Advice Please - Nationwide Account

Padds

Hi guys, I had a problem with Nationwide putting a hold on my account while I was abroad. Slightly long and convoluted story, but here is the general outline and I was hoping someone could give their opinion and advice on what they feel I could do.

I'm a Brit but for the past three years I have lived in the USA, at first as a student and then to work. I have had a Nationwide Current Account for a number of years and it's my main account I use in the UK. While in the States I have kept my Nationwide account going, using my card occasionally in the US and more often when I'm in the UK.

I had a problem this summer when my account with them was frozen or a temporary hold placed on it. I kept my parents UK address with Nationwide as I was a student at the time. My parents in the UK moved house while I was in the US and I completed a change of address form in my local branch almost exactly this time last year.

After discovering the hold had been placed, through speaking with their helpline I found that the change of address form had not been processed by the branch. As a result statements and other items were posted to my parents old address, which were then returned to Nationwide as having an incorrect address. This had caused the hold to be placed on my account due to an unvalidated address.

I appreciate the bank had this procedure in place as a safety check and they were acting in my interest. The hold was correctly placed as my UK address was wrong on their system, but this was entirely down to the bank not processing the form about six months previously. Unfortunately it left me in another country with no access to my account. The Nationwide helpline were not that sympathetic, insisting they needed my signature to make a change and unfreeze it - speaking on the phone or a faxed signature was not enough. Much to my exasperation there was not way around saying I was 5,000 miles away and could not get a signature to them for the best part of a week and I needed access to my account.

I was wondering if anyone could offer advice on my position? I was very annoyed at the time, although once it was sorted nothing major happened as a result and I cooled off for a bit. I had access to another account in the USA so wasn't totally cut off for money but did have some expenses in moving money around as a direst result of this (ATM fees, wire transfer). I wrote a letter to Nationwide about six months ago to voice my dissatisfaction but have heard nothing in reply. I'm still slightly frustrated at the whole event, both the original mistake, the freezing of the account plus the compete lack of response from them. Does anyone have any advice on how far I should take this and possible recover of expenses and/or compensation?

Thanks

System

One thing that jumps out at me with your problem is that you gave Nationwide an inaccurate home address address - you were not living in the UK but in the USA, which is against your T&Cs of the account.

This didn't help with the problem with the freeze and frustrated attempts to fix things as they reasonably insisted that you go to a 'local' branch with ID - again it's not their fault your not in the same continent as your home address/ their branch.

I don't think I would even attempt to claim compensation in this instance and write it off as a cost of living abroad.

Padds wrote: »

Hi guys, I had a problem with Nationwide putting a hold on my account while I was abroad. Slightly long and convoluted story, but here is the general outline and I was hoping someone could give their opinion and advice on what they feel I could do.

I'm a Brit but for the past three years I have lived in the USA, at first as a student and then to work. I have had a Nationwide Current Account for a number of years and it's my main account I use in the UK. While in the States I have kept my Nationwide account going, using my card occasionally in the US and more often when I'm in the UK.

I had a problem this summer when my account with them was frozen or a temporary hold placed on it. I kept my parents UK address with Nationwide as I was a student at the time. My parents in the UK moved house while I was in the US and I completed a change of address form in my local branch almost exactly this time last year.

After discovering the hold had been placed, through speaking with their helpline I found that the change of address form had not been processed by the branch. As a result statements and other items were posted to my parents old address, which were then returned to Nationwide as having an incorrect address. This had caused the hold to be placed on my account due to an unvalidated address.

I appreciate the bank had this procedure in place as a safety check and they were acting in my interest. The hold was correctly placed as my UK address was wrong on their system, but this was entirely down to the bank not processing the form about six months previously. Unfortunately it left me in another country with no access to my account. The Nationwide helpline were not that sympathetic, insisting they needed my signature to make a change and unfreeze it - speaking on the phone or a faxed signature was not enough. Much to my exasperation there was not way around saying I was 5,000 miles away and could not get a signature to them for the best part of a week and I needed access to my account.

I was wondering if anyone could offer advice on my position? I was very annoyed at the time, although once it was sorted nothing major happened as a result and I cooled off for a bit. I had access to another account in the USA so wasn't totally cut off for money but did have some expenses in moving money around as a direst result of this (ATM fees, wire transfer). I wrote a letter to Nationwide about six months ago to voice my dissatisfaction but have heard nothing in reply. I'm still slightly frustrated at the whole event, both the original mistake, the freezing of the account plus the compete lack of response from them. Does anyone have any advice on how far I should take this and possible recover of expenses and/or compensation?

Thanks

Padds

Yeah, thanks for the help you two and I do agree with what you say. A lot of this confusion comes back to me I admit I'm accountable. I kept the UK address for my convenience and didn't realise their mistake and was in the US at the time. No real harm came of the incident, it's more frustration from my end now and I'll think I'll let it go.

No to argue the point too hard with you, I was a student when this happened, so officially I still was living in the UK as far as US immigration was concerned. I was a non-resident in the USA as per the terms of my visa I had to have a permanent UK address which was my folks place on the account.