PR

For Immediate Release
7 May 2009

Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2009 – Who Can You Trust?

Consumers have understandably been left with some confusion over which financial brands they can trust following the credit crunch and banking crisis. Britain’s best selling personal finance magazine, Moneywise, aims to set the record straight. Today the publication has announced it will host the inaugural Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2009 on 25 June.

This follows an unprecedented response to Moneywise’ Financial Fightback Campaign launched in January this year. The aim of the campaign was to identify the companies that treat customers fairly, offer the highest level of service and provide the best value for money.

Over 10,000 responses have been received making this Britain’s largest survey of customer service performance. Those companies that have managed to secure consumer trust – even in today’s climate – will be revealed on 25 June at a gala black tie dinner at the Brewery Chiswell Street, in the heart of the City of London.

Some 350 people will attend the event, including senior representatives from the UK’s leading financial services providers, representatives from the financial services media and the key service providers to the financial services industry. These are the people who are shaping the development of the UK financial services industry in this new environment.

A shortlist of the nominees for the awards will be announced later this week and a video of the ethos behind the awards can be viewed by visiting the link below.

http://www.moneywise.co.uk/trust

Moneywise’s publishing director Jeremy King says:

We have been overwhelmed by the response to our survey. Our aim was to empower the consumer to have a say in which financial products and brands they trust. We have obviously hit a note with Moneywise readers and as we analyse the results we are starting to see very strong leanings - both negative and positive - in all areas of the survey. These include mortgage providers, retail banks, insurance companies and cash ISA providers, to name a few.

For further information regarding the awards, sponsorship or table bookings, please contact:

Melissa Gilmour
Moneywise Customer Service Awards
csawards@moneywise.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 242 6151

-ends-

Notes to editors:

Moneywise is Britain’s best selling finance magazine and it has an online website http://www.moneywise.co.uk. The Magazine has an ABC audited circulation of 23,028 (Jan-Dec 2008). Moneywise outsells its nearest competitor two to one and is mailed to over 1,000,000 people each year with a readership of 144,000 people each month. In addition, the www.moneywise.co.uk service now reaches over 100,000 unique users a month and records 320,000 page impressions.

For immediate release
London, UK
19 May 2009

Moneywise announces first part of shortlist for Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2009 - Who Can You Trust?

Following the turbulent past 18 months, with bank after bank revealing cracks - not only in their facades but in their core structures too - consumers have been left wondering which financial services companies they can trust.

To help answer consumer concerns, in January this year Moneywise decided to conduct a survey into which companies treat customers fairly, offer the highest level of service and provide the best value for money; as voted for by the magazine’s readers.

Moneywise received over 10,000 responses, making this Britain’s largest survey of customer service performance among financial services companies.

Part one of this shortlist, comprising the ‘Most Trusted’ financial services companies in Britain is revealed today. The second part, which will reveal the nominees in the ‘Customer Service’ categories, will be announced next week.

The nominees in the ‘Most Trusted’ categories of Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2009 – Who Can You Trust, are:

MOST TRUSTED PROVIDER OVERALL
No shortlist will be published but the winner will be announced on the night.

MOST TRUSTED CURRENT ACCOUNTS PROVIDER
- Alliance & Leicester
- Halifax
- Lloyds TSB
- NatWest
- Nationwide
- First Direct

MOST TRUSTED CREDIT CARD PROVIDER
- American Express
- Capital One
- Egg
- Lloyds TSB
- Nationwide
- Tesco

MOST TRUSTED MORTGAGE PROVIDER
- Abbey
- Cheltenham & Gloucester
- HSBC
- Nationwide
- First Direct
- Woolwich

MOST TRUSTED SAVINGS PROVIDER
- Alliance & Leicester
- First Direct
- ING Direct
- Nationwide
- Halifax

MOST TRUSTED CASH ISA PROVIDER
- Alliance & Leicester
- Barclays
- NatWest
- Nationwide
- Halifax

MOST TRUSTED MOTOR INSURANCE PROVIDER
- Admiral
- Churchill
- esure
- LV=
- Swiftcover
- Saga

MOST TRUSTED HOME INSURANCE PROVIDER
- Churchill
- Direct Line
- LV=
- More Th>n
- Saga
- Halifax

MOST TRUSTED TRAVEL INSURANCE PROVIDER
- Alliance & Leicester
- Barclays
- Flexicover Direct
- Lloyds TSB
- Insureandgo
- Norwich Union

MOST TRUSTED PERSONAL LOAN PROVIDER
- Alliance & Leicester
- Barclaycard
- HSBC
- Lloyds TSB
- NatWest
- Northern Rock

MOST TRUSTED GAS AND ELECTRICITY PROVIDER
- British Gas
- Eon
- EDF Energy
- Scottish Power
- Atlantic

MOST TRUSTED CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE PROVIDER
- AXA
- Friends Provident
- Legal & General
- Norwich Union

MOST TRUSTED MEDICAL INSURANCE PROVIDER
- AXA PPP
- BUPA
- Norwich Union
- PruHealth
- Standard Life Healthcare

MOST TRUSTED INCOME PROTECTION PROVIDER
- AXA
- Friends Provident
- Legal & General
- LV=
- Norwich Union
- Zurich

The winners from each category will be officially announced at the inaugural Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2009 on 25 June, and will be published in the August issue of Moneywise, as well as on Moneywise’s website, www.moneywise.co.uk.

Moneywise’s publishing director Jeremy King says:

“The issue of trust surrounding financial services companies has never been more pertinent than it is today. Moneywise is proud to be providing its readers with this survey to give them some confidence when making financial decisions. The survey also provides a message to the financial community, that building trust is one of the benchmarks the financial services industry must aim for to move successfully forward into a new era.”

For further information regarding the awards, sponsorship or table bookings, please contact:

Melissa Gilmour
Moneywise Customer Service Awards
csawards@moneywise.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 242 6151

-ends-

Notes to editors:

Moneywise is Britain’s best selling finance magazine and it has a website www.moneywise.co.uk.

The magazine has an ABC audited circulation of 23,028 (Jan-Dec 2008). Moneywise outsells its nearest competitor two to one and is mailed to over 1,000,000 people each year with a readership of 144,000 people each month.

In addition, www.moneywise.co.uk now reaches over 100,000 unique users a month and records 320,000 page impressions.

For Immediate Release
28 May 2009

Moneywise announces second part of shortlist for Moneywise Customer Service Awards 2009 – Best Customer Service

The shortlist for ‘Best Customer Service’ from Britain’s largest dedicated survey of customer service performance among financial services companies has been revealed.

Customer service is an invaluable tool for financial services companies seeking to win back loyalty from an increasingly cynical consumer base following the credit crunch and banking crisis.

Britain’s best-selling personal finance magazine, Moneywise, has set out to provide some clarity to consumers and this month has been publishing the results from a survey launched in January this year.

The aim of the survey was to identify the companies that treat customers fairly, offer the highest level of service and provide the best value for money.

Over 10,000 responses were received making this Britain’s largest dedicated survey of customer service performance among financial services companies.

Last week Moneywise announced the shortlisted companies in the ‘Most Trusted’ categories. The shortlist for the ‘Best Customer Service’ categories, announced today, is listed below.

The winners in the ‘Most Trusted’ and ‘Best Customer Service’ categories along with an overall winner of the Moneywise Customer Service Awards will be announced on 25 June at a gala black-tie dinner at the Brewery Chiswell Street, in the heart of the City of London.

The shortlisted companies in the ‘Best Customer Service’ categories are as follows:

Best Current Account - Online Service
First Direct
Halifax
Lloyds TSB
Nationwide
Royal Bank of Scotland
Smile

Best Current Account - Call Service
Alliance & Leicester
First Direct
Nationwide
NatWest
Royal Bank of Scotland
Smile

Best Current Account – Branches
Barclays
Halifax
Lloyds TSB
Nationwide
NatWest
Royal Bank of Scotland

Best Savings Accounts – Online Services
Cahoot
Coventry Building Society
First Direct
Lloyds TSB
NatWest
Royal Bank of Scotland

Best Mortgage – Overall Customer Services for Remortgages
Abbey
Cheltenham & Gloucester
Halifax
Nationwide
Woolwich

Mortgages overall

Alliance & Leicester
Cheltenham & Gloucester
First Direct
HSBC
Nationwide
Woolwich

Best Personal Loan provider – up to £10k

Alliance & Leicester
Barclaycard
Black Horse
Lloyds TSB
NatWest
Northern Rock

Best Personal Loan Provider – over £10k

Alliance & Leicester
HSBC
Lloyds TSB
NatWest
Northern Rock

Best Overall Credit Card – Paying bills each month

American Express
Capital One
Egg
Marks & Spencer Money
Nationwide
Tesco Personal Finance

Best Overall Credit Card – Outstanding balances held

Capital One
Egg
Halifax
HSBC
Tesco
Virgin

Best Credit Card – Call centre service

American Express
Egg
Halifax
Marks & Spencer Money
Tesco Personal Finance
Virgin

Best Credit Card – Online services

American Express
Capital One
Egg
Marks & Spencer Money
Nationwide
Tesco Personal Finance

Best Home Insurance Provider

Churchill
Direct Line
Halifax
LV=
More Th>n
Saga

Best Motor Insurance Provider

Admiral
Churchill
esure
LV=
Saga
Swiftcover

Best Travel Insurance Provider

Alliance & Leicester
Flexi Cover Direct
HSBC
InsureAndGo
Lloyds TSB

Best savings provider for service

Alliance & Leicester
First Direct
ICICI
ING Direct
Nationwide
NatWest

Best Cash ISA provider for service

Alliance & Leicester
Barclays
Halifax
Nationwide
NatWest

For more information about the event view the presentation at the link below

www.threesacrowdevents.com/moneywise
A video explaining the ethos behind the Awards can be viewed by clicking the link below or alternatively visiting Moneywise’s website, www.moneywise.co.uk.

www.moneywise.co.uk/trust

Moneywise’s publishing director Jeremy King says:

“Customer service in the financial services industry is all encompassing. By assuring consumers that they have the customer services corner covered, financial services companies can then focus on their core business of delivering while having comfort in the knowledge that they are more likely to retain their clients. We hope the inaugural Moneywise Customer Service Awards will remind the industry of the two key ingredients that really contribute to its bottom line: Customer Services and Trust.”

For further information regarding the Awards, sponsorship or table bookings, please contact:

Melissa Gilmour
Moneywise Customer Service Awards
csawards@moneywise.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 242 6151

-ends-

Notes to editors:

Moneywise is Britain’s best selling finance magazine and it has a website www.moneywise.co.uk.

Moneywise which launched in 1991 has an ABC audited circulation of 23,028 (Jan-Dec 2008). And is read by 149,000 people each month (NRS Jan-Dec 2008) It is the only magazine in Britain that covers all areas of personal finance.

In addition, www.moneywise.co.uk now reaches over 100,000 unique users a month and records 320,000 page impressions.