Nationwide Building Society

SO WHY NATIONWIDE …………… I have been a loyal customer to Nationwide for a grand total of err, dare I say it – 36 years. Yes, since the day I was born my dad deposited a pound a week in the savings scheme at that time. It’s been around longer than I have and dad used to save there when he was a knee high to a grass hopper and he’s 72 years young now! Nationwide is still a mutual, which means it’s owned by its members, so to speak. This doesn’t mean you receive a hefty cheque each month for just being part of the congregation. It means they pass on the benefits to their members in offering higher ... more

I have been a customer of Nationwide since 1997 when I opened a Flex account. I also have bank accounts with several of the other big banks and so am able to compare the service and products at Nationwide with the others available. The first thing to note is that Nationwide is not owned by share holders, so there are no dividend to pay. This means that the bank is not driven to make huge profits to pay their share holders and board members at the expense of their customers. Of course, they have to make money, but the driving force behind the bank is quite different from, for example, Lloyds ... more

More often than not most of us don't bother taking out health insurance as we think and hope that we will never be in a position where we will need it. When we put it into context we are more likely to insure a laptop/computer or a single valuable item than we are to insure our own life and our family's future. I hope that has got you thinking. WHY TAKE OUT HEALTH INSURANCE? The most important point to note is that anything could happen any of us at any time. If any of us came down with a serious illness there would be life changing consequences. For a start you are more than likely going to ... more

dear all this is no sympathy note but just a warning to all in the future. i am a 33 year old married man with 3 children. i fell in the dreaded credit card trap a few years ago and run up a debt of over 60 k on loans and credit cards. none of which were spent on luxuraries as you may think ,but on general life for a family of 5.i took out a 15 k loan in 2000 at £244.00 per month(high i know now) this was payed for the next 2.5 years an then i was out of work. before this i used a debt management company who were a complete waste of time as when i became out of work they did not want to know ... more

Hi Redlarks I note that you don't seek sympathy - but you nevertheless have mine. Some credit card companies and other lenders issue credit at unsecured rates then, once you are commited and cannot repay anything other than the monthly amount, raise the rates to an unreasonable and extortionate level, increasing the debt beyond one's means to pay the minimum monthly amount. Then ... WHACK seek to secure the resultant debt against your home! I submit that had the credit or loan been issued at the secured rate in the first instance the number of defaulters would be far less. These lenders have ... more