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Hannah Ricci from

Research from Abbey has revealed that although 86% of us are dissatisfied with our bank, a third of us have banked with the same institution for more than 20 years, and almost half of us have had the same account all our working lives. According to Halifax, keeping an account with one of the big banks has cost customers £2.2 billion in low rates of interest on balances and high rates of interest on overdrafts in the last five years.

But banks are not just offering us a poor deal, many are also providing a disappointing service. The Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB), which monitors banks that subscribe to the banking code, received 3,500 complaints in 2005 - an increase of 50% on the previous year.

Despite the level of dissatisfaction, one of the main reasons people don't switch banks is that they are concerned about the amount of work involved. This, however, is a misconception. "It's actually much simpler than people think, as the new provider will sort everything out for you," says Sue Hannums of AWD Chase De Vere. In order to authorise the transfer you simply have to sign a form detailing any direct debits or standing orders that are paid out of your account, and your new bank will look after the rest.

Another reason people don't switch is a presumption that one bank is as bad as the next. However, the current account market is more competitive than ever, meaning the difference between the best current accounts and the worst is enormous.