ‘Which? knows people are concerned about the lack of good financial products available, irresponsible lending and the poor customer service they too often receive in banks. While RBS’s Customer Charter is a positive step to improve performance for consumers, banks must implement the recent recommendations of the Future of Banking Commission to resolve the fundamental problems in the sector,’ he explained.