Need Advice Re Missing Debit Cards

dc88

Hi,

I received an email on Thursday morning telling me a new debit card had been sent out as my current one is due to expire (end September). I immediately realised (having just moved house) that I need to inform them of my new address, so after work I rang the Natwest customer number and explained the situation. The advisor said it was no problem and that he would cancel the sent out card so nobody could use it, and sent another to my new address (updating the address also).

On the following Saturday, I was doing my shopping in Tesco and was paying for my groceries at the checkout when for some reason the card wasn't being processed. After trying 3 times, I had to leave my shopping and try at the cash machine outside. It also rejected my card but gave me an advice slip saying the card had been cancelled. Great, I had to (embarrassingly) leave my groceries and head home. I also needed to fill up my car that day and couldn't so. When I got home I phoned the helpline again and explained what had happened. The advisor said the previous advisor had cancelled the wrong card (my current card) and that the card which should have been cancelled was not. He said he would cancel that card and that the new card was on route to my new address and should be there in upto 3 working days. As I was left without a card, he asked if I needed to use the emergency cash service, which I did as I needed fuel desperately. After he set that up (and gave me a code), he asked me if he could do anything else. So I questioned him about my second current account and if a new card had been sent out for that. He said oh yes, so I asked him to cancel that one also as I don't need a debit card for it.

I did not receive the card on Friday, Saturday, Monday, Yesterday or Today. I can understand the Friday and Saturday, but now it's getting stupid.

So today I thought I'd seek some advice. Asides from waiting, is there anything I can do? I need my debit card, I simply dont feel comfortable drawing large amounts of money out (I bearly use cash machines) with the emergency cash service. I have already filed a complaint using their online form. Is this an acceptable level of carelessness for such large bank like Natwest? I have been with them for nearly 10 years, and has me questioning if I should move banks because of it. There are also purchases I need to make online, I feel stumped.

Any advice is welcome. :undecided

Archi_Bald

Seems you have done everything you can do for now under the circumstances, and it is now a matter of waiting. Mistakes have been made by both sides - e.g. you should have notified Natwest of your change of address at the latest on the day you moved. You could also have asked Royal Mail to redirect your post for a few weeks. And clearly, Natwest shouldn't have cancelled the wrong card. But that's water under the bridge now, nothing anyone can do about these mistakes now, other than try and avoid them in future.

You should also consider to have at least one other means of payment, totally separate from Nationwide. A credit card (paid off in full every month) from a company other than Natwest, or any of the RBS companies, might help. A second current account at a bank like TSB, where you can earn 5% AER, might be another alternative.