first direct is the #1 company in the UK for delivering high quality customer service, according to The Institute of Customer Service.

In the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index*, published today, first direct is the most highly rated organisation for customer satisfaction out of 271 companies – across 13 sectors and industries. With a score of 85.1 (out of 100) the bank sits well above the national average of 76.8, and the average for banks and building societies of 78.3.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 saw a higher number of consumers reporting dissatisfaction with the service they received from organisations, and also how their complaints were handled. This has resulted in customer service satisfaction in the UK falling to its lowest point since 2015.

first direct was among the highest rated across each of the Experience, Customer Ethos, Emotional Connection, and Ethics dimensions of customer satisfaction.

Chris Pitt, CEO of first direct, said: “Every day first direct’s people try to deliver for customers. We understand people value interactions which are simple, safe, and enable them to get on with their lives. Easy to say but much harder to do consistently day in day out, year after year. I’d like to thank everyone in fd who has – throughout a difficult year – worked to deliver our service promise.

“Our focus is on providing a frictionless, digital banking experience, offering only those services which are genuinely useful and add value. But we also know how much worth there is in having highly trained, empathetic people available 24/7, empowered to treat customers as individuals not just another number.”