Time to turn the screw on banks

MANY Scots will share my frustration that the way banks treat their customers hasn't improved since our taxes were used to bail them out. If anything, things have got worse.

We're still being hit with the same unfair charges on current accounts, getting the same meagre returns on savings and the same shoddy service. But what can we do about it?

First of all, we can vote with our feet. The same high-street names have the biggest share of the current account market, yet they are consistently outperformed by smaller providers in satisfaction surveys. If enough people switch, the banks will be forced to take notice.

What's more, you can join the likes of Mervyn King, Robert Peston and other leading figures from the world of finance by giving evidence to the Future of Banking Commission. Visit www.which.co.uk/banking to say how you think banks can be made to work better for us.

Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive, Which?

I AM surely not alone in my anger at the three full-page advertisements for the Bank of Scotland.

I would be interested to know what that costs us? I have been a customer with the bank since 1976 and have witnessed its money-grabbing ways.

The ads are self-congratulatory. In the current climate, where we have been forced to pay to have this bank rescued, perhaps they could be a bit more circumspect.

Liz Bright, via e-mail