Nationwide Building Society

I have been with Nationwide now since about 2006 and am very happy with them as a building society. I first got an account with Nationwide when I was about fourteen and had a smartbook which was fine because I did not need to withdraw money all that often. However, more recently it became apparent that it would be better to have a card account so Nationwide recommended a Flexaccount. The Flexaccount itself (moving slightly off topic for a moment) offers a number of benefits to customers. It gives customers: free travel insurance, it’s free to use and you can bank on the internet. Now back to ... more

Nationwide has a good reputation for offering competitive products such as mortgages, savings accounts etc. So I decided to obtain a quote for motor insurance from them. Navigating the web site was quite difficult as Nationwide is also an Internet Service Provider and offers a whole host of products from pet insurance to ISAs. I managed to arrive at the motor insurance section only to be told to ring a telephone number. I would have thought that a company of Nationwide’s status would be able to provide instant online quotes. Anyway I called the number and was given a quote after 10 ... more

In my experience Nationwide customer service is lamentable. I am in the process of transferring funds from one Nationwide fixed rate ISA bond into another, the former having matured on 18th June. I returned the forms in good time, but was told they hadn't received them, even though I had been sent an acknowledgement. I was told by way of explanation - "That came from the postroom, but here in the ISA transfer department we have no record" - can you believe it. I had to send a copy of the meaningless acknowledgement to demonstrate that I had received it. I was promised compensation, but it has ... more