The worst credit card providers
Mint has been named as the UK’s worst credit card provider, closely followed by MBNA, Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax.
Lloyds TSB and Virgin Money also made the top five worst credit card providers in an annual survey by Which? Money. Ironically, both the Virgin Money and Mint cards are issued by MBNA.
At the other end of the scale, John Lewis (Waitrose), Smile and First Direct came out as the top providers for customer satisfaction, along with M&S Money, the Co-operative Bank and Nationwide.
Nationwide’s credit card has also fallen in popularity, slipping from second most popular last year to sixth position. Which? says the fall is down to the building society introducing overseas fees on its credit cards, meaning customers now pay 0.84% when they use their cards outside of Europe. Previously, Nationwide was one of the only cards to waive overseas fees.
The best - and worst - cards from the Which? Money survey:
| Credit card provider | Customer satisfaction |
|---|---|
| John Lewis/Waitrose | 88% |
| Smile | 84% |
| First Direct | 81% |
| M&S Money | 78% |
| Co-operative Bank | 78% |
| Lloyds TSB | 57% |
| Virgin Money | 56% |
| Halifax | 56% |
| RBS | 56% |
| MBNA | 54% |
| Mint | 46% |
Earlier this year, Moneywise revealed the winners of our Customer Services Awards – with 10,000 responses, this is the UK’s largest dedicated survey of customer service performance among financial companies.
A whopping 85% of Moneywise respondents hold credit cards, in most cases more than one.
American Express was named the best credit card provider in the awards, followed by Tesco.
Elsewhere, Capital One was voted number one provider for customers who pay off their balance in full each month, while Tesco came first among customers with outstanding balances.
American Express topped the polls for its call centre service, again closely followed by Tesco, while Egg was named as having the best online services.
Read more about the awards and find out the UK’s most trusted financial companies
The Which? Money survey also revealed how credit card customers had fared since the onset of the recession, with one in eight seeing their interest rate or their terms and conditions changed.
Meanwhile, 24% has been given an increased credit limit without them asking, despite the potential negative impact this could have on their credit record.
Credit card rate and charge hikes are the subject of a recent Moneywise TV investigation. Click here to watch the show...
