Small travel firms urged to take part in bank survey
Small travel firms are being urged to take part in a survey about their experiences of dealing with the banks.
The Forum of Private Business, a not-for-profit small business support group, is hosting the questionnaire on behalf of the Office of Fair Trading to find out how business owners are being treated by the major lenders.
The Forum hopes as many small firms as possible will take part in the online survey in order to provide the OFT with clear evidence of bank-related problems and difficulties facing business owners.
“Clearly, the issue of the way banks treat small firms has received an enormous amount of attention recently and sparked a lot of debate,” said The Forum’s research manager Thomas Parry.
“One the one hand, groups like the Forum have been arguing that viable smaller firms are being unjustifiably denied credit, or offered it at an extortionate cost, by risk-averse banks which often don’t understand their needs.
“On the other hand, the banks and their industry groups have claimed that lending is down simply because demand is down and they are doing everything they can to increase the flow of finance to business.
"There is also a wider debate about competition between banks, with some critics arguing that smaller firms, particularly in Scotland, face a limited amount of choice in the marketplace.
“We hope this survey will provide the OFT with clear, empirical evidence and reinforce the valid concerns many small business owners have over their relationships with their banks, and the banking industry in general.”
The survey can be accessed via the shortened URL www.bit.ly/cPVVcf and should only take a few minutes to complete.
It is open to all SMEs, is completely confidential and asks businesses’ views on a range of banking issues, including switching between banks and what financial services they use.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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