Nationwide slow customer service

nhquine

At the beginning of April, I applied to move my ISA from the Nationwide  and as I write this five weeks later it is still there. The receiving bank 'The Coventry' requested the transfer the following day and have repeated their request every few days, thankfully they have also kept me updated of their retrieval efforts.

 To date I have sent several secure email requests to the Nationwide, the first reply stated "We are experiencing high volumes of requests....."  and the delays are because we are very busy...  this is not surprising following their reduction to their interest rates. None of the replies show any empathy the amount is around £60k, a lot of money to me but it seems they are not taking my problem seriously.

I have now sent several emails making them aware of the issue, but instead of simply resolving it, they respond with  a 'standard template' email reply instead of a solution. On the 9th May I received another delaying email stating "Thank you for contacting us about your complaint. We’ve noted this on your case, and your case handler will be in touch as soon as they can” ...So over a month later and we are back to square one!  

I have been loyal to the Nationwide for over 20 years,  and today they spend millions on advertising to attract potential customers, Some of that money would be better spent on staffing levels, because service is about making your customers feeling valued, ignore them and they'll go away. 

Make things better and please show customers respect in both words and actions.

[Deleted User]

 You do know there's a global health crisis that's has caused a huge recession and is putting many out of jobs and small businesses are at risk of going bust? 

 The banks kinda have a lot to do with supporting those people. Yes they are getting lots of phone calls and secure messages other than yours.  

eskbanker

Already posted an hour ago on another Nationwide thread, generating plenty of response, not sure it warrants reposting copypasta in a new thread....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77165478/#Comment_77165478

[Deleted User]

Nationwide in these times we don’t expect you to be perfect. But we do expect you to fix things. A wait time of 5 weeks to transfer an ISA , which is someones money is unacceptable.

Another key point is why  they cut interest rates knowing it would result in customers moving money, at same time  as they had less staff resources.

I moved two ISA's (not Nationwide) in April both took around 4 days.  Get your act sorted Nationwide, this is unacceptable customer service!

Stenwold

quine said:

Nationwide in these times we don’t expect you to be perfect. But we do expect you to fix things. A wait time of 5 weeks to transfer an ISA , which is someones money is unacceptable.

Another key point is why  they cut interest rates knowing it would result in customers moving money, at same time  as they had less staff resources.

I moved two ISA's (not Nationwide) in April both took around 4 days.  Get your act sorted Nationwide, this is unacceptable customer service!

What's unacceptable is your belief that earning a few more ££'s on your ISA is more important than the seriously vulnerable customers that Nationwide are prioritising during this pandemic.

If you aren't worried about how you're going to feed your family, or keep a roof over your head then I'm sure you can wait a bit longer for your ISA transfer.

Albermarle

Also the receiving ISA provider usually will pay interest after 15 working days , even if the money has not arrived.
So it's a bit frustrating but will be no financial loss involved. 

nhquine

Some judgemental comments from Stenworld so let me explain my situation. I am a pensioner living off my savings, not wealthy by any means. This ISA represents most of my lifetime savings around £60K, the fixed term ISA I planned to transfer into was 1% more better than I am currently receiving in the Nationwide. So over the 2 year term about £1200 difference.  Which is a lot of money to me. 

35 days plus later my money has not moved and the  ISA I requested it moving into has now gone.  So I am not sure if I will still get it  after such a long delay.

If I don't should I thank the Nationwide or request compensation!

Swipe

I'm also in the process of transferring out a Nationwide cash ISA. This does not bode well.

epm-84

Already discussed in detail on other threads.  Nationwide have sent out text messages to those who have requested ISA transfers admitting they are being slow due to being 'unusually busy.'  The question is whether this relates to staffing issues around COVID-19 or whether they didn't plan for many ISA customers to want to transfer their ISAs elsewhere, as the result of Nationwide going from having one of the best ISA interest rates to one of the worst.

epm-84

nhquine said:

Some judgemental comments from Stenworld so let me explain my situation. I am a pensioner living off my savings, not wealthy by any means. This ISA represents most of my lifetime savings around £60K, the fixed term ISA I planned to transfer into was 1% more better than I am currently receiving in the Nationwide. So over the 2 year term about £1200 difference.  Which is a lot of money to me. 

35 days plus later my money has not moved and the  ISA I requested it moving into has now gone.  So I am not sure if I will still get it  after such a long delay.

If I don't should I thank the Nationwide or request compensation!

If you opened the new ISA and requested a transfer before the new provider withdrew the product then there should be no issue, as you'll have opened a new ISA even if the balance is currently £0.

According to Which you are entitled to receive interest from your new provider no later than 15 working days after you request the transfer.  They say you contact your new provider (not Nationwide) to ensure you get that, so presumably if Nationwide are liable they'll have to compensate your new ISA provider, opposed to compensating you directly.

nhquine

Thanks for information from epm-84, it  is appreciated as this has given me some reassurance. 
To update readers of  my posting, on a letter dated 1st May from Nationwide, it stated "We have received your complaint and have noted your concerns....we want to resolve this as quickly as possible and hope to be in the position to do so by 15th May" 
This morning on the 18th May I received another letter  in the post "...we are really sorry for the delay we'll be in touch as soon as possible....We expect this to be no later than 29 May.."  After several weeks there is still no action to resolve this. 
Over the last week the Coventry tried again and  advised that the Nationwide are still experiencing delays.  However it is good to know that I should hopefully retain the fixed rate no longer available at the new provider.