PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday 19th February, 2002

BRITS HIT OUT (LITERALLY) AT INTERNET IRRITATIONS
We're raging against the machine...

Frustrated Britons are striking back as the wonders of the web have turned from Information to Irritation Superhighway - and it's not just the PC that is taking a thumping.

A new study carried out by MORI for Abbey National to mark the re-launch of their website - www.abbeynational.co.uk reveals web rage now strikes over half of all Internet users (54 per cent) at least once a week, with over one in ten (11 per cent) admitting to losing
their rag on a daily basis.

Worryingly, for some Britons violence is the only way to deal with their Internet madness. In the heat of the moment, seven per cent of people admit to hitting their keyboard or mouse, four per cent to thumping their desk and some two per cent claim to have actually hit the person next to them in their frustration at the net. One IT manager admitted smashing up a £2,500 laptop after a web page failed to recognise his personal details after six attempts.

Top of the list of Internet irritations are sites that take ages to load - a source of frustration for an enormous 87 per cent of web users. Help buttons that don't actually help (83 per cent) and requests for personal details before being allowed into a site to progress an enquiry (82 per cent) are also pet hates.

It's not just workmates or office equipment feeling the brunt of web rage - e-businesses have real cause for concern. When web rage strikes, over half (52 per cent) of all users simply log off, with one in ten surfers resorting to more traditional offline methods such as phone or fax. Over a quarter (26 per cent) of users claim to boycott web sites that have irritated them previously.

On a brighter note, those sites that do get it right reap the benefits. Some 83 per cent of web users regularly go back to sites they know are easy to use, download quickly and will give them user friendly information and instructions.

Ambrose McGinn, Abbey National's Director of Retail E-Commerce said: "Such levels of web related stress among net users seems to indicate that although most people's skills using the web have matured and evolved, many web sites unfortunately have not. This growing gap between people's expectations and their actual experience on the net results in increasing incidents of
violent web rage. Users are reaching breaking point as they struggle to control their frustration with the web and how difficult many sites can be to use.

Carole Spiers, a leading occupational stress management consultant said:, "Web users must be able to feel in control. When we feel that control is being lost, irritation builds and our blood pressure starts to rise. However, we mustn't expect technology to always work for us - sometimes it will let us down. Letting our emotions supersede rationale thinking starts us down the slippery slope to stress.

"When a problem arises, the best thing to do is to try and clear the mind - be it by looking out of the window, putting on some calming music or imagining yourself lazing on a faraway beach. If all else fails, walk away from what you're doing and come back to it, maybe twenty minutes and a cup of tea later. The problem may not have gone away but you may be in a more rational state to deal with it and your colleagues will be safer too."

To help bring serenity to surfers' lives, Abbey National has developed a website dedicated to restoring peace and tranquillity for web rage sufferers. www.momentsofsimplicity.co.uk <http://www.momentsofsimplicity.co.uk> has a selection of chilled out music
and images so that stressed surfers can now transport themselves with one click to a calmer state of mind.

ENDS

For further information please contact Nancy Baynes at iJack Communications
or Nick Porter at Band & Brown Communications on 020 7419 8613.
Alternatively, Jane Reynolds at Abbey National on 020 6712 3874

Research conducted by Mori during 14t - 16th December 2001. 1000 interviews
were carried out. The sample was weighted in line with national demographic
profile and was designed to be representative of all adults in Great
Britain.

Carole Spier's top tips to avoid web rage:

*Try to take a break from every 30 minutes.
*Ensure that you are comfortable and your screen, keyboard and mouse are
correctly positioned.
*Listen to your favourite music whilst surfing as this will help lower
stress levels. Block out the rest of the world and create your own world of
peace, simplicity and calm.
*Try to recognise and acknowledge what you cannot change.
*If the Internet is really frustrating you and everything seems to be going
wrong take control: shut it down, turn off the screen and walk away. Return
to it when you feel better able to cope.

More web rage testimonials:

I really hate it when it takes ages to get through to a web page to find it
is out of order or is being re-built etc and refresh doesn't work. I
frequently e-mail a load of abuse to the 'where to contact us' e-mail
address you find on these sites. (27 year old female)

I ordered a TV off a web site and it did not turn up despite loads of emails
to them. So I ordered one million pounds worth of goods from them using a
false credit card number! I don't think people take it out on their
computers, but on the web site that's irritated them. (43 year old male)

When shopping on the net it is hugely irritating when you complete your
order and then it won't process or the page won't load. At moments of
extreme frustration shouting helps, along with rapid hammering of the mouse
button - I'm now on my third mouse. (29 year old male)

Top 10 Web Irritations:

IRRITATION % RESPONDENTS FOUND EITHER 'IRRITATING' OR 'VERY IRRITATING'

1.Slow loading web sites 87%
2.Help buttons that can't help 83%
3.Requests for personal details before being allowed to progress into a site
82%
4.Irrelevant search results 79%
5.Poorly organised content 78%
6.No search facility 75%
7.Scrolling down or through lots of pages to get info needed 74%
8.Adverts 71%
9.Pop-up boxes 70%
10.Cluttered design 63%