It’s a damning review from the Which?’s Big Change survey.
One of the many reasons I chose to become an Independent IFA – no sales targets and my mantra is “service, service, service”.
In the past I have worked within large institutions, although not the banks, and the importance of “sell at any cost” was a common practice. I have known many where their role was to sell and felt it was their choice (the client) to trust them and so what was purchased was solely their decision. If your very livelihood is dependent on “sell at any cost” and there is an environment of targets and not service, and this is the “norm” and acceptable, then many will and have been manipulated.
The Which? investigation suggests pressure on bank staff to sell financial products has not reduced, despite demands for change from regulators and politicians.
In Which?’s Big Chance survey of over 500 front line bank staff, conducted in September:-
- 81% say the pressure to meet sales targets has stayed the same or risen
- 66% say they are usually told to sell more
- 41% say they thought there had been a decrease in the incentives available.
- 46% say they know colleagues had missold products in order to meet sales targets
- 40% say they were sometimes expected to sell products even when it was not appropriate for the customer
Customers feel the pressure
Which? is calling on all the banks to refocus their incentive schemes on customer service.
Further research from Which? found that customers are feeling the effects of the pervasive sales culture in Britain’s high-street banks :-
- 40% say the last time they contacted their bank they were offered a new product or service that wasn’t suitable
- 25% felt pressurised to take up the product
Staff were interviewed from HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Santander.
Which? is handing in a dossier of evidence to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. The dossier includes the bank staff survey, consumer views and previous research on the banking industry. This is in addition to 120,000 signatures from the general public pledging their support for ‘Big Change’ in banking with Which? and 38 Degrees.
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith says: “We are calling on the banks to be much more transparent about their sales targets and incentives.
“Our survey reveals the stark realities of the sales culture that still exists at the heart of the banking industry. Senior bankers say the culture is changing but this shows it just is not filtering through to staff on the front line who remain under real pressure to put sales before service, even after incentives are taken away.”
welshmoneywiz 