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Nationwide Wrongly Closed Account

Good Afternoon,

I have recently had an issue with a mistake made by Nationwide that has caused me embarrassment, stress and a lot of invested time to fix. The bank have confirmed that it was their fault but have said there is nothing they can do to fix it. I was wondering what the best way is to proceed with this? And if I can get compensation for the waste of my personal time as well as the stress and embarrassment? I have mentioned this to them but they have not offered anything by way of compensation.

The issue is that they wrongly closed my main current account.
I was undergoing an upgrade but there was a mix up and a new account was created rather than upgrading my initial account. After messaging them, they confirmed they would close the new account (and gave me the account number to confirm) and then upgrade my original account.
However what they actually did was close my original account. I have therefore lost all of my direct debits and standing orders, as well as the perks that would have come with the upgrade. Mainly travel insurance for an upcoming holiday.

The issues I now face are:
- Embarrassment when my card was declined.
- 45 minute phone call whilst they worked out what had gone wrong (before they finally admitted it was a mistake of one of their staff who closed the wrong account)
- I now have no access to money until the cheque arrives from closing the account and have had to borrow from other people.
- I will have to spend a significant amount of time re-setting up direct debits and standing orders once I have created a new account and got the cheque. I may end up missing payments because of this.
- The company I work for have already completed the august pay run and will send the money to the now closed account. This will bounce back and will likely take me weeks to track down and get back.
- I have to find other travel insurance which will likely be more costly.

Appreciate any advice on this.
Whether I am eligible for compensation and how to get it if Nationwide keep denying they will do anything even though they have accepted the blame already.

Thanks.
«1

Comments

  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    If you have formally complained to Nationwide, and if you are unhappy with their final response or 8 weeks have expired since you raised your complaint, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman for a final ruling.
  • PRAISETHESUN
    PRAISETHESUN Posts: 4,487 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    You will need to make a formal, written complaint and go from there. Make sure to outline your proposed resolution (ie. they reinstate your account and compensate you for your inconvenience). It sounds like you have a decent case, but you still need to go through the proper process. If/when they do not respond to your satisfaction, or take more than 8 weeks to do so, you can escalate to the FOS as mentioned above.
  • 18cc
    18cc Posts: 2,120 Forumite
    Agree with the above and would only add to keep your complaint as short and simple as possible

    you don't want them to have to read pages and pages a couple of paragraphs should suffice

    Make sure that you had the letter 'formal complaint' or something similar
  • Ergates
    Ergates Posts: 2,777 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    ahardman93 wrote: »
    Appreciate any advice on this.
    Whether I am eligible for compensation and how to get it if Nationwide keep denying they will do anything even though they have accepted the blame already.

    Thanks.

    You would be entitled to restitution for any expenses you suffered as a direct result of their mistake (e.g. a fee resulting from a missed payment). You should also be due - though it's less clearcut - compensation for additional expenses, for instance the travel insurance, or loss of account bonuses etc.
    Further to that - compensation for things like inconvenience etc, is pretty much up to the bank. Often they will make a good-will payment, but it's not guaranteed.
  • Thanks for the responses. Where you have said make a 'formal written complaint', is that acceptable to do through their online secure messaging as I already have? (I have written the words 'formal complaint' in there as well.) Or do I need to hand write a letter and post to them?
  • sal_III
    sal_III Posts: 1,953 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    You should follow Nationwide's complaints process as described here:

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/contact-us/make-a-complaint
  • davethorp
    davethorp Posts: 1,578 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    I'd normally make a complaint in writing or using something like resolver

    However nationwide say you can do it by secure message on their complaints page so you should be good

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/contact-us/make-a-complaint
  • ahardman93 wrote: »
    Good Afternoon,

    I have recently had an issue with a mistake made by Nationwide that has caused me embarrassment, stress and a lot of invested time to fix. The bank have confirmed that it was their fault but have said there is nothing they can do to fix it. I was wondering what the best way is to proceed with this? And if I can get compensation for the waste of my personal time as well as the stress and embarrassment? I have mentioned this to them but they have not offered anything by way of compensation.

    The issue is that they wrongly closed my main current account.
    I was undergoing an upgrade but there was a mix up and a new account was created rather than upgrading my initial account. After messaging them, they confirmed they would close the new account (and gave me the account number to confirm) and then upgrade my original account.
    However what they actually did was close my original account. I have therefore lost all of my direct debits and standing orders, as well as the perks that would have come with the upgrade. Mainly travel insurance for an upcoming holiday.

    The issues I now face are:
    - Embarrassment when my card was declined.
    This can happen to anyone at anytime - it's hardly an "embarrassing" situation
    - 45 minute phone call whilst they worked out what had gone wrong (before they finally admitted it was a mistake of one of their staff who closed the wrong account)
    Normal when you need to find out what went wrong - were you charged for the call or was it free/inclusive minutes?
    - I now have no access to money until the cheque arrives from closing the account and have had to borrow from other people.
    Could they not transfer the money from the old account to the new one?
    - I will have to spend a significant amount of time re-setting up direct debits and standing orders once I have created a new account and got the cheque. I may end up missing payments because of this.
    How long is significant? Filling in a few forms with an account number and sortcode isn't that time consuming
    - The company I work for have already completed the august pay run and will send the money to the now closed account. This will bounce back and will likely take me weeks to track down and get back.
    Provide them with the new account details to send the money to instead
    - I have to find other travel insurance which will likely be more costly.
    Can you not use the "new" account, persumably this is the account with that's "upgraded" with the travel insurance?
    Appreciate any advice on this.
    Whether I am eligible for compensation and how to get it if Nationwide keep denying they will do anything even though they have accepted the blame already.

    Thanks.

    As above..

    If your old account was closed can they not use the new one and set that up with FlexPlus (I presume this is what you're referring to with regards the travel insurance?

    It's then just a case of spending a little while to re-setup DD and SO instructions surely?
    You should be able to request the list from your old account.
  • !!! wrote: »
    As above..

    If your old account was closed can they not use the new one and set that up with FlexPlus (I presume this is what you're referring to with regards the travel insurance?

    It's then just a case of spending a little while to re-setup DD and SO instructions surely?
    You should be able to request the list from your old account.

    As I wasn't aware it was happening they already sent a cheque to close the account and now can't transfer the money to a new account until I receive that.
    Also all of my nationwide accounts (old and new) have been closed so they can't do a direct transfer either.

    They only offered me a link to open a new account with them.
    After them being able to make such a simple mistake with my account that has caused me this much hassle I will definitely not be opening a new account with them.
    This leads on to the travel insurance because I won't be getting that with them now either.

    And yes I can request the Standing Order and Direct Debit list from them but this isn't accessible until 10 working days. By that time I will be on holiday and it will also be nearing the end of the month when those Direct Debits are due so I will have to have them sorted without being able to use the list otherwise risk receiving late fees.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 45,426 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    It's then just a case of spending a little while to re-setup DD and SO instructions surely?

    The point is that the OP should not have had to do this (or suffer worry and embarrassment) if the clerk at Nationwide had not made a mistake.

    Anybody can make a mistake but an apology and gesture of good will should be made and the error rectified with as little inconvenience as possible to the customer.
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