Nationwide Cashbuilder account - someway to use it from abroad?

JacobEdgar

Hello all, I have an odd problem. I have a cashbuilder account with Nationwide, which was opened for me when I was a little boy. I just recently reupdated it, so I can access it online, but I have now discovered that it is nearly useless to me . I now live abroad in another EU country, and I can't make a bank transfer (they only allow sending to another Nationwide account), nor link a PayPal account, nor anything else. I have enquired about transforming it into a current account, but I must travel to UK (something which with the pandemic I don't envision in the near future) to finalize the process.
So, I basically have this money frozen (not a vast amount, but annoying to have money completely kidnapped by a bank). The bank obviously is not helpful. I tried linking it with PayPal, but PayPal won't debit from it, as it doesn't have a proper debit/credit card associated to it (just a card to take out money from a Nationwide ATM in UK . 
Anyone in the same position, or knows how to do something without travelling to UK?
Thanks for reading.

D3xt3r5L4b

You follow compliance and travel to the UK.

Why don’t you have an account or money in your country of residence? 

whitesmith

The cashbuilder account is basically a savings-type account with a linked card that can be used in ATM and also I believe for spending in shops (it used to have visa or mastercard logo from memory).

If what they tell you is correct, there is no way round a visit to the UK to upgrade it to a current account.

If you need a UK current account you could try opening one with another institution (Monzo, Starling?) but you will need a UK address and probably electoral roll, credit agency presence etc. You didn't say how long you have lived abroad or if your move there is permanent.

eskbanker

If it's an old account that's too restricted to be useful to you where you now live (and you implicitly have other usable banking/saving facilities already), then you should be able to access the funds by closing it?

EarthBoy

whitesmith said:

The cashbuilder account is basically a savings-type account with a linked card that can be used in ATM and also I believe for spending in shops (it used to have visa or mastercard logo from memory).

I used to have a CashBuilder account, years ago.  It was purely a savings account, and you were given the choice of having a passbook, or an ATM card only.  It didn't come with a debit card.
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/support-articles/terms-and-conditions/cashbuilder

wmb194

You could open a Nationwide current account and use that to get around your problem but this is probably impossible. 

How much money are we talking about? If it isn't much then a left-field idea that isn't usually recommended would be to post the card to a trusted relative/someone in Britain and they can withdraw it from an ATM and send it to you.

ratechaser

EarthBoy said:

whitesmith said:

The cashbuilder account is basically a savings-type account with a linked card that can be used in ATM and also I believe for spending in shops (it used to have visa or mastercard logo from memory).

I used to have a CashBuilder account, years ago.  It was purely a savings account, and you were given the choice of having a passbook, or an ATM card only.  It didn't come with a debit card.
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/support-articles/terms-and-conditions/cashbuilder

Yep, had one for over 30 years and it really is that basic. I've kept £100 in it just in case they ever demutualise (I'm not bound by any charitable assignment) but otherwise it's not of any practical use...

[Deleted User]

ratechaser said:

EarthBoy said:

whitesmith said:

The cashbuilder account is basically a savings-type account with a linked card that can be used in ATM and also I believe for spending in shops (it used to have visa or mastercard logo from memory).

I used to have a CashBuilder account, years ago.  It was purely a savings account, and you were given the choice of having a passbook, or an ATM card only.  It didn't come with a debit card.
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/support-articles/terms-and-conditions/cashbuilder

Yep, had one for over 30 years and it really is that basic. I've kept £100 in it just in case they ever demutualise (I'm not bound by any charitable assignment) but otherwise it's not of any practical use...

Their savings accounts have actually got worse - Cashbuilder cards can be used in any LINK ATM whilst their newer saving accounts only let you use Nationwide ATMs!

Their ATM cards usually have the Plus logo on the back and may therefore work in Plus/Visa ATMs.

JacobEdgar

Many thanks for all the replies .
It's not that I don't have any other bank account, it is just I wished to access my money , which one would think would be reasonable. No way I am going to travel to UK in middle of this pandemic to quarantine for 14 days . 
Yes, I guess closing the account is the last resort. It's not a vast sum (about 300 quid) , but I would do nicely with them right now. 
Sending it to a relative would be an option, but is a bit of a hassle all the process. 
Apparently, there appears another option which is to post me a cheque, but to receive a cheque through international post, with the current postal delays, doesn't seem such a great idea, plus the I guess inevitable tremendous conversion/fee I will be charge when I try to cash it in Euros.
It do appear the Plus logo, this morning I think I will stop by the ATM, just in case it works, although I think I was told it didn't work overseas by the bank clerk, but wouldn't hurt to try.

JacobEdgar

Had to reask for my security code, await to get it, and tried in the main ATMs and nothing, doesn't work. Anybody has any other ideas? apparently I am allowed to make transfers to other Nationwide accounts (how nice and thoughtful by their part!). Do you know any trustworthy shop that accepts bank transfer and has a Nationwide account?

DCFC79

JacobEdgar said:

Had to reask for my security code, await to get it, and tried in the main ATMs and nothing, doesn't work. Anybody has any other ideas? apparently I am allowed to make transfers to other Nationwide accounts (how nice and thoughtful by their part!). Do you know any trustworthy shop that accepts bank transfer and has a Nationwide account?

Can you not send it to a family member who sends it to you, maybe open up a Monzo or Starling account as suggested and get the money moved to that.