Nationwide accidently closed my Joint Account !!
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Chris10398
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hi all,
This is my first post on MSE so apologies if its either too detailed or not detailed enough.
6 weeks ago I went into my location Nationwide branch in Woking, Surrey to withdraw our child benefit that gets paid into our (wife) joint account which is currently not being used as my wife and daughter are abroad, so I go to the cashier desk and ask for the funds to be withdrawn but for the account to remain open as the balance was going to £0 and the guy at the counter must have accidently clicked withdraw to close instead of just withdraw funds.
After taking me through the whole process to withdraw the funds he says at the 'end' of the process that my account has been closed (this was dispute me saying 3 times I don't want to close the account , I only want to withdraw the funds as I sensed he was looking slightly uncomfortable).
Once I was informed of the error I requested that the mistake was corrected / undone but was told that once an account is closed , it cannot be reopened which I find ridiculous as it all happened within the space of 10 minutes. due to an error on their part (confirmed by email).
This has caused me huge discomfort as my wife is a foreign national and relies heavily on the joint account not only for access to funds but also proof of address and the child benefit is under her name so acts as proof of ID.
I then get taken to a room away from the shop floor (not that I was making a scene but requesting action is taken to resolve the issue), where I meet one of the members of staff who types down my complaint as the only offer they can give me is to do a new application for a bank account (bit hard when my wife is out of the country).
I was then promised the following on 12th June (all recorded on email):
1) it would take 3 days to process the complain and reach a conclusion
2) A member of staff will be in contact with me on a daily basis to provide an update
3) The manager of the branch would be emailing me so I have his direct contact details
On 20th June (evening 8 days later):
1) I had received no phone calls from anyone at Nationwide
2) The manager had not emailed me with his contact details
I then took a 1/2 days holiday to go into branch on 21st June to find out the status of my complaint and what was going to be done as they had not followed through on 2 promises - quite amazing when I have been a customer of theirs for 9 years.
When sending an email confirming I am coming into the office in 10 minutes I received an email back saying the manager had tried to call me (no sign of any missed calls and I was sitting in their branch already).
I then speak to the Manager who says he is currently speaking to the head office about my complaint (no emails from him stating this for the past 9 days though) and that he apologised that no one had been in contact with me - the excuse was the other chap I first spoke to on 12th didn't pass on the message properly and has been in another branch for the week. The manager then said that they would come up with some form of compensation for the inconvenience it had caused me and that I would be reimbursed for my expenses (I asked about travel and time out of work which he confirmed).- he asked me to go away and think of an amount of compensation as he has never seen this problem before - I came up with £400 which is the same amount as another Nationwide customer had a few years ago received when he had a similar issue, plus my expenses obviously as they outweigh the compensation (now at 1 days holiday), I sent him calculations of my train tickets and time off work which equated to approximately £425 (so £825 all inclusive), he also requested proof of my wifes flights / accommodation as she is abroad with my daughter and medical documents for my daughter who is recovering from heart surgery - .he seemed to hint towards £150 as compensation.
I sent this and a week later I still had no response from him whatsoever until I chase yet again with another phone call and a threat that I am getting extremely frustrated and will be coming into the branch - the excuse was that he never received the email (even though I did as I cc'd myself in) so I resent.
Last week I receive numerous emails from the manager stating that my complaint is being investigated by the complaints handling team in Head Office and that a final response is likely to happen today (17th July) a whole 5 weeks after the issue first started. I was offered £200 as the final offer and that they would only pay back the train tickets for my expenses and NOT my tie off work (remember I wouldn't have had to take time off to go into branch if someone was actually contacting me at the time like they promised. He mentioned that he in no way whatsoever said they would pay my time off work as part of my expenses - which is rubbish!
last Thursday I had a chat with the manager on the phone (as my business relies heavily on phone calls, we record everything from internal purposes) and on that specific call I said to the manager "as you have requested numerous documents, do you need me to get written confirmation from my MD that I have taken time off work as proof for my expense claim as I don't want to have to mess around next week as I'm travelling" - his response was "no, the fact that I have seen you come into branch means I can personally vouch for you so there is no need".
I guess my post is not only to seek guidance on what I should do next (FOS) but also to make people aware of how a loyal customer can be treated in times where banks have stiff competition - I feel disgusted not only by the way I have been treated but also the lack of clear communication and expectation setting.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? your input would be much appreciated.
Thanks and sorry again for the long winded thread!
Chris
This is my first post on MSE so apologies if its either too detailed or not detailed enough.
6 weeks ago I went into my location Nationwide branch in Woking, Surrey to withdraw our child benefit that gets paid into our (wife) joint account which is currently not being used as my wife and daughter are abroad, so I go to the cashier desk and ask for the funds to be withdrawn but for the account to remain open as the balance was going to £0 and the guy at the counter must have accidently clicked withdraw to close instead of just withdraw funds.
After taking me through the whole process to withdraw the funds he says at the 'end' of the process that my account has been closed (this was dispute me saying 3 times I don't want to close the account , I only want to withdraw the funds as I sensed he was looking slightly uncomfortable).
Once I was informed of the error I requested that the mistake was corrected / undone but was told that once an account is closed , it cannot be reopened which I find ridiculous as it all happened within the space of 10 minutes. due to an error on their part (confirmed by email).
This has caused me huge discomfort as my wife is a foreign national and relies heavily on the joint account not only for access to funds but also proof of address and the child benefit is under her name so acts as proof of ID.
I then get taken to a room away from the shop floor (not that I was making a scene but requesting action is taken to resolve the issue), where I meet one of the members of staff who types down my complaint as the only offer they can give me is to do a new application for a bank account (bit hard when my wife is out of the country).
I was then promised the following on 12th June (all recorded on email):
1) it would take 3 days to process the complain and reach a conclusion
2) A member of staff will be in contact with me on a daily basis to provide an update
3) The manager of the branch would be emailing me so I have his direct contact details
On 20th June (evening 8 days later):
1) I had received no phone calls from anyone at Nationwide
2) The manager had not emailed me with his contact details
I then took a 1/2 days holiday to go into branch on 21st June to find out the status of my complaint and what was going to be done as they had not followed through on 2 promises - quite amazing when I have been a customer of theirs for 9 years.
When sending an email confirming I am coming into the office in 10 minutes I received an email back saying the manager had tried to call me (no sign of any missed calls and I was sitting in their branch already).
I then speak to the Manager who says he is currently speaking to the head office about my complaint (no emails from him stating this for the past 9 days though) and that he apologised that no one had been in contact with me - the excuse was the other chap I first spoke to on 12th didn't pass on the message properly and has been in another branch for the week. The manager then said that they would come up with some form of compensation for the inconvenience it had caused me and that I would be reimbursed for my expenses (I asked about travel and time out of work which he confirmed).- he asked me to go away and think of an amount of compensation as he has never seen this problem before - I came up with £400 which is the same amount as another Nationwide customer had a few years ago received when he had a similar issue, plus my expenses obviously as they outweigh the compensation (now at 1 days holiday), I sent him calculations of my train tickets and time off work which equated to approximately £425 (so £825 all inclusive), he also requested proof of my wifes flights / accommodation as she is abroad with my daughter and medical documents for my daughter who is recovering from heart surgery - .he seemed to hint towards £150 as compensation.
I sent this and a week later I still had no response from him whatsoever until I chase yet again with another phone call and a threat that I am getting extremely frustrated and will be coming into the branch - the excuse was that he never received the email (even though I did as I cc'd myself in) so I resent.
Last week I receive numerous emails from the manager stating that my complaint is being investigated by the complaints handling team in Head Office and that a final response is likely to happen today (17th July) a whole 5 weeks after the issue first started. I was offered £200 as the final offer and that they would only pay back the train tickets for my expenses and NOT my tie off work (remember I wouldn't have had to take time off to go into branch if someone was actually contacting me at the time like they promised. He mentioned that he in no way whatsoever said they would pay my time off work as part of my expenses - which is rubbish!
last Thursday I had a chat with the manager on the phone (as my business relies heavily on phone calls, we record everything from internal purposes) and on that specific call I said to the manager "as you have requested numerous documents, do you need me to get written confirmation from my MD that I have taken time off work as proof for my expense claim as I don't want to have to mess around next week as I'm travelling" - his response was "no, the fact that I have seen you come into branch means I can personally vouch for you so there is no need".
I guess my post is not only to seek guidance on what I should do next (FOS) but also to make people aware of how a loyal customer can be treated in times where banks have stiff competition - I feel disgusted not only by the way I have been treated but also the lack of clear communication and expectation setting.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? your input would be much appreciated.
Thanks and sorry again for the long winded thread!
Chris
0
Comments
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Has a new account been opened? If not, where will the CB be going?
Personally, I wouldn't reduce an account I wanted to keep to nil.0 -
Has a new account been opened? If not, where will the CB be going?
Personally, I wouldn't reduce an account I wanted to keep to nil.
Thanks for the reply.
I completely appreciate that but the situation with our daughter has meant that funds have been very tight since her operation.
No new account has been opened as I cant open a joint account without my wife being present and she's not due back until mid-August. my Wife has had to change the CB to my name and I will then have to request it goes into my current account (once I get the documents) or a new joint account when we open it,0 -
Can't she ask for it to be paid into your account (assuming it's not a NW account)?
https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/what-youll-get
You can get the money paid into any account, apart from a Nationwide Building Society account in someone else’s name.
That way the claim remains in her name?0 -
Chris10398 wrote: »6 weeks ago I went into my location Nationwide branch in Woking, Surrey to withdraw our child benefit that gets paid into our (wife) joint account which is currently not being used as my wife and daughter are abroad, so I go to the cashier desk and ask for the funds to be withdrawn but for the account to remain open as the balance was going to £0 and the guy at the counter must have accidently clicked withdraw to close instead of just withdraw funds.
OP, which Nationwide account did you hold? Was it a savings account?
The terms and conditions of a least one Nationwide account which I've quickly looked at online state a minimum balance of £1. Your request at the cash desk for the account to remain open suggests that you were aware that you may be breaking the t&cs of the account.0 -
Chris10398 wrote: »Thanks for the reply.
I completely appreciate that but the situation with our daughter has meant that funds have been very tight since her operation.
I don't understand why you are taking time off work and paying for a train ticket to go to the branch when you could have just called them to follow up on the complaint?.
Also if you have to pay for a train to visit the branch why didn't you simply transfer the money from the joint account using online banking and put it into your account?.0 -
Hi Chris and welcome to MSE!
As someone else has posted, you may find that with some account types, withdrawing all funds automatically closes an account (the cashier may not have been aware of that specific account). If that's the case Nationwide's computer system was simply enforcing the T&Cs, as it would be programmed to do. I'd be surprised if there was no warning to the cashier though - but that would depend on their IT system. So it looks like there is a training issue there if that is the case.
If the account was a current account, then this is strange. Usually you have to sign a form authorising the account closure. You can obviously have a current account with a nil balance.
I worked for a bank a long time ago, and it wasn't usually possible to reopen a closed account (I think IT had to be involved, and it flagged with internal fraud - so was a nightmare). The rationale behind that is it can look like fraudulent activity. Opening a new account would be the only way to manage this.
Based on what I know (and a lot is likely to be out of date by now) it sounds like the "fix" you have been offered is the right one, as inconvenient as it is.
So I think you need to work with them to open a new joint account, and see what compensation they offer you. It's usually likely to be to compensate you for any financial loss, plus a good will gesture. I'm not sure £800 is something you'd get, but by all means see what they say.0
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