Nationwide's 'Fairer Share' £100 payment for eligible members

Exodi

SonOfPearl said:

The number of NW accounts closed by the disgruntled will be negligible. There will be more people excitedly telling their mates about the 100 quid they unexpectedly received. 

This isn't just a storm in a teacup SonOfPearl:

boingy said:
according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM

As for me, I think this could be the end of Nationwide all together. How else will they survive all these members (who admit not really using them), not using them?

boingy

Exodi said:

boingy said:
according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM

As for me, I think this could be the end of Nationwide all together. How else will they survive all these members (who admit not really using them), not using them?

It must be true. I read it on the Internet. Although I suppose I could ask that bloke in the pub for a second opinion...

Exodi

boingy said:

Exodi said:

boingy said:
according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM

As for me, I think this could be the end of Nationwide all together. How else will they survive all these members (who admit not really using them), not using them?

It must be true. I read it on the Internet. Although I suppose I could ask that bloke in the pub for a second opinion...

To be clear, I was being sarcastic... though also funny you take this view now given my quote is from you and you were the first in this thread to bring up trustpilot. 

Nationwide was 1* on trustpilot before this even announced, countless businesses are. Trustpilot is mainly used by people who want to offload a bit of steam and have a bit of a moan after a bad experience. Look up any airline or broadband provider or bank.

But so I am clear, are you now agreeing with SonOfPearl and myself that this is perhaps not as big a deal as some make out?

Albermarle

zagfles said:

boingy said:

spider42 said:

The way Skipton distributed theirs...  <snip> 

About two thirds of their members received a payment.

I think that is where Nationwide have gone wrong. They are rewarding only about a fifth of their members when they should really have been aiming to reward well over half of them. Anyway, according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM.... 

Yes, annoying the majority of your customers is never a good idea in any business. In reality, most people will just complain and not do anything, I doubt anyone would eg move their mortgage or close a long term savings account with penalties. But some who have money in easy access accounts with low/average rates of interest eg ex RS savings etc, or current accounts, may transfer out and if this becomes a significant percentage, even single digits, it could affect their capital ratios etc. They may have to offer better rates to get more money in!

NW are well behind the competition in the RS type accounts (limited monthly payments, high rates), other banks are offering higher rates and amounts than NW's trivial £50 a month at 5.25%. But they do seem to want to encourage almost a "gambling" approach, prize draws and now random bonuses based on unspecified criteria. Ironic for a bank which tries to portray itself as "responsible".

Although generally I try and take a positive view of Nationwide, I thought this 'prize draw' gambit was a bit pathetic, no doubt dreamt up by some marketing 'genius'.

Try more common/useful products, for instance no-strings easy access savings. NW rate is 2.5%, I have a Santander one at 3.25%. Post Office have one at 3.47% and I'm fairly sure they have more infrastructure to maintain than NW.

Just for the record if you have a 'Loyalty easy access ' account with Nationwide it pays 3.2%. I think you have to be a member for 15 years and you can not open a new one, although existing ones are OK. 
Considering the always very negative comments about PO savings customer service on this forum, I think we can ditch them in any comparisons.

boingy

Exodi said:

boingy said:

Exodi said:

boingy said:
according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM

As for me, I think this could be the end of Nationwide all together. How else will they survive all these members (who admit not really using them), not using them?

It must be true. I read it on the Internet. Although I suppose I could ask that bloke in the pub for a second opinion...

To be clear, I was being sarcastic... though also funny you take this view now given my quote is from you and you were the first in this thread to bring up trustpilot. 

Nationwide was 1* on trustpilot before this even announced, countless businesses are. Trustpilot is mainly used by people who want to offload a bit of steam and have a bit of a moan after a bad experience. Look up any airline or broadband provider or bank.

But so I am clear, are you now agreeing with SonOfPearl and myself that this is perhaps not as big a deal as some make out?

You've misunderstood me all through this thread. I was laughing at the extreme views on Trustpilot, and I know that there will not be a mass revolt at the AGM or anywhere else, and that almost everyone who says "I'm taking my money elsewhere" simply won't. However I do think Nationwide have screwed up with their criteria and will have annoyed some longstanding customers when they could have found a way to include them. See someone's description of the Skipton thing for an example of what they could have done. NW are big on stating the benefits of "mutual-ness" and on "fairer sharing" but then exclude most of their members when they didn't have to.

So no, we're not in agreement. I think it's a bigger deal than you do. I don't really know why you are so defensive of them but it is your right to be so. I personally won't be making a formal complaint, writing to the CEO or taking any action other than chatting in this thread.  

TheBanker

Personally I am planning to glue myself to the cash machine outside my local branch in protest. Who's with me?

Bridlington1

TheBanker said:

Personally I am planning to glue myself to the cash machine outside my local branch in protest. Who's with me?

That'll put them in a sticky situation won't it.

Exodi

boingy said:

Exodi said:

boingy said:

Exodi said:

boingy said:
according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM

As for me, I think this could be the end of Nationwide all together. How else will they survive all these members (who admit not really using them), not using them?

It must be true. I read it on the Internet. Although I suppose I could ask that bloke in the pub for a second opinion...

To be clear, I was being sarcastic... though also funny you take this view now given my quote is from you and you were the first in this thread to bring up trustpilot. 

Nationwide was 1* on trustpilot before this even announced, countless businesses are. Trustpilot is mainly used by people who want to offload a bit of steam and have a bit of a moan after a bad experience. Look up any airline or broadband provider or bank.

But so I am clear, are you now agreeing with SonOfPearl and myself that this is perhaps not as big a deal as some make out?

You've misunderstood me all through this thread. I was laughing at the extreme views on Trustpilot, and I know that there will not be a mass revolt at the AGM or anywhere else, and that almost everyone who says "I'm taking my money elsewhere" simply won't. However I do think Nationwide have screwed up with their criteria and will have annoyed some longstanding customers when they could have found a way to include them. See someone's description of the Skipton thing for an example of what they could have done. NW are big on stating the benefits of "mutual-ness" and on "fairer sharing" but then exclude most of their members when they didn't have to.

So no, we're not in agreement. I think it's a bigger deal than you do. I don't really know why you are so defensive of them but it is your right to be so. I personally won't be making a formal complaint, writing to the CEO or taking any action other than chatting in this thread.  

Apologies if I've misunderstood you.

It's not that I don't understand the views people are putting across, most of them are perfectly valid and I sympathise with a lot of them (e.g. those with large mortgage/savings accounts but no current account, or those that met the monthly deposit criteria, just not in the monthly amounts laid out). There are also views I don't agree with (e.g. those that did a lot with Nationwide in the distant past, or those who hold very little (or nothing) arguing as a 'member bonus', it should be shared across all members).

While I don't expect they'll go back on this announcement, I wouldn't have been against twice as many members being eligible for £50. 20-30% of members does feel low.

But the reason I disagree with you in particular is because you've said your current account and instant savings account are "pretty much empty", your mortgage was paid off "years ago", and you only have a regular saver with a grand in it. I do not think you should be eligible for a payout, even if they decreased the eligibility criteria. A share of the profits to those that created the profits, in my opinion.

Now I might be misunderstanding you again - you maybe arguing for everyone else except yourself. You may agree that perhaps you should not be eligible (very noble, but also very uncommon). I don't know.

Section62

Exodi said:

SonOfPearl said:

The number of NW accounts closed by the disgruntled will be negligible. There will be more people excitedly telling their mates about the 100 quid they unexpectedly received. 

This isn't just a storm in a teacup SonOfPearl:

boingy said:
according to Facebook and Trustpilot everyone will leave Nationwide, just after voting out their entire board at the next AGM

As for me, I think this could be the end of Nationwide all together. How else will they survive all these members (who admit not really using them), not using them?

This won't be the end of Nationwide altogether, but the potential problems they have aren't about those few members not using them anymore.

The issue is about reputation - hard to earn, easy to lose.  Some people will no doubt join Nationwide in the hope they too will get a "free" £100 next year, but they aren't necessarily the members who will help keep Nationwide going as a mutual over the long-term, especially not if the £100 doesn't materialise next year.

Meanwhile, if the "dead wood"* members have moved on, and arguably that cohort may be the one most likely to keep using a branch network, there isn't the fallback of appealing to a loyal membership to keep the wheels on the wagon.  (*not my words, someone else on this forum)

In my amateur view, if you base your survival strategy on having a high-street branch network then the customers you need to recruit are those who will be using branches on a regular basis, not so much those who get excited about a "free" £100.

Within these various threads they have been comments about it being good that Nationwide have excluded "carpet baggers" and "parasites" from getting the £100.  Yet if SonOfPearl's prediction is true, Nationwide's scheme will see an influx of people joining just on the off-chance they can get a "free" £100 next year.  This is one of the fundamental problems with Nationwide's "deepest relationships" strategy... a rock-pool relationship is enough to get you rewarded, Nationwide's measure of depth is what many of us are critical of.

Nationwide's USP is about being different, better than the rest.  Much like the Co-op.  For those cynically dismissing the possibility that Nationwide may suffer significant reputational harm from this, one only has to look at what happened to Co-op bank.

It doesn't take much in the social media era.  And the higher you set your standards and claim to be better than the rest, the further your fall when you get found out.

Albermarle

TheBanker said:

Personally I am planning to glue myself to the cash machine outside my local branch in protest. Who's with me?

Well at least with Nationwide you can still find a branch to glue yourself to !