People are more satisfied with their mortgage lender than a year ago, but the big lenders are still underperforming, according to a new survey from Which? Money.

The survey found that the average customer satisfaction score for mortgage lenders increased from 58% last year to 62% this year, and many lenders have performed better on all aspects of service.

The small lenders and building societies retained their crowns as top scorers for customer satisfaction. First Direct scored highest, with 91%. Other top performers were the One Account (77%), Coventry Building Society (75%) and Britannia Building Society (74%).

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However, the big lenders still scored below average for customer satisfaction, with Halifax scoring 45%, followed by Northern Rock (47%), Abbey (50%), Barclays (52%) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (53%). This year’s bottom four were also among the worst in 2008.

People are most satisfied with the clarity of their statements and how well they are kept up to date with rate changes, but they're less impressed with how well their lender keeps them informed about better deals that are available to them, with more than one in four dissatisfied.

James Daley, Editor, Which? Money, said: "The cost of the deal is usually the top priority when it comes to choosing a mortgage provider, but getting good service matters too. It's encouraging to see that mortgage lenders have seen an increase in customer satisfaction after a difficult year. But the big lenders are still performing below average, despite all the public funding some have received over the last year.

"Make sure you shop around for your mortgage, and remember to take mortgage fees into account as well as the interest rate when choosing a deal, so you don’t end up paying over the odds."

(CD/GK)