Failure to switch current accounts 'seeing customers miss out'

Failing to seek out competitive current accounts may mean many people are not making the most of their finances.

Millions of Britons could be failing to make the most of their money by not swapping current account provider.

Research by Santander shows 70 per cent of people - the equivalent of 34 million consumers - have not changed their UK account in the past ten years, while 74 per cent of respondents claim they have no plans to review their accounts in the near future.

And failing to do so could mean they miss out on competitive interest rates as well as features such as free overdrafts, the bank claims.

However, Britons are more willing to compare providers in an effort to get a better offer on insurance, mobile phone and utilities deals.

"In this day and age it is important to look around for the best deal, to make your money stretch as far as it can," Helen Bierton, head of Santander Current Accounts, advises.

People seeking a new deal may want to note that from the beginning of this week the bank made its Zero Current Account available to all those in possession a Santander investment product.

By Emma North