Nationwide flexdirect question

mollycat

xylophone wrote: »

See post 23.

See also post #20.

I had to downgrade/upgrade....all done in a day, (by telephone, showed on internet banking), got new flexaccount literature and card which CS told me to just destroy. Got another flexdirect card the following day.

Found it odd, but as i got the 5% i had given up on, not the end of the world

teddysmum

badger09 wrote: »

This is clearly absolute rubbish, since I, and several others have had precisely that done for us by Nationwide.

At no point, unless it was a few hours and invisible in either online or mobile banking:cool: was my FlexDirect downgraded then upgraded again.

OP I'm not questioning what you've been told, and I'm no longer surprised by the inconsistencies experienced by various posters.

It appears that you can't believe anything they say. She was obviously reading from some kind of manual, then interpreting what she thought she was reading.


I think I may drop a note in branch to the very knowledgeable manager ,who opened our accounts for us, asking what exactly current policy is (The one that changed on March 27th and then hadn't changed.)

dales1

Yes, Badger is correct. They switched mine to 5% straight away, after my request by secure message.
Perhaps it's important to send to secure message to the correct crew. (Others may be less informed).
I sent my secure message to
Subject: Managing my FlexAccount & FlexDirect - Tax & interest - Interest queries

Dales.

King_Of_Fools

dales1 wrote: »

Perhaps it's important to send to secure message to the correct crew. (Others may be less informed).
I sent my secure message to
Subject: Managing my FlexAccount & FlexDirect - Tax & interest - Interest queries

Same as me but I twice got rejected as shown in the replies #46 and #57.

Placitasgirl

I contacted Nationwide by secure message earlier today to request the reinstatement of 5% interest rate after a year at 1% on my FlexDirect Account. I've already received the following reply which seems clear and helpful, so maybe the information on the new terms introduced recently is starting to filter through and ensure a constant response from NW staff. I'll be calling today to request the down/upgrade today and will update on the timescale of the change later.

Hello Mrs XXXXX,

Thanks for getting in touch.
The terms of this have changed recently, you'll still be eligible however you will need to change your account to a FlexAccount and then it back to a FlexDirect on the 1st April. It will take 3-5 working days for the account to be fully changed over so you won't receive the 5% from the 1st April.

You can change your account by giving our new accounts team a call on 0800 30 20 10.

You can change your account when you like, you don't need to wait until the 1st however you will need to wait until the 1st to change to account back to a FlexDirect.

I hope this helps Mrs XXXXX.

If there is anything else I can help you with, please reply to this message.

ToTo_Man

On 18th October 2015 I opened a FlexDirect (Joint). On 19th October 2016 I downgraded this to a FlexAccount (Joint). I also opened a FlexDirect (Sole) in October 2016 (I'd have opened one in 2015 had I realised you could hold a sole and joint at the same time!).

Today I phoned NW to downgrade my October 2016 FlexDirect (sole) to a FlexAccount (sole). The asked why and I explained it was so that I could upgrade the account in 12 months time and qualify for the 5% interest again. The rep said that while this was still possible under current rules, NW would be updating their policy on 13th January 2018, after which time it would no longer be possible to 'upgrade' a FlexAccount that had previously been a FlexDirect account and receive 5% interest. He said that I would instead need to open a brand new FlexDirect in 12 months time to receive the 5% interest.

That's ok I said, no big inconvenience, but can you confirm if my decision today to either downgrade my existing FlexDirect to a FlexAccount (thereby receiving 0% going forward) or keep it as a FlexDirect earning 1%, will affect my eligibility to open a new FlexDirect as you propose in 12 months time? I was put on hold while the rep had a lengthy discussion with his manager, after which he said that he had given me incorrect advice and that after the new T&Cs come in on 13th January, I would not be able to open a new FlexDirect and receive 5% interest if I had ever held a FlexDirect in the past, as it is intended to be a promotion for new customers only. Has anyone else been told this by NW telesales?

He did however confirm that I could upgrade my FlexAccount (Joint), which I downgraded from FlexDirect last October, back to FlexDirect again, as the new rules don't come into force until January 2018. He said he could do this for me over the phone but that it would take around 25 minutes. I politely declined and instead did it via my online banking, through which the upgrade process took me a total of 25 seconds.

So, as it stands now, I believe I have a newly upgraded FlexDirect (Joint) earning 5%, an existing FlexDirect (Sole) earning 1%, and a newly opened Flexclusive Issue 2 Regular Saver earning 5% on £250 pay-ins (my Flexclusive Issue 1 Saver earning 5% on £500 pay-ins matured a couple of days ago).

I'm not sure whether I should keep my 1% FlexDirect active or downgrade it to a FlexAccount in the hope that what the NW rep told me today isn't entirely true and that I'll be able to upgrade it again in 12 months and receive 5% interest. What do you think?

Also I'd be grateful if you could confirm, when the 5% interest on the FlexDirect reverts to 1%, is this still only 1% on balances up to £2500 or is it 1% interest on the entire balance? I'm presuming it's the former?!

eskbanker

Probably worth reading the thread covering the new Nationwide FlexDirect Ts & Cs at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5727599