Cahoot and John Lewis Partnership pick up Which? Awards

The ‘big five' high street banks missed out today at the second annual Which? awards, with online bank Cahoot picking up the award for Best Current Account and The John Lewis Partnership winning Best Credit Card Provider.

Which? experts judged the shortlisted companies' performance over the last year, including overall customer satisfaction, evidence of good practice and consistency in meeting ‘Best Buy' standards.

Cahoot offers a healthy 3.65 per cent interest rate for customers in the black, compared to the miserly 0.01 typically offered by the big high street banks. The John Lewis Partnership was named Best Credit Card Provider for its Mastercard offering, which has long been a Which? ‘Best Buy' thanks to its 0 per cent balance transfer deals and attractive card reward scheme.

Meanwhile, Office of Fair Trading (OFT) chief executive John Fingleton was named Consumer Champion of the Year. Fingleton's award is in recognition of the OFT's increased focus on important consumer issues such as price-fixing and its ongoing battle with the UK's high street banks over unauthorised overdraft fees.

Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, says: "Getting a good deal for consumers is what Which? exists for, so it's a pleasure to celebrate the businesses and individuals that are delivering that ideal - today's award winners truly represent the best of the best in UK products and services.

"It just goes to show that the biggest players in a market don't always offer the best deals - if you shop around and switch current account or credit card providers you can save yourself money as well as getting better service."