After some bad experiences with staff in branches, I would no longer recommended Nationwide BS. Their online banking is good, and works well, so if you only want online banking it's good. But in the local branch, the ATM outside took someone else's card, and then someone else's, and the staff were slow to help. Of the two ATMs inside, one was broken, and at the other one a customer had problems. So queueing up to get cash, the staff are rather rude at times, telling people to use the cash machines (which often do not work).

I have had a mortgage with Nationwide for over 10 years and saw that they were offering a great rate on persona loans. I applied online and received an email the next day saying that they required more information and would send me a letter with the details. Why they couldn't put that in the email defeats me! I waited a couple of days and got the letter. It said they needed proof of income and detailed the options I had. I duly printed the information from my account on HMRC's website and took it to my local branch. Two days later I received an email asking me to call them to progress the application. I was on hold for an hour(!) only to be told that the information I provided was not acceptable. Apparently, they only accept a specific form from HMRC, although this was not shown in the letter. It is now 9 days since I first applied. By contract, I applied the same day to MNA, bank that I have no dealings with - the money was in my account the next day. Was so annoyed that I told them to cancel the application. Great example how not to treat customers......

I requested my ISA transfer over 4 weeks ago after they reduced their interest rate. My money has still not be transferred, despite several emails. The receiving bank 'The Coventry' has given my a list of their unsuccessful requests to date to obtain transfer of the ISA. The Coventry has been helpful. The Nationwide have not even responded to my last 4 email complaints, nor as I write this yet moved my money. How can a bank operate like this?

Never use Wisbech branch, rude, disgraceful staff using Corona virus as an excuse for their incompetency and rude behavior! I have requested my account to be closed 3 times now, but they are ignoring my emails. Save yourself a loads of upset and NEVER USE THEM! AVOID!!!

Disgraceful customer service and banking facility. If anyone still banks with them I recommend you switch if you ever want to get any descent customer service and aid in times of need. Having fallen a victim to Coronavirus was worried about making loan repayments for the upcoming month as I was in self-isolation and on unpaid leave from work. Have always kept up with my loan payments and never missed anything for the past 3 years. Dont let the false advertisements on their website fool you, they try to come across as they are very helpful and that they will assist their customers during "challenging times", having called their "Triage" team and waited over 1 hour on hold, I pleaded with the rep to offer some help to overcome the situation am in, wether that will be 1 month payment holiday on the loan or an increase in overdraft / credit card limit to tie me over just for 1 month and the outcome was, they only offered to change the repayment date on the loan and move it back by upto 14 days like that is going to help!, they do this all year round , nothing new and certainley no additional help during this pandemic. These stingy people did not even consider freezing credit card or overdraft fees just for 1 month till i return to work. Lastly in the same week, i accidently transfered some money from my current account to my credit card (online via internet banking), I was meant to transfer it to my savings account but as you know its very easy to select the wrong account to transfer money to in the drop down menu. After realising my mistake, I found there is no option to transfer money back from your credit card to your current account. I gave customer support a call and got through to a guy called "Sachin" (sounded like a right chav) whom immediatly said "you been passed to me in the collections department, your balance is xx and you need to pay xx"... I thought what the hell is this guy on? No one passed me through, I called in and my query is not related to balance, I have already paid the monthly amount due on my card thanks!!, I then told him the reason for my call to which he replied to transfer money back from credit card to current account would take 5 days to process..... and as i questioned why so long, he replied, you made the mistake what do you want us to about it? As you can see, the customer service is shocking, rude, incompetent staff even at the highest level, you can not even get through to a manager or to the complaints team, instead they take your number and you'd be lucky to ever recieve a call back from the complaints department. This is the 21st century folks.....and Nationwide expects you to wait 5 days to get funds transfered from your nationwide current account to your nationwide credit card back, come on people, open your eyes. just check what other banks offer and you will be suprised at the level of care and service compared to Nationwide which is a sinking ship! By the way, I also had a loan with YB and Post office and having spoke to their financial care team, they both provided a month payment holiday to assist me during the crisis which has meant reduced income. I am ever grateful to these banks and the difference between customer care and support is night and day compared to the crooked Nationwide. I will ensure on my return to work that I change bank details with my employer to YB with the outlook of closing my bank account with them.

I've had a credit card for twenty plus years with Nationwide. Always pay in full each month but now I find I can't access my account online because they want me to re-register all the details they already have and to provide a mobile number. Ok, but unfortunately I'm one of those few people who do not have a mobile phone. So having just spoken to a rather offhand, uninterested (I phoned in the morning and he greeted me with ‘good evening'), verging on the rude, employee, if I want to continue having a card I now have to go into a Nationwide branch to register my details. Unfortunately for me I live about twenty miles from the nearest branch. The above small vignette of social interaction aroused my curiosity as to the qualities Nationwide look for in their potential employees. Here are some extracts from a current job advert: “We’re not like a bank. We’re not like other financial services companies. We’re not really even like other call centre environments either. We’re a building society. So we’re building our ‘society’ with a sense of community and with a collective belief in the idea that we’re all here to help each other. That’s what we’re all about and that’s what makes us different. As a Customer Service Consultant at Nationwide, you’ll be making our customers’ lives easier and helping them to make the big decisions for their future... you’ll play a pivotal role when it comes to supporting our members. But, you’ll do more than just communicate; you’ll advise, dipping into your empathy, and ability to help members get the right outcome for them. Nationwide is the world’s largest building society. But, however large we grow, we will never lose sight of what makes us different: our commitment to our members and to building our society in the right way. Our goal is to be more than a business. We want to be known as an organisation that is always open, honest and trustworthy, where people are helped, supported and loyal. That’s as true for our employees as it is for our members. Help us build on our values and we’ll help you build an amazing career. At Nationwide we have a strong ethic of care, and a genuine concern for each other and our members. We are committed to creating a culture that recognises and truly values our individual differences and identities. If you’d like to be a part of an inclusive workplace where you can be yourself, where your talents are nurtured and you feel empowered to contribute then please apply and help us in building society, Nationwide.” Wow, that’s some statement. Well at least they are correct in saying they are “not like a bank” – more like the primate house in a zoological gardens. I can visualise now the beds of straw in the corner and the bananas hanging from the branches as the inmates fend off unwanted phone calls from their ‘members’. The reality is that the Nationwide ethos is constructed from the same material as their credit cards...

Had a fraudulent transaction on my current account. Spoke to them and I can honestly say it is the worst customer service. Refused to investigate fraud and refund money. Your money is not safe with them. I have never encountered this before with any other bank or financial institution

Hi where do I begin,first experience was making a online purchase for £265 card declined despite funds in account, I phoned nationwide call centre adviser said you card has been blocked, apparently I had been a victim of identity theft. I explained communication is the key, I complained, they said a letter was being sent out but it was a coincidence that events had crossed and I had phoned before letter sent out, Situation number two, I paid out a sum of £1060 with my nationwide visa debit all fine, checked banking app all taken, two days later to my suprise my debit card was declined at a supermarket, on checking my account I discovered the amount had been taken again. I phoned call centre this time the fault was visa and not them, and I was told I had a negative balance now, I had to credit from my other nationwide accounts. I complained through complaints resolver, I had a compensation payment and apology. I have now moved to a professional bank who are competent, please DON'T trust nationwide

It was my bad luck that I decided to go with them for a 5 years fixed mortgage. My circumstances changed and I had to get my partner off the mortgage. Their Mortgage Consultants have no answers and have no training on Nationwide's lending policies. I knew more by reading Nationwide's public policy from their site than the so called Mortgage Consultants. My simple case was completely messed up by their so called Mortgage Consultants who are nothing but Mortgage Software Operators. That was the start of my nightmare. I logged a complaint and the most condescending, fabricating complaints handler was my next nightmare. It seems like she is trained to intimidate complaining customers. When I challenged her on written email and asked them to review the phone calls I was told in a written reply that they lost my phone recording!!! Even at a high cost of £5500 early repayment charges, I decided to change the lender because I can not trust this bank or their software and their mortgage consultants dont allow manual application by underwriters. So If anyone wants to re-mortgage with them then my advise is either not to have any unusual circumstances in life that may result in a review by Nationwide or dont go with Nationwide in the first place, because they don't have humans but trained robots who are only able to operate a non trustworthy software and trained bullys who intimidate customers when they complain. Given a choice between having cancer and taking a mortgage with Nationwide, I will chose cancer. NB: I have contacted BBC Watchdog. Hopefully people will soon see the whole story and learn from my misfortune with this company.

Rubbish bank kept my money and refuses charge backs. Avoid this bank

I've been with Nationwide for 18 years - joint account, mortgage, ISA, substantial consolidating loan. Not only has everything always run smoothly, but it is the only bank or building society in the country that I had never heard anything remotely negative about - until I read all the one-star reviews on these pages. Maybe everyone else who was satisfied didn't feel the need to go online and praise them? As well as the ease in obtaining the loan, which has now been paid off due to a legacy with no balancing charges, and the ease of getting a credit card which they can automatically pay off by direct debit so that we incur no interest, Nationwide has twice supported me when I've been defrauded, chasing up money which should not have been taken and refunding it to me in full while taking on the financial responsibility of retrieving the money for themselves if they can. This is first-rate customer service. Their advice to me over the phone when my computer was hacked and money stolen direct from the account was thorough and immediate. The length of time I had to wait on the other end of the phone line was a small problem when compared to the outcome.

I urgently needed to open a bank account and the usual High St. banks were no help whatsoever. The Nationwide in Devizes came up trumps, the manager and staff bent over backwards to help when I explained my circumstances to them, cant thank them enough. Then I moved to Salisbury, and the staff there could'nt have been more helpful. Judging by some other reviews, they either have grumpy branch staff or they move to Wiltshire!All my experiences with the Nationwide have been nothing but efficient, courteous and professional. So much better than a "normal" bank. The online banking is pretty good as well. Thanks Nationwide!

Do not use Nationwide - their adverts are great .... the reality falls a long way short

Application open a Flex account I have been a long time customer of the Nationwide Building society, and have from time to time considered moving my accounts when I have had problems but have always shied away from this feeling that the hassle involved was not worth the bother. We visited our Southport branch by appointment today to open two current accounts, one for my husband using me as the 'friend referrer' and another current account for our joint savings. We had made the appointment a couple of weeks ago in branch and the only appointment we could get within a reasonable timescale was a conference call with a bank employee at another location. We arrived early today and quickly realised that they had got my husband's name wrong, first mistake. Just after the appointed time we sat before a screen and the process of opening the accounts began, within minutes we felt that this way of opening an account was not the best experience in the world made more complicated by the fact that the person dealing with us was not English and there were communication problems given that the persons first language was not English. The process for opening the account was long and intense, my husband wanted a simple uncomplicated account with no overdraft into which his monthly salary would be paid and standing orders/direct debits paid out. About 30 minutes into the process having answered all of the questions we were advised that my husband's application was approved and details of his current bank and his account numbers etc were provided for the switch to take place. Five minutes later the bank representative advised that the application could not be approved until head office had made a decision- no explanation for this sudden change was offered and my husband was told that he would be informed in about five days as to whether the Nationwide would approve his application!! My husband has always had stable employment and is currently a senior executive with a multi national company and receives a substantial salary for his job which is paid directly into his bank account. We have a mortgage which is fully paid in 22 month, there has never been any arrears on the mortgage. He holds a bank card and credit cards, his credit card is paid off in full each month. He has never been overdrawn at his current bank, despite all of this and his being a model potential customer the Nationwide treated him like a petty criminal who had intentions to defraud the bank. The length of time taken to conduct this farce meant the we ran out of time to open the joint account so left feeling frustrated and insulted by the attitude of the Nationwide organisation. As a direct result my husband decided not to continue with his application and I will now move my own accounts in protest, in fact I will move them to the bank my husband is currently with - how is that or irony. Whilst we appreciate the need for financial organisations to operate in accordance with government requirements and there are clear procedures the Nationwide goes way beyond what is considered necessary by most financial institutions, they clearly feel that acceptance of an application to open an account is a privilege which they exercise and as such their procedures are designed to actively discourage people. We suspect that the reason for this back pedalling was because the bank did not think they could make any money from my husband given the account he chose and his request not to have an overdraft facility. Our advice is to avoid the organisation and find a bank/building society which is glad to accept new customers and puts their interests first. The Nationwide is a disgrace and does not deserve to prosper I look forward to the day when their poor business practice brings about their downfall. Edit

Went in my local nationwide bank like I’ve done many times before to get a Cheque this time was so awful there was some kind of problem when it got to the end I didn’t know what a manager was called & I was left standing there like some kind of criminal was so bad everyone looking at me in the end I just asked for me passbook said I’m leaving manager was so rude didn’t say a thing shut the door in my face left their with no book or money I came home & called head office to find the money had left my account & I must say the man I spoke to was brilliant said would look into it & id get a call back which I did I had to go back into the bank which I was not looking forward to but there where all different staff their who where really nice so I feel like my complaint was ltaken seriously

Nationwide is the worst bank I have ever come across. I was a customer of theirs for nearly 1 year and have now finally gone through the process of switching from nationwide to Halifax. Nationwide offer a terrible banking app which seems to be completely unable to keep up with transactions. I would spend on my debit card only to find that the transaction wouldn't show up on on my account or even become "unavailable funds" for almost a week after. as a result I continually found that I was being charged fees for going into my overdraft as I had no idea what my actual balance was! sometimes 5 or 6 payments of £5 in one month. I spoke to the bank about this and they said it was normal for transactions not to show up for a week and they refused to remove the charges. I told the customer service representative, who by the way seemed to have no idea about how the banking app actually worked, that I may have to look to move to a new bank. she made no effort whatsoever to alleviate my problems and told me that was my choice but I would find the same issues with whichever bank I chose! this is not the case. I have now moved to Halifax and only have good things to say about them. I received a sign up bonus of £125 which I didn't expect, they also do not charge fees at all if u only go slightly overdrawn and if u don't go overdrawn at all in any month u get a £3 bonus that month. the app is also brilliant, it stays completely upto date with your activity and lets you know if you have any pending transactions and whether this transaction is included in your available balance too. I can finally keep on top of where I am with my money. customer service is also good at Halifax. I strongly recommend anyone who is a customer of nationwide to move to Halifax as they offer much better all round service in every way. I only wish I had switched earlier. nationwide seem not to value their customers in the slightest.