nationwide flex - what is the point?

sciencegeek

had to vent!!!

recently applied for and opened a nationwide flex account. I requested the visa debit card with the aim of making this my (and wifes) main banking account. When the account was finally opened some time later after nationwide 'lost' my application for a few weeks they have supplied me with a cash card not a debit card.

what is the point! if had wanted a cash card I would have asked for one!

Apparantly the account 'credit scrored' me and determined that I was only worthy of a cashcard.

Problems:
1) they will not discuss the reasons why i scored badly.
2)they will not reasses if I am worthy of a debit card for 7 (yes thats seven!) months after assessing how i use the account.
3) If i cant pay for anything with the card (no chip and pin) how the bl**dy hell am i supposed to use the account well????? withdraw a couple of thousand pounds a month in cash - i dont think so!!

I would understand if I was some kind of credit junkie but we've no debts own a home and have a household income of 50k+. I didnt even request an overdraft facility.

I was told by a member of staff in branch that they want people to use these flex accounts as bank accounts not just a means of withdrawing cash free when abroad but i dont think they have done themselves any favours here. I will simply have to withdraw all my money from the account put it elsewhere and use the account in the precise way they are trying to avoid and if they make a loss because of it thats their own fault!

i will have to obtain read my own credit report cause i can only imagine something has gone seriously awry

Zazen999

Nationwide have a very strange method - and looking at your credit report will make no difference [we are 100% clear, have a mortgage with them, and joint income over £75k, overpay the mortgage by as much as we can, etc etc and they wouldn't budge]

Basically, they know that people will open account with them for the 'using money abroad' purpose and thus restrict people for the first x months until they see the account being run properly.

Reapply in a few months, meanwhile what we did is put every cash purchase through a cashback card [egg money].

Kavanne

Sciencegeek, join the club, I've had a nationwide CC since Jul 06, run perfectly. I applied for the flexaccount in Octo 08 and guess what... no OD and only a cashcard!!

Fab, eh? What's more dangerous, a cc with a £1000 limit (was £700 when I originally got it so they deemed me worthy of an increase!!) or a debit card? HMM?

sciencegeek

seems horrible to say it but i i suspect if i was a chavvy single mum with no income except benefits they would be falling over themselves to offer me all kinds of perks etc they would probably even offer to personally set up the direct debits to pay my innevitable sky tv subscription and enormous home catalogue shopping account debts.

bottleredhead

sciencegeek wrote: »

seems horrible to say it but i i suspect if i was a chavvy single mum with no income except benefits they would be falling over themselves to offer me all kinds of perks etc they would probably even offer to personally set up the direct debits to pay my innevitable sky tv subscription and enormous home catalogue shopping account debts.

Tut, no need, ruined a perfectly sensible thread

sciencegeek

bottleredhead wrote: »

Tut, no need, ruined a perfectly sensible thread

take it you disagree then? - fair enough, sorry if my comment bothered you, i will try and keep my feelings about the welfare state, benefits culture etc separate from now on.

Pssst

Bear with them and bide your time.
Times are tough and all the financial services providers are drawing in their claws and hunkering down to weather the storm.

In the end it will be worth having their services.

Voyager2002

sciencegeek wrote: »

take it you disagree then? - fair enough, sorry if my comment bothered you, i will try and keep my feelings about the welfare state, benefits culture etc separate from now on.

Nationwide is not part of the welfare state. They are known to be very choosy about their customers.

Voyager2002

OP: when you applied, did you make it crystal clear that you were planning to pay in your salary to them every month? If not, make a new application and ensure that they understand how much will be credited to your account each month. (They are much better at giving a visa card with a new application than they are at revising an account and replacing a cash card with a visa card.)

biscit

I've had a flex account ever since I was 16. It's now my main current account, but wasn't always.

I was sent a letter a few years back saying I'd been pre-approved for a Visa debit card. Wasn't interested then. Changed my mind, walked into a branch and was told I didn't qualify because my salary wasn't paid in.

It was after my non-visa cash card was rejected in a Russian cash machine (and my wife's was accepted) last year, that they sent me another invitation letter. I replied straight away!