Issue with Nationwide refusing to give information about my account

Darioargento1

Hi everyone,

I’m after some help regarding an issue I’m having with the Nationwide Building Society. I noted a small unknown payment in my bank statement one day and queried with Nationwide as I didn’t recognise the sender. This was a credit under £10. 

After an investigation they’ve stated the money is from a credit card I held with them 18 years ago. Yes, EIGHTEEN years ago. When I asked for more information about this payment to understand why it’s been made, exactly what I was owed and why it’s taken 18 years to pay me, I’ve hit a wall of silence. After chasing, Nationwide’s final response was ‘we don’t have to tell you if the amount is under £10’.

Not happy with that response, I’ve used the Financial Ombudsman Service whose outcome was to side with them! 

Surely if the Nationwide have made a mistake and owed me money I have a right to know the specifics regarding the case and indeed why it’s took 18 years to pay me back?

Legally, if I request information about my account and the way Nationwide have dealt with it, don’t they have a legal obligation to tell me?

Any help would be appreciated! 

DE_612183

It could be that you had a credit card with a credit balance on it - for whatever reason.

Financial Institutions regularly run checks to see if they have multiple accounts / records for the same person - when they identify them they'll merge them together.

You could do a SAR that might get you somewhere - is there a chance you've moved in the last 18 years, not updated your address for this credit card and forgotten about it?

Emmia

I'd probably just leave it, you're £10 up.

TheSpectator

What an absolute drama over nothing. Just take the £10 and move on. You were none the wiser before.

DE_612183

TheSpectator said:

What an absolute drama over nothing. Just take the £10 and move on. You were none the wiser before.

agreed - and it's actually LESS THAN £10...

eskbanker

Darioargento1 said:

Not happy with that response, I’ve used the Financial Ombudsman Service whose outcome was to side with them!

As FOS will have heard both sides of the story, what was the rationale behind their decision?

zagfles

Probably cashback, NW used to have a cashback credit card so if you closed the card they might have owed you some accrued cashback. 

Darioargento1

Thanks for the comments, but those who responded saying ‘what a drama’ etc. is the reason that we have problems in this country. The bank has refused to tell me why they owed me money. The card wasn’t a cash-back card, I haven’t moved and there was no credit money outstanding on the credit card. My issue regarding the amount paid is irrelevant, as it’s the reason why the money was paid is important. Clearly a mistake has been made and they are refusing to tell me why. The FOS agree that it’s strange why Nationwide just don’t tell me, however as they claim they’ve not broken any of their internal procedures they can’t force them to tell me. The fact that won’t gives me cause for concern. My question was regarding if anyone knows banking law well enough to let me know if there is a legal requirement for Nationwide to tell me what happened. I tried an SAR, however Nationwide lied in their response and did not give the information I requested. They subsequently apologised for their ‘mistake’ but would still not provide the information I’ve requested.  

tls123

Have you asked them for a copy of the closing statement from the credit card 18 years ago? If the credit card was held with them and they found a credit balance they might not have the old record. Technically the data might be deleted as outside their number of years to hold data. If you have access to checking your credit file then if that credit card was still active with a credit balance it should have flagged. Banks are not infallible presumably if they admitted a mistake and you have gained from it as you admit you didn’t expect a credit after all this time are you now perusing them for interest for the 18 years they held the money without telling you, even if they calculate interest on such a low amount as other people posted it seems a large effort for minimal gain. Your DSAR was likley rejected as it sounds like they don’t have the information now you are trying to still ask for. 

Darioargento1

Hi, thanks for the response but I’m not after any interest. I simply want to know where this money came from and why it is was paid back to me. I have a closing statement from this credit card and it was fully cleared with the balance at zero. Just for clarity I did not gain from them admitting a mistake, I have no idea why they paid me this money. They made a mistake when I asked for an SAR following their refusal to explain where this money has come from, in which they provided me with incorrect information. They subsequently apologised but did not provide the info I requested. It’s a simple request and they could easily comply, the fact they don’t makes me suspicious. They would rather have a £500 bill then simply tell me how they’ve calculated that they owe me money. As I can’t see or know where this has come from, I can’t determine it’s correct, which is all I’m trying to do. 

martinbainbridge1975

The 500 is now 750 if the FOS get involved.  Some of these institutions are caught up with corporate crap rather than taking the common sense approach.