Howard Brown, the Halifax branch manager who starred in TV adverts for the bank's current account, has started something serious.

Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), the former building society which became a bank, says the advert inspired 300,000 customers from other banks to switch bank current accounts to the Halifax. Their money earns three per cent with the Halifax, compared with 0.10 per cent from the main High Street banks.

The figures suggest consumers are ready to move their accounts to get a better deal.

Last year, 600,000 people switched their banks, a 20 per cent increase on 1999. If the Halifax and Brown have really hooked 300,000 on their own this year, the trickle of switchers could grow into an army.

The mystery is why it has taken so long. More than 37 million current accounts are in everyday use in Britain and plenty of them cause their owners to grit their teeth.

This month's issue of Which? magazine claims the big four - Barclays, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and NatWest - dominate the market and hold two-thirds of the accounts.

But only 32 per cent of customers were very satisfied with Lloyds TSB, while Barclays and NatWest do little better.

No wonder former building societies, like Alliance and Leicester, which are keen to widen their business, and internet ventures promise to keep customers much happier.

Best buys, says Which?, are Smile, the Nationwide Flex Account, Halifax (providing the account receives a pay cheque of at least £1,000 a month) and First Direct.

What's gone wrong at the major banks? Low interest rates don't help.

Older customers were bruised by the revolution in retail banking of the Nine-ties and the loss of a personal link with a bank manager. These days, account enquiries go to impersonal call centres.

Overdrafts are a sore point, too. Established banks charge about 18 to 20 per cent for authorised overdrafts, sometimes 30 per cent plus for unauthorised.

Alliance and Leicester's Premier Account charges 9.9 per cent on both counts. Smile charges 9.9 per cent on authorised overdrafts and 22 per cent on unauthorised.

The major stumbling block to changing bank accounts is the paperwork and problems involved.

The Association for Payment Clearing Services takes an important step to-wards a fully-automated system next month when direct debits go electronic.

Switching bank accounts is getting easier - slowly.

Points to consider Checklist before you switch accounts:-

*Will the new bank be where your salary would be paid in, monthly or weekly, by your employer?

*Know which sort of customer you are: Healthily in credit, slightly overdrawn, deep in the red. Then decide in advance whether the savings exceed any possible charges.

*Do you earn enough to get a good deal from the new bank? A&L's Premier Account, for instance, requires a single/joint income of £20,000 a year.

*Consider an integrated account, like the Royal Bank of Scotland's which combines bank, mortgage, savings and loans acc-ounts into one. Well-managed, it could slash interest charges and pay your mortgage off early.

*Does the new account offer easy access to cash, through branches, cash points or other outlets?

*Does the new account give access to a wide range of financial products, such as savings, loans and insurance, at preferential rates? Is access free of charge or for a fee?

*Internet banking tends to be impersonal. A traditional bank might be better if you need to seek advice.