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MONEY COMMENT
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Habitual readers of the Fool's personal finance articles might recognise my catchphrases: "Shop around and save" - "Disloyalty pays dividends" - "Go for your best deal, not your first deal" - "Don't buy anything you don't understand". Although this is sensible advice, it's difficult to estimate how much you'd save if you followed it to the letter. However, a recent survey from the Consumers Association, publishers of Which? magazine, has calculated the cost of being loyal to your bank: you end up £1,500 out of pocket! Which? compared nine everyday financial products (covering banking, borrowing, saving and insuring) across eleven High Street providers to see how each stacked up. It's a bit of an eye-opener: Best Buys and the High Street just don't seem to get along. None of the eleven providers offer consistently good value, and all sell one or more ropey products. Some were awful: customers of Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL.) would be an eye-popping £1,502 better off if they shopped around for Best Buys and avoided its poor-value products. Mutual building society Nationwide came off best, although its customers could still save a useful £700 by shopping around more. I've often commented that the Nationwide is the best all-round provider on the High Street, so I'm delighted that this survey hasn't proved me wrong! What's more, Which? reckons Britain could save: So, if you're fed up with being ripped off and fancy claiming your share of these billions, wise up and be a winner with the Fool's Decision Centres: I'll leave you with some wise words from Which?: "Don't trust your bank to give you the best deal on everything". Shouldn't that be "anything"?!! More: Ten Top Money Moves | Break It Off With Your Bank | Cunning Credit Card Conduct