Complaint to Nationwide - Positive Result

thenudeone

My Nationwide card was due to expire at the end of March. I last used it about 9 months before, for £££'s of spend in France. I sometimes use it for buying electrical items as they provide an extra 1 year of warranty (very important now that the egg money free warranty might be withdrawn).

During March I received a letter saying the card would not be re-issued and that the account was suspended effectively "as a responsible lender" blah blah blah.

I have a high income and an exemplary payment history (confirmed with the agencies) but a high borrowings to income ratio (c. 45%) and very high available credit to income ratio (c.100%).

When I wrote to question this, I received a completely different letter saying that the card was not renewed due to inactivity "in line with the terms and conditions"; Which it's not! - the terms actually say that a card can be closed if there is no activity in the preceding 12 months.

I received no reply when I wrote to question this second letter, so I wrote directly to the CEO at the email address published on the website for this purpose.

Within a few days I received a telephone apology and an offer of £50 compensation in addition to a re-activation of the account, which I accepted. The £50 has now been spent - it didn't last long!

So - sometimes companies accept that they've made a mistake and will correct it if customers make enough fuss. I just wish it happened more often!!