By Sarah Toyne BBC News Online personal finance reporter

For once banks and consumer groups are singing from the same hymn sheet: they agree that it has become easier to switch bank accounts recently.

The Consumers' Association, long a critic of banks dragging their heels on transfers, has said that it is now "quite easy" to switch, and argues that it is all a matter of perception.

It predicts that the number of people switching will treble next year, the equivalent of 3.5% of the Big Four bank's current account customers.

Meanwhile Intelligent Finance, which used to compile blacklists of banks that were reluctant to co-operate, now longer bothers to compile figures.

Modest im

So are things looking up?

Certainly, years of bad publicity seem to have worked for consumers.

The DeAnne Julius Report, published in November 2001, has already led to some improvements.

If Lloyds TSB, for example, messes up a transfer - taking longer than three days to move direct debits and standing orders to your new bank - it will give you �50.

Slow take-up

But too few people are taking advantage of it.

The Consumers' Association estimates that UK consumers are losing out by �500m a year by being too reluctant to change banks.

For someone with an average salary of �1,500 a month, it estimates that �20 a year could be saved by moving to an account with 3% interest.

More importantly, people can save thousands if they transfer their mortgage to a cheaper deal.

Unfortunately, most still don't.