Nationwide refuse 14 year old his money

NOWSE

My 14 year old son has a Smart account with the Nationwide. Yesterday I took him to one of their branches to withdraw some money by cheque. We took his passbook and his passport as identification.
We were refused the money on the grounds that they had converted the passbook account to a card account a couple of years ago and therefore the passbook was no longer valid. It was explained that without a card he could not have any money, that they could order a card and that once it arrived he could have his money. In vain I pointed out that, not only had the account conversion not been authorised by either my son or me, but that he had with him proof of his account (passbook) and id (passport).
As someone who keeps records of the family finances going back many years(I still have bank statements from the 70s) I am unable to find any correspondence from the Nationwide regarding any account conversion, let alone a card or pin. On checking their website they say that a Smart account can be converted to a card based account on a customers request. My son has made no such request.
I rang the Nationwide in Swindon to complain but got no further and am now waiting for the arrival of a card so that my son can make his withdrawal.
I am really angry over this and will be finding a new home for the savings held by my family with the Nationwide.

Lorian

They are REALLY strict on taking bagged changed at my local branch too, even if you go when they are not busy. 1/10 for being child friendly, eh?

hjd

My children both have these accounts. When my daughter was 11 we got a letter to say she would be getting a card once she was 11 or 12 (forget which). As this is longterm savings no way was she going to have access to it at that age! So we went into the branch and explained and they said fine, just keep it as a passbook.
My son is 13 and don't think we ever had a letter. His is the same, just a passbook. No problems operating it but we have never taken money out - just had interest added.

hollydays

to strength any complaint you would wish to make,i would ring around 3/4 branches see what they say.probably get contradictions.

juno

My fiance's with Nationwide, and if he doesn't have his card he can just take in a bank statement and 2 proofs of ID (one can be a birth certificate, I'm not sure what he uses for the other but passport should be ok) and then he can withdraw money.

IvanOpinion

Is this not showing that Nationwide is taking a responsible attitude ... jeez (quite) a few months ago there was a thread about someone complaining that the bank had allowed their kid to clear his/her account out.

Maybe your son signed something that he was not aware of ... I have done that myself. Why are you so angry over this? This is trivial you have applied for the card ... sorted in a couple of week! If anything it is a good lesson for your son .. sometimes things do not run as smoothly as we would like, it is not really anybodies fault, it is just one of those things.

Ivan

hellofreebies

IvanOpinion wrote:

Is this not showing that Nationwide is taking a responsible attitude ... jeez (quite) a few months ago there was a thread about someone complaining that the bank had allowed their kid to clear his/her account out.

Maybe your son signed something that he was not aware of ... I have done that myself. Why are you so angry over this? This is trivial you have applied for the card ... sorted in a couple of week! If anything it is a good lesson for your son .. sometimes things do not run as smoothly as we would like, it is not really anybodies fault, it is just one of those things.

Ivan

i would be angry too....wasted time...dissapointed kid etc... principal is that the customer was never informed of the new policy... its about customer care

trickytrolleys

He was also withhis parent and had legally acceptable forms of ID - I would not have left without my money and would have closed the account there and then - i think thats tha point, its his money - not theirs!

Kzlnd

IvanOpinion wrote:

Is this not showing that Nationwide is taking a responsible attitude

Not really Nowse's son was with Nowse - his parent, he had acceptable proof of identity and of his account.. Lets not forget, this is HIS money, not the blooming banks!
I don't see how it's a trivial thing that a card for the account will arrive in a week or however long.. The point is/was that he wanted HIS money, then - Not in a week or two! :rolleyes:

Stupid bank. If they failed to contact me regarding the matter, I'd switch and find a bank that doesn't take it upon themselves to change account options and that treats it's customers fairly, with respect and that doesn't waste their time.

NOWSE

IvanOpinion wrote:

Is this not showing that Nationwide is taking a responsible attitude ... jeez (quite) a few months ago there was a thread about someone complaining that the bank had allowed their kid to clear his/her account out.

Maybe your son signed something that he was not aware of ... I have done that myself. Why are you so angry over this? This is trivial you have applied for the card ... sorted in a couple of week! If anything it is a good lesson for your son .. sometimes things do not run as smoothly as we would like, it is not really anybodies fault, it is just one of those things.

Ivan

Sorry but I can't agree with you. From what point of view was the Nationwide being responsible when I'd accompanied my son and he, not only had details of his account, but a primary form of identification. Issuing plastic cards to kids without the permission of their parents is hardly responsible. The Nationwide claim to have sent a letter out about nearly 3 years ago with the message that unless they heard to the contrary from my son they would be issuing him with a card. Hardly the actions of a responsible financial institution. I can find no record of receiving this letter nor having received either of the cards they claim to have sent.
The branch that I visited said that I could request the card to be delivered to them and call in with my son once it had arrived and make the withdrawal. Presumably so that they could then swipe the card as opposed to keying in the account number from the passbook and allowing my son to make his withdrawal yesterday
I had made a special journey to make this withdrawal, a trip of approx 12 miles, only to be confronted by jobsworths unable to use common sense. I feel justified in being angry and will be withdrawing all of my family's money with the Nationwide in due course (a figure perhaps insignificant to them but it can be measured in 10s of thousands rather than hundred of pounds)

IvanOpinion

NOWSE wrote:

Sorry but I can't agree with you. From what point of view was the Nationwide being responsible when I'd accompanied my son and he, not only had details of his account, but a primary form of identification. Issuing plastic cards to kids without the permission of their parents is hardly responsible. The Nationwide claim to have sent a letter out about nearly 3 years ago with the message that unless they heard to the contrary from my son they would be issuing him with a card. Hardly the actions of a responsible financial institution. I can find no record of receiving this letter nor having received either of the cards they claim to have sent.

I can't even find letters I was issued with last month, sometimes they get put in the wrong pile, sometimes they get lost in the post, sometimes they get shredded by mistake ... they will be able to prove that they sent it, they will probably be able to prove that it was addressed correctly, but you will never be able to prove that you did not discard it thinking it was more junk mail.

The branch that I visited said that I could request the card to be delivered to them and call in with my son once it had arrived and make the withdrawal. Presumably so that they could then swipe the card as opposed to keying in the account number from the passbook and allowing my son to make his withdrawal yesterday

It is possible that the cashiers have been told that they are no longer allowed to key in the number for this type of account in an attempt to stop or reduce any kind of fraud (something many people get paranoid about). Whether or not you had the id or the pope was standing beside you is irrelevant, if that is the rules of operaiton of the account then that is the rules. It is possible that the computerised systems that we rely on so much these days do not allow withdrawal from this sort of account without a card.

I had made a special journey to make this withdrawal, a trip of approx 12 miles, only to be confronted by jobsworths unable to use common sense. I feel justified in being angry and will be withdrawing all of my family's money with the Nationwide in due course (a figure perhaps insignificant to them but it can be measured in 10s of thousands rather than hundred of pounds)

Don't worry with what I transferred to them a couple of weeks back will balance out what you remove .. institutions like this will feel absolutely no sensation of loss ... and given some of the work I am involved with at the minute they may consider it to be beneficial. I agree that you should talk with your feet, if the service they are offering does not suit your purposes then go elsewhere ... however maybe you can tell me which bank you will be moving to since I have seen vents about every single high street and internet bank on this board ... none of them are any better than the others.

I will say again that this is something totally trivial and is not something that anybody should be getting mad about ... and to get mad sets your son a bad example. Sometimes things do not go to plan ... personally I would have withdrawn money from my own account given it to my son (if I had one) and told me he can pay me back when he gets the card ... simple ... solved ... no hassle.

Ivan