Nationwide Reducing Flexaccount Interest rates???

DaveK

Today I received a letter from the Nationwide telling me that from 1st August FlexAccount "in credit" interest amounts will be reduced from 3.5% AER to 0.1% AER. In the current climate I can't believe they're pretty much telling everyone to go and bank somewhere else. Anyway it's given me a shove up the backside to finally move my account after being with them for 11 years.

kaysmith87

They are increasing turning into a bank (very profit hungry although still no shareholders ) after getting a new chief exec last year. Thats why I left the company, I believe it will only get worse as they're core business is mortgages and they are struggling enormously wit those.

dave_dph

DaveK wrote: »

Today I received a letter from the Nationwide telling me that from 1st August FlexAccount "in credit" interest amounts will be reduced from 3.5% AER to 0.1% AER. In the current climate I can't believe they're pretty much telling everyone to go and bank somewhere else. Anyway it's given me a shove up the backside to finally move my account after being with them for 11 years.

It is actually the card cash account that is going from 3.5% to 0.1%. Flexaccount rates are changing depending how much you pay in per month.

As far as I can see the only rate that is changing on Flex is for those customers crediting between £1000 and £1499 per month, the rate reduces from 3.5% to 2%. For those customers crediting over £1500 per month the rate remains at 3.5%.

Scarum

As a member of Nationwide and after reading their positive books and situation before voting for their AGM, this is a disgrace. This is profiteering. Obviously they are preparing for privitisation in a couple years time.

Burnley_Lad

I received a copy of the letter too today, and was initially angry when I read that rates were being cut to 0.10% - then I turned the letter over, and realised that the FlexAccount for paying in £1,500+ month per rate was staying the same.

They should have put the FlexAccount table on the first page of the letter in my opinion - I bet a lot of people will just read the front page and not realise that those rates apply to the Cash Card Account and not the FlexAccount.

Scarum

Burnley_Lad wrote: »

I received a copy of the letter too today, and was initially angry when I read that rates were being cut to 0.10% - then I turned the letter over, and realised that the FlexAccount for paying in £1,500+ month per rate was staying the same.

They should have put the FlexAccount table on the first page of the letter in my opinion - I bet a lot of people will just read the front page and not realise that those rates apply to the Cash Card Account and not the FlexAccount.

Oh yes, I found that out too but I deposite less than £1500 a month so it will effetc me slightly.

Still, they do not tell us why they are doing this. And when interest rates go up, will these? Hell no!

markw5

I got the same letter today. Just the way the things are at the moment. Nationwide are offering great fixed rates if you can afford or have the money to save in a fixed rate bond but the rest of us are just turned lose.
I find it strange that banks (including Nationwide - a bank by any other name whatever they say) got the world banking system into this mess by their uncontrolled greed and now they are making us pay for getting them out of a mess!
"Funny old world!"

simax

I ususally get paid £1,044 a month from work every month, so get the higher interest rate, however last month I got less due to taking paternity. I got something like £870.

So I took out £130 from the cashpoint and then paid it back in to make sure I hit the £1k criteria. Result!

Now, with this £1,500 pay-in requirement in August, it's going to be a hastle farting about with cashpoints etc (as you can only take out £300 a day), so can I pay something like £500 into my National Lottery online account by debit card, and then withdraw it back as a Visa debit card credit?

Will that count as a pay-in?

I'm happy with Nationwide, so don't really want to move.

Thanks for any pointers in advance.....

Simon

DaveK

Well it's a good job you lot are more on the ball than me, I read the first page and was so disgusted (and slightly confused) I didn't read the other side properly, so for me it shouldn't make any difference but still it doesn't make any sense why they're choosing to in effect make themselves much less competitive, if mortgages are their core business shouldn't they be begging us to deposit money in our accounts so they can loan it out?

simax - reading their letter all they seem to have a limitation on is not allowing you to switch your money between Nationwide accounts so if you withdrawn it then pay it in overall you're increasing the amount you've paid in.

On the other hand I'm quite tempted to ditch Nationwide anyway and go and get my free £200 for trying and then cancelling their account:cool:

Dustykitten

I asked in the branch yesterday what constitutest the £1500 threshold and was told it was only bank credits so if you pay in cheques or cash it does not count. Might be worth contacting Customer Services to check.

LittleVoice

Dustykitten wrote: »

I asked in the branch yesterday what constitutest the £1500 threshold and was told it was only bank credits so if you pay in cheques or cash it does not count. Might be worth contacting Customer Services to check.

I fear that the Nationwide branch didn't know what it was talking about. Almost all of my payments into my Flex account are by cash or cheque - and I certainly received the appropriate amount of interest last year. I can't believe they have changed their rules on this.