Principality Building Society has received the What Mortgage Award for Best Building Society Customer Service 2018.

The society won the award following What Mortgage’s 21 week voting campaign, which allowed customers to tell them where they rank each building society in the UK.

Joanne Atkin, Group Editor at What Mortgage, said: “The What Mortgage Awards are voted for by the general public so this award is a reflection of the good service Principality Building Society provides to its customers. It also has a great member rewards programme to thank customers for their loyalty.”

The award is the latest in a series of awards Principality has picked up in the past six months. They have also won Moneyfacts ISA Provider of the Year, Best Small Contact Centre of the Year awarded for outstanding customer service, as well as the NPTC Group of Colleges Education Award 2018 at the Wales Responsible Business Awards for its financial education work across schools in Wales.

Julie-Ann Haines, Chief Customer Officer at Principality Building Society, said: “We are delighted to receive this award, particularly because it is based on the feedback from our customers and Members. As a mutual, we are customer led, so it is a wonderful recognition for all the hard work our colleagues have put in to provide great, consistent customer service.

“We have made improvements to our end-to-end mortgage service which means we can make offers to customers much more quickly. In addition, we are working hard to improve our technology during the next three years so we can offer people a service that suits their lifestyles by giving them a choice of how they want to access their accounts, online, or via tablets. This will complement the personal face-to-face service we offer Members in our branches and via the phone. We reward our Members with loyalty products, including events at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. We want our Members to continue to use us, recommend us and help our branches and the communities they represent to prosper.”

First-time buyer Chris Kember from Cardiff, who has a mortgage with Principality, said: “At every point of the mortgage application process, I felt that my mortgage advisor was listening to me and working towards the best outcome for my application. I was amazed at how quickly I received my mortgage offer. The fact that identification is now electronically verified saved a lot of time and effort. I have been really impressed by what a progressive lender Principality Building Society is.

“As a first time buyer, I didn’t know what to expect and had been anxious to get the application done as like many first time buyers I had been worried that I might lose the property to a higher offer. Queries with the underwriter were dealt with promptly and Principality’s overall efficiency is what has impressed me the most.”