Virgin must focus on customer service

by Ed Bowsher on 08 January 2010  |  1 comment
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Today's move by Virgin Money to launch a full range of financial products is welcome. But Virgin needs to improve its customer service if it wants to become a major player in the UK market.

I'm delighted by today's news about Virgin Money. Richard Branson's finance operation has bought a small private bank called Church House Trust. This means that Virgin can now offer savings accounts and mortgages alongside its existing range of financial products which includes credit cards, insurance and pensions. 

The big problem with the UK banking market is that there isn't enough competition. So I'm delighted that Richard Branson wants to shake things up. Even better, there are several other players out there with similarly ambitious plans. These include Tesco and National Australia Bank which already owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank. 

But I have one word of advice for the UK's most successful self-publicist: improve your customer service. We've written many positive articles Virgin's credit card over the last few years because it's often been the longest 0% balance transfer period available at the time. However, I've lost count of how many times I've then had an email from a reader complaining about customer service for the card. 

I should add that personally I've not had any issues with my Virgin card, but I've had so many complaints, I'm convinced that Virgin has a problem. If Virgin wants to be a major player in the UK banking market, it needs to convince consumers that it really is on their side. Branson could learn a lot from First Direct - a bank that gets much more favourable reviews from our readers.