THE number of UK consumers who believe customer service is improving has doubled since the start of the financial crisis, a survey has revealed.

Almost a quarter of consumers (22.9%) say customer service is getting better, up from 9.1% in 2008, the study by the British Standards Institution found.

And although 29% think consumer service is getting worse, the figure has more than halved from 64% over the same time. Of the 29% who think service is getting worse, 42% cited uncompetitive prices, 40% mentioned poor product quality, 39% had suffered a "bad attitude" from company employees and 33% said their complaint had been poorly handled.

The poll found consumers were nearly twice as likely to switch energy providers (9.5%) than banks (5.3%).