RIPPED OFF ! Nationwide Flex Account

Iamthesmartestmanalive

So what part of the OP being unable to read is the banks fault?

Lisey_Loo

DBC wrote: »

I find it very strange that all that money was deposited in what is in effect a current account. Even with the fairly high interest offered, it's not the best place to leave £25k.

That`s what I thought...

edthedead

I would have thought that it was common knowledge that a current account is not the best place for savings... thats what savings accounts are for! Even if you didn't know that you can still get much better rates of interest in a savings account and that would have been obvious when looking into the different accounts... is this a wind up??

Bonbon

I think it's a bit 50/50 on both sides. I think the OP should have checked the rates first and that the Nationwide manager should have explained the interest rate tier system and offered a better account. I am with the Nationwide and am well aware of their rates, so put the excess into the e-savings. I would like to point out that it's not just Nationwide that have this policy. I know that the limit is only £2500 in A&L

mdean

Got to agree - what sort of fool leaves £25k in a current account - a quick log onto nationwide online would show all the savings options which pay top dollar - no rip off at all from Nationwide

Butlers1982

If someone goes sticking it into accounts without getting everything in writing (and understanding PRECISELY what it means) then that's their own stupid fault

I agree with you totally on that

most likely to the FSO

Wasting your time,

uktim29

kenwalker wrote: »

Let's get real here. Yes the customer should have read the T&Cs but he was clearly mislead by the Nationwide Manager and as a result has a case against them. Clearly no one would knowingly put £25,000 into an account of which £21,000 would earn only 0.1% interest. The fact that he did substantiates the fact that he was mislead in the first place.

I don't see how you know he was clearly mislead?

Did the op say they want to deposit £25,000 and get the highest rate of interest, I bet they didn't!

With the op's lack of common sense they probably didn't clearly explain what they were after in the first place.

I don't see how the op managed to do this without just going in and giving whoever they spoke to the idea they just wanted to open a normal bank account not one with a high interest rate if your planning to deposit a large sum of money.

If I was the op I would have checked rates on this site, done several other searches on Google, probably checked any rates on the teletext listings and have known exactly what I wanted from which company so without the need to be sold anything. Wouldn't anyone else? Probably.

So I don't think the op was mislead, they probably put as much effort into explaining to the poor member of staff what they were looking for as they did reading what they were signing into. Then go and blame the bank when they're not happy. I don't have much sympathy.

lilac_lady

What's wrong with Nationwide's E-savings account?

wicknwax

lilac_lady wrote: »

What's wrong with Nationwide's E-savings account?

Nothing as far as I am aware, I have had one for years and had no problems

kenwalker

Financial Advisers have a duty of care to ensure that their clients fully understand all aspects of their proposed investment. It matters not whether the customer is financially savvy or not, the same rules apply.

This customer came away with the idea that they would receive a 4.5% return on their funds when in fact they would not. If it had been made clear that only 0.1% interest would be payable on the other £21,000+ why would the OP be complaining now? The fact that they only realised the position at the time of the year end interest payment bears out that they really believed that they had made a good investment. (Base Rate stood at 4.5% at that time.)

Believe it or believe it not but many, many people still walk into financial institutions with the strong belief that the Adviser will "sell" them the best product for their needs but regrettably this is not always the case and when someone leaves a financial institution office not understanding the full implication of their investment the adviser hasn't done his or her job properly. Their obligation is not only to explain the T&Cs but to ensure that the client understands them.

Had the OP simply walked into a branch, asked for and completed an application form for the account and handed over their money that would have been a different set of circumstances and they could have been accused of "stupidity" or "foolishness" but in this case they placed themselves in the hands of the Manager and that's where the duty of care arose. They believed that they had been given the best advice for their circumstances and therefore saw no need to look into it further.