Switching

frenchfilly

My son's girlfriend went to Nationwide to do the "refer a friend" switch as my son banks there, the idea was, they both get £100 reward after the switch. They did the paperwork in branch and told the person that dealt with them that the direct debits she has from her Nat West account were for her mobile phone and Spotify, the switch went ahead and they were told the £100 would arrive soon, then, she was told they wouldn't get the reward as Spotify does not qualify, it is a card payment that goes out monthly rather than a direct debit, this doesn't seem at all fair as she wasn't told this when openning the account and they wouldn't have gone ahead had they known. By the time this was bought to light, it was too late to change one of their other bills to come from her account to be the second direct debit. Nationwide are unwilling to budge on this, has anyone else experienced the same problem and is there anything we can do? I have called Nationwide and tried for her, it was me who encouraged the switch, i have been with them for 40 years and now feel like swiching myself! I a so angry about this.

colsten

She should have known how many Direct Debits she had on her account - it is very easy to look up which DDs you have, on any account. At least she has now learnt that there is a difference between DDs and CPAs.

It's still easy enough for her to get her £100 - she can just set up a donor account at a bank of her choice, put 2 DDs on it, and then switch that new account. If that's too hard for her to do, she can switch away from Nationwide, and then switch back. If she plays her cards right, she will even be able to bag another switching bonus.

BoGoF

The t and c's clearly state 2 direct debits are required, A debit card continous payment is not a direct debit and clearly states on website they do not qualify - see point 2 of link below.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about/recommend-a-friend

Emily_Joy

I understand the disappointment, but the girlfriend did have access to her bank statements and Nationwide employer did not. Nationwide staff has no way of knowing what the payments are before they start the switch and even then this is done automatically. Direct Debits are clearly marked as DD and card payments, also known as CPAs, would be marked as "purchases".

clivep

frenchfilly wrote: »

They did the paperwork in branch and told the person that dealt with them that the direct debits she has from her Nat West account were for her mobile phone and Spotify

If they told Nationwide that she had a direct debit with Spotify then it's not Nationwide's fault when it transpires that it was a CPA not a direct debit.

PRAISETHESUN

As above, this all boils down to Spotify being a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) instead of a Direct Debit.

The good thing however is that there is no time limit between opening the account and getting referred (I got my bonus for switching to them over a year after I first opened an account with Nationwide). Simply open a donor account with another bank (Monzo/Starling are two quick and easy ones to try), set up 2x direct debits (either move some bills across, or see thios thread for ideas: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5734632) and then switch this account to Nationwide and you should be eligible for the bonus