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Nationwide - 'Mutual building society'?

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vm2pensioner
vm2pensioner Posts: 144 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
edited 20 May 2023 at 10:49PM in Budgeting & bank accounts
A 'mutual building society', an institution set up to encourage savers to deposit money to lend to other members and provide them with the ability to buy a home, has created a two-tier class of membership. No matter how long a member has been a saver with the society, nor how much the member has on deposit with the society, whether or not that member has concurrently a current account with the society, you only get the 'fairer share' £100 if you have and use the current account a specified number of times, and over a limited and specific period. All  these are retrospective conditions. Furthermore, you can't just have deposited money in the current account, you actually have to  have made withdrawals: in other words, use the 'mutual building society' as a high-street bank! Perhaps this is why the suffix 'building society'  seemingly has become less and less prominent in the Nationwide marketing. Perhaps, also, it is time that Nationwide had the courage of its apparent convictions and said, honestly, we'd rather be a bank, and then demutualise. Brilliant own-goal from the Nationwide.
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Comments

  • pridehappy
    pridehappy Posts: 340 Forumite
    100 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    I personally don’t think Nationwide want to demutualise, as their whole business is made on mutuality and when you take a look at their website, it’s clear to see.

    I believe the reason why they have put restrictions on the £100 is to ensure you are investing into the society and ensuring that you aren’t just opening it for the offer. I do agree that it should have been given to savings customers with a minimum balance though. 
  • roddydogs
    roddydogs Posts: 7,479 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Should voted for conversion when you had the chance some years ago.
  • TheBanker
    TheBanker Posts: 2,224 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 19 September 2024 at 9:54AM
    Becles said:
    For once a little bit of loyalty was rewarded. The biggest moaners seem to be those who spend time switching bank accounts in order to gain from any potential offer. This time they lost out 🥳.
    The very reason I stick with Nationwide is that it is a mutual. I am not alone in that opinion either. 


    30+ years customer.
    Savings criteria met.
    Current account income met.
    Current account withdrawals met.

    Don't qualify because I have two current accounts for budgeting reasons. First one fails criteria as it doesn't have external bill payments coming out of it. Bills current account fails criteria as it's funded by the first current account.
    Have you written to Nationwide to make your disappointment known? I think it's important that they understand there criteria have, perhaps accidentally, upset a lot of loyal, longstanding, profitable customers. 
  • wiseonesomeofthetime
    wiseonesomeofthetime Posts: 2,519 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 19 September 2024 at 9:54AM
    Becles said:
    For once a little bit of loyalty was rewarded. The biggest moaners seem to be those who spend time switching bank accounts in order to gain from any potential offer. This time they lost out 🥳.
    The very reason I stick with Nationwide is that it is a mutual. I am not alone in that opinion either. 


    30+ years customer.
    Savings criteria met.
    Current account income met.
    Current account withdrawals met.

    Don't qualify because I have two current accounts for budgeting reasons. First one fails criteria as it doesn't have external bill payments coming out of it. Bills current account fails criteria as it's funded by the first current account.
    No external bills come out of my current account, yet I still qualify.

    AFAIK the criteria doesn't have a clause on external payments being a requirement 🤷‍♂️
  • badmemory
    badmemory Posts: 9,563 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I have got the £100 & I fund my current account which then funds my regular saver & then I defund my current account & let us not forget my one annual direct debit.
    As for how there is that much to share, well perhaps we should be asking ourselves what the actual banks have done with their windfall profits rather than criticising the Nationwide, because the interest rates with them have been lower & slower than the Nationwide.
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