Nest Pensions

redpete

Regardless of whether what you are trying to do makes sense or not, why don't you use the secure messaging on the NEST website instead of relying on phone calls? That way you have a record of their responses without relying on recordings of phone calls.

penners324

Use the chat facility to raise a complaint.

Though others ha e made very valid course of action to resolve it.

Marcon

Darrebe said:

In December 2024 my wife director/owner of our company wrongly/mistakenly ( as we are new business owners) paid from our business account a £5000 pension contribution which shows on her dashboard as a personal contribution. She has made contact several times excess of 20 to Nest. As the contribution should have been made personally and not through the business. 

Nest requested a bank statement to prove this transaction, and they would pay this back due to the mistake. We provided this statement. My wife is continually ringing and being transferred to a customer service facility outside of the country we believe. They keep advising a manager will contact us back. We never receive a call back. On two occasions in the early days we did receive a call back they advised they will pay the money back as we are correct it can’t be through the business account and all calls are recorded. This has now been going on since December 2024 and to date they keep illegally retaining the monies. 

We are not receiving any customer service other than a continuous runaround, the whole situation has got us feeling dejected and feeling hopeless. I have a disability defined under the equalities act 2010 and they have caused severe injury to feelings. We have no option now other than report them to the TPR and The Pensions Ombudsman as we have asked to raise a formal complaint to Nest’s policy and procedures and they are not even carrying out this complaint which is within our rights. 

Further update 17/5/25 No contact received from Nest again. My wife rings spends endless time on the phone. Makes another complaint. We advised someone will call us back. My wife is regularly in customers homes and can’t always answer her phone. She has noticed 2 rings and call ceases with no message left. We suspect this is Nest but can’t prove this. No resolution to this ongoing saga and the money £5000 is still not been paid into the account. Nest have email addresses and have our banking details which you have advised on several occasions Nest are repaying this money as of recorded calls. Why 5 month on have you still not done this action. Why is there any need for further calls???? Why are will continuously ringing, ringing ringing. I had a reply on a review stating they have rang back with no reply. We’ll surely if you don’t receive an answer as to many reasons, Could be driving, could be in a medical appointment, could be in a customers home on business, could be unable to get the phone as for example in the shower, surely a customer service this manager/team should continuing to ring until an answer is received. 

Please can you help I’m now exhausted, dejected and now mentally broken. 

The two posts above have made very sensible suggestions about how to contact NEST. It's hard to understand why your wife has been spending 'endless time on the phone' when these options would have been much more efficient.

Let's have one last go to see if our collective efforts have helped you understand that this is a minor administrative hiccup, not the major disaster you've blown it into... 

• Your wife wanted to make a personal contribution of £5,000 to NEST.
• That contribution was duly made, and recorded by NEST as a personal contribution (because that was what you/she had indicated it should be).
• NEST will add tax relief at the basic rate to her pot.

So that's achieved exactly what was required - no further action needed.

The contribution was paid over by the company on her behalf. Absolutely nothing wrong with that - it's exactly what happens every month for the vast majority of employers when they pay over employer contributions + employee contributions deducted from the salaries of employees. There is nothing illegal about doing so, and certainly nothing illegal about NEST having the cash.

Your wife now 'owes' the company £5,000, because the payment was meant to be made by her, not the company. 
That £5,000 can be dealt with in any of the following ways:

1. paid from her personal bank account to the company's bank account; or
2. deducted from money she would otherwise have received from the company (salary or dividends), which would simply be an accounting entry in the company's books; or
3. treated as a short-term loan to a director. Again, this is simply an accounting entry in the company's books, although be aware loans to directors can attract a tax charge and there are other considerations (ask your accountant), so isn't the best solution.

Any one of those 3 ways would solve your issue immediately and doesn't involve any contact with NEST. If you have problems with a blocked bank account, then either 2. or 3. would still work perfectly, since no bank transaction is involved.


One of the above suggestions would work for every other employer and employee in the land. What is so special about your situation that this doesn't completely resolve things for you, your wife and your company?

Darrebe said:

Please can you help I’m now exhausted, dejected and now mentally broken. 

If something so trivial leaves you 'exhausted and mentally broken', are you sure running your own company is for you?