Over the previous two years, we have helped readers get hundreds again in refunds and outlined their rights in our Cash Downside function. At the moment’s drawback is…
I’m wondering for those who might help with a difficulty I’ve with Nationwide. In a nutshell, we attended a neighborhood department to make a significant overpayment to my mortgage (£70,000). This was meant to be a very glad time and milestone second as it could have lowered my mortgage by greater than £800 a month. The enjoyment was short-lived because the cell app made no sense and after a number of calls by me, it was revealed they’d merely “lost” my cash and had no concept the place it was. This dragged on for 10 days and untold stress, sleepless nights and anxiousness. I had no concept the place my cash was. I used to be feeling bodily sick. We attended the department and had extra calls and many speak however no precise motion. It has all now been sorted and seems right but it surely took 14 days. My gripe is the parsimonious provide of £200 compensation. They’ve upheld my grievance and admitted fault. My associate is disabled and had a flare-up throughout this episode and was prescribed steroids. This occurred attributable to Nationwide and the set off of the stress it prompted. I’m open to reasoned debate on the ridiculous quantity of £200 in compensation however they won’t budge and at the moment are refusing to reply precisely the place the cash was for 10 days and the way a lot curiosity they earnt whereas it was of their account and never mine.Robert Milne
Cash weblog editor Jimmy Rice tackles this one…
My first thought was that £200 would not look like lots to compensate for the stress you and your associate went by way of.
It is even much less when you think about you can simply have earned greater than £100 in curiosity on that cash in a 14-day interval.
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I reached out to Nationwide about your case they usually did not dispute many of the info you introduced – although they instructed me they’d reassured you the cash was not misplaced.
Which may shock some readers who sympathise together with your case, given the constructing society was named Which?’s Banking Model of the 12 months 2025.
That mentioned, others have clearly been dissatisfied with the customer support they get, given the 1.9 common from greater than 7,600 critiques on Trustpilot.
‘This can be a severe failure’
I talked by way of your case with shopper disputes knowledgeable Scott Dixon, who thinks it goes past the “service failures” for which banking workers sometimes hand out something from £25 to £100.
“This was not a trivial error,” he instructed me. “Temporarily losing £70,000 is a serious failure. The stress, sleepless nights and impact on your partner’s health clearly exceeds the offer of £200 compensation.
“You’re entitled to an evidence of what occurred, compensation of curiosity Nationwide earned whereas the funds have been misapplied, and compensation that pretty displays the stress and hurt prompted.”
Dixon pointed to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Duty rules, which require firms to put customers’ needs first, act in good faith, avoid causing foreseeable harm and enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives.
In my correspondence with you, Robert, you do not say that you suffered any discrimination in this case – but as a side note it’s worth discussing briefly.
All firms are bound by the Equalities Act 2010. The legislation talks about indirect discrimination: when an organisation creates rules and policies that have a worse impact on those with a protected characteristic. Designing rules and regulations that work against elderly and disabled people could be classed as indirect discrimination.
Regardless of this, Dixon thinks you have “clear-cut” case to take to the ombudsman.
“Nationwide has upheld your grievance and admitted legal responsibility,” he said.
His advice is to escalate your complaint and ask for a “last response” (otherwise known as a deadlock letter) from Nationwide, then refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a free review.
“Monetary establishments do not like complaints being referred to the Monetary Ombudsman because it prices them cash – as much as £650 for every grievance,” Dixon said.
“The ombudsman takes a dim view on susceptible clients being unfairly handled and fobbed off with derisory sums to shut complaints, and are prone to award you with greater compensation.”
The FOS routinely awards £300-£750 for serious distress and inconvenience with major banking errors that caused stress and anxiety – here’s an example.
Higher awards (£750-£1,500) are made where there’s a clear, documented health impact, prolonged distress or repeated communication failures.
“I take the view {that a} honest and proportionate settlement could be within the area of £750-£1,000 plus curiosity whereas the cash was lacking,” Dixon said.
“I’d put this to them and point out Shopper Responsibility and the Equality Act 2010 if you ask for a ‘last response’ (impasse letter) to assist them focus their minds a bit extra carefully on the gravity of your grievance.”
His final advice: Don’t give up and don’t be fobbed off. Perseverance breaks resistance every time.
What Nationwide said
This is what the building society told me: “We’re very sorry for any stress this may increasingly have prompted our buyer.
“Due to an error, there was a short delay in crediting their mortgage, but we reassured Mr Milne at the time that the funds were never lost and he would not be out of pocket as we would backdate the credit.
“We have additionally supplied £200 as a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience.”
This feature is not intended as financial advice – the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about. Submit your dilemma or consumer dispute via:
WhatsApp hereOr email [email protected] with the subject line “Cash Downside”
