Nationwide changes

Nationwide now seem to have stopped allowing ATM withdrawals on the Flex Account, irrespective  of the fees situation.  Nice of them to tell us.  We made our arrangements, and on using  our new card were denied any of OUR money.  Needless to say all my Nationwide Accounts will be closed, apart from the one I will need to attend the AGM to propose a vote of no confidence in the CEO.

Having recommended scores of people to Nationwide in the past, I will now be doing the opposite.

I wondered what was going on. I'm in Spain at the moment and last Friday paid my pool maintenance bill using my NW Flex account, it was a big bill but  it went through OK. Tried to use it today in Carrefour and it was declined although I know there is plenty of dosh in the account. After Carrefour I tried to withdraw cash, again it declined and said to contact bank which I haven't done yet. This is a real mess my husband is in Finland relying on this card, our other options cost a fortune. We opened a euro account with Barclays Wealth  to have his euro salary paid into but their fees for ATM withdrawals and purchases are ridiculous. I will phone NW when I have calmed down, just going to check the Santander website althoug I've recently closed a business account with them because they made me angry!

 Crikey  I hope this is only a tempory cliche in the system as I'm due out inSpain shortly and wanted to draw out my spending money via my Nationwide account.

I know some accounts were being changed and the overseas withdrawal facility was being withdrawn.  But I thought that was only on the basic account which is mainly used by pensioners and students.

 Some of the Flexaccounts used to have a Cirrus card for ATM use, these have been withdrawn from use and replaced with something else (can't remember what). As far as I am aware, the Visa debit card will still be operational overseas in Visa branded ATMs.

Mark

 If you have a visa debit flexaccount card there will be no change until Nov '10 when a fee will be introduced(2% = £1 fee for cash, 2% for purchases). The cashcard account cannot be used in atm's abroad. The basic cashcard is being replaced with a cashcard+ card which will be able to be used in shops to purchase goods(as long as you are in credit!). Not sure about using it to buy in shops abroad!

Santander Zero current account

Can I clarify some confusion on this thread about the Santander current account.  I have always used Nationwide because it did not impose charges on currency transactions.  Following their change of approach I have now applied for a Santander Zero current account.  This current account has certain restrictive criteria.  To open one you must either have a mortgage or an investment with Santander.  My mortgage with Santander has been paid in full so I did not meet this criteria.  At my meeting in the branch I was told that an ISA or bond did not count as an investment for this purpose .  I had to open an investment with Santander using the minimum amount of £1500.  This is tied up for three and a half years at a fixed interest rate.  My initial investment is guaranteed as a minimum return.  This Zero current account acts in much the same as the Nationwide card in terms of no currency transaction costs anywhere in the world.  There is an ordinary current account which does not have the same restrictive criteria but charges are made for currency transactions.  It is important to get the correct one.  I did not mind opening the investment account with Santander as I already had the £1500 in a savings account with them - I simply transfered it to the investment account.

Someone on this thread mentioned that you need to put in £1,000 per month to be eligible for this account but this is not correct.  You do not have to transfer in a regular amount.  Santander have another offer on their current accounts that pays you £100 and pays interest on your balance if you switch your main current account to Santander.  They want to get people to switch the current account that their pay goes into and their direct debist are paid from into the Santander account.  This is a completely seperate offer.  I am keeping my main current account with HSBC and will just use the Santander account for overseas travel.

On a seperate point I started to transfer £800 a month into my Nationwide account prior to going over to Spain and they have assumed that I am now using Nationwide as my main account.  The letter informing me about the new currency charges also stated that as Nationwide was my main current account they would be giving me and my wife free annual travel insurance.

Like others on this thread I will be making a formal complaint to Nationwide.

Grover

 I've been looking at the Santander accounts for my main account in preparation for the Nationwide charges. I'd be interested in your experience with Santander. I have trawled the various review forums and I must say they have a pretty poor reputation for customer services!

Couldn't wait to find out the replies from Poppyseed and Norm de plume so posted a question on another forum.  I've received confirmation on another forum from 2 people who have withdrawn cash using their flex account atm cards in Spain yesterday without any problems.

Big thank-you to Grover for your comprehensive reply, I'll go into my local Santander to open a Zero account.  I've seen messages from people who have done test runs whilst on holiday and the cards do work exactly the same as a Flex account card.

I closed my account with Abbey/Santander years ago, after I received my shares of course.  I didn't like their service then but if this account can be used world wide or even if I only use it in Spain it will be worthwhile. 

Unfortuneately we opened 3 year bonds with Nationwide so can't show our displeasure by taking our business elsewhere until they mature.   

We've just returned from Santander, we wanted to arrange an appointment to open up a Zero account.  Whilst waiting to see the assistant who sits outside I looked at the current account brochure.  There it states that to open a Zero account your have to either have a mortgage or an investment.  You also need to have all your direct debit and standing orders and pay in at least £1000 a month.

When we spoke to the assistant she confirmed that this was the case but when we started to talk about going down the investment route she said that we had to invest £5100 (our isa allowance) and match it with £5100 on a long term 4 to 5 years basis.  Also we would have to pay in £1k min a month and direct debits etc.

Unfortunately as we had intended on booking an appointment only I hadn't printed off Grovers comments.  We may have been treated differently as I no longer have a Santander/Abbey account so in their eyes we  maybe a poor risk.

She did say that I could open up another account but we would be charged 2.75% to use this card abroad. 

She also gave us details of the Zero credit card which didn't charge the 2.75% loading fee but as I pointed out all credit cards charge you from the moment you draw cash out.  I don't think she really understood this as she still insisted that it was free to use abroad.  Possibly for puchases but I've just seen on the leaflet that they charge 27.9% for all cash withdrawals.

Luckily I worked in Banking for over 30 years so I didn't have any confidence it what I was being told.  I found it heavy going but I was able to sort out all the inaccuracies in what I was being told.

Will be interested to find out how others fare if attempting to open a Zero account.

For now I will stick to Nationwide as it looks like they are still cheaper for our needs.

My Flex account card worked today, perhaps it was just a system error yesterday which happens sometimes. I don't really want to do business with Santander again, thinking it may cheaper to transfer enough money to cover bills and spends to Spanish bank account and then use Spanish debit card when in Spain. If I'm going somewhere different for a week or two just on holiday I take cash.

Good to hear that you're back in businees and it was only a temporary cliche.

Have found someone on another forum who poss. in a similar situation as me, have sent a message and waiting for a reply.

We have just returned from Gran Canaria and we have drawn cash out of the ATM's with our flex card with no problem at all.

Hope that helps, perhaps it is worth checking before you go.

Pat

I also received the 'sorry, but tough luck' letter. Trouble is, it seems that as every other bank charges, Nationwide feel they can get on the bandwagon. We'll be moving the bulk of our money from the accounts we hold there (not that it's a fortune!).

Irene & Alan

I've found out that we can open up any current account with Santender and as long as £1k is credited to the account monthly then you get free cash withdrawals from a Santander atm in Spain.  So it seems that it I works just the same as a Nationwide debit card.  You also have to have at least 2 direct debits or standing orders.

I'm still going to try and open up a Zero account as we also want to use an atm when we go to America.  On reading the leaflet I got yesterday it states that you can change your account to a Zero account so I might have to wait a couple of months before I can apply again.

What you need to do:

• To apply: have a Santander mortgage which is not in arrears or hold an eligible Santander Investment and switch using our Account Transfer Service
• To qualify for the £100 & 5% AER: apply online, switch using our Account Transfer Service (select in the application) and pay in £1,000 a month

 Has anyone heard anything back from Nationwide regarding the complaints we made about the changes back in July/August? I received a telephone call, as many others did, the day following my complaint saying that all concerns were being fed to senior management due to the number of people that were complaining, and that they were to consider the complaints made. Since then I've heard nothing.

I've written again to tell them I'm transferring to a Santander Zero account but will delay the decision for 48 hours to give them time to respond. Heard nothing. Guess my loyalty over a number of years to this Building Society that prides itself on working for it's customers is worth nothing. More fool me for thinking otherwise.

Have had a couple of letters from them and messages on line.

But no way are they relenting on this they keep going on about the free insurance, which does not effect us.  So I have said we are being penalised.  But the attitude is take it or leave it, I personally would not change to Santander.  Better the devil I know but that is me.

As what money we have with Nationwide we are getting a good return on at the moment.

Pat

 As has already been said, NW know that in the present climate they can get away with it so that's what they will do! I'm afraid that 2nd home owners are not going to get a lot of sympathy when cuts are being made! 

As for switching accounts, I have looked at Santander and they haven't got the best customer relations to say the least, so as again has been said "better the devil" etc.. As for the "free" insurance we all know its a red herring to try to show that their not really screwing us over!

Tony.

For people living or travelling to Spain, Alliance & Leicester or Santander seem the best bet to avoid transaction charges when withdrawing on a debit card. I have been making withdrawals from Santander cash machines in Spain and incurring no charges.

The main condition seems to be a credit of at least £1000 per month.

Obviously if you are outside Spain there is no advantage.

If you use Santander / A&L to transfer your account from another bank they will credit you with £100 cashback and if you do this via a cashback website such as Quidco you will receive a further £35.

I am always wary about withdrawing cash on a credit card even if the provider says there are no charges. Usually you start paying interest on the day of the withdrawal and it very quickly mounts up to a quite a substantial charge.

Thanks for your responses. I secure messaged them on Monday and have not even had an acknowledgement nor a reply to my request for an update as to whether they plan to go ahead. I suppose that is the best I can expect after years as a loyal customer. They may have no intention of making a U turn however they could at least be civil..

I am concerned about some of the Santander comments regarding customer service but from looking at my 2009 withdrawals  I calculate that the charges are going to total in excess of £250 - £300 each year. The alternative is to use someone like HIFX and transfer money to my Spanish current account and use a debit card on my Spanish account.