Online Member TalkBack
Online TalkBack
Many of you have sent your questions through to us and Chris Rhodes, Executive Director responsible for products and marketing and Jeremy Wood, Divisional Director responsible for member account administration have been busy responding.
Find out what people are discussing and see what Chris and Jeremy have to say.
Visit Members' Zone.
Previous Online TalkBack event, 26 March 2009
Here you can read a transcript of our latest members’ Online TalkBack event, held between 6.30 and 7.30pm on 26 March 2009. This year you submitted several hundred questions and our directors will soon be providing answers to some more of those that we didn’t have time to respond to during the event itself. The event was hosted by Tony Prestedge, Group Development Director.
Tony says: Thanks for joining our twelfth Online TalkBack. These events are a fantastic opportunity for us to hear your views. We'll answer your questions and get through as many as possible in the hour. There's been a slight change to our event in that with me this evening is David Rigney - Group Operations Director. Now, let's have your questions please.
Stuart Johnston: How is Nationwide currently riding the economic recession? We have seen banks failing but what is being done to ensure the long-term stability of the society? I am a very happy Nationwide customer and I am pleased to see that it seems to be taking a proactive approach to the current economic situation.
Tony replies: Throughout these extraordinary times, with Bank of England rates at their lowest in 300 years, we are continuing to run the business in the prudent and responsible way that Nationwide's members expect. We believe the measures we are taking protect the Society both for the present and the future. We've taken steps to balance the interests of both savers and borrowers and we are carefully reducing our business costs where possible. You should feel reassured that the measure of our financial strength, our Tier 1 and Core Tier 1 solvency ratios, at 15.8% and 12.7% on 31 January 2009, is one of the highest and best in the financial sector.
Tim Eager: You say you are a Building Society and from my discussions with helpful branch staff you have been a prudent lender, why then are your instant access rates and bond rates so poor compared with other societies?
David Rigney replies: While we are indeed prudent in our lending and other activities we also recognise that Nationwide must provide competitive rates for its members. The Bank of England rate is at an historic low and we cannot stand isolated from this. We must always be conscious of the need to adjust rates sensibly and in a way that allows us to sustain the business. We are able to offer higher rates on our range of fixed term bonds and fixed rate ISA bonds. Many members have already found that putting their money into these bonds is the preferred choice in the current economic environment. For example we have launched a highly competitive 5 Year Fixed Rate Bond and 5 year e-Bond at 4.15% gross p.a. / AER.
John Hough: Hi Tony, With the recent increase in size of Nationwide (& hence growth in customers & also in buying power), why is it necessary to close the Bagshot branch? Wasn't this branch a success?
Tony replies: Thank you for your question. We regret it is necessary to close the Bagshot branch and the decision has been made only after careful consideration of all the circumstances. We are currently in talks to establish whether it is viable to work with someone to set up an alternative Nationwide agency in Bagshot. We have a duty to the membership as a whole to review either the existing Nationwide branch network allows us to meet members' needs efficiently and cost-effectively. Many customers in Bagshot already access our services by post, telephone or over the internet and customers with FlexAccounts can also us the Post Office. The majority of Bagshot customers also regularly use other Nationwide branches in the area and in the past two years we have invested over £1 million in refurbishing four nearby ones at Camberley, Bracknell, Fleet and Woking.
John Sturgeon: Please advise where I can get a copy of Graham Beale's recent article in the national press re the imposition of a fine on the good building societies to bail out the bad ones. Why did Nationwide sign up to this monstrous liability anyway - what did the Board think they were doing on our behalf?
David Rigney replies: The article you refer to was written by Graham for the Times newspaper and appeared on 24th March. It is also on the Times Online service and can be found using this internet link
It is a requirement of the financial regulator that we are signed up to the FSCS. We are fully supportive of the scheme and the protection it gives consumers. However, we believe it would be fairer if payments required from banks and building societies were based on a risk-based levy rather than on the share of the savings market. That way prudent and risk-averse organisations like Nationwide would be rewarded by being asked to pay less than those who pursue other policies.
Sarah Miller: Nationwide seems to be going through a restructuring process under Graham Beale! Why? What further plans do Graham and the board have for 2009?
David Rigney replies: When Graham took over as Chief Executive he looked at the structure of the business, how each part was performing and whether the whole Group was adding sufficient value for our members. Graham and the Board will continue to review all operations on a regular basis to ensure that we are getting the very best deal and that we keep tight control of our costs. Please be assured, however, that we remain firmly committed to providing excellent products and service to our customers.
Clive Totman: Why have NW removed the facility to pay in cheques at cash machines. I am a night worker and find it really difficult to get to a branch during bank opening hours.
David Rigney replies: We continue to allow the deposit of cheques at our cash machines, where the machine has this functionality. We had some more advanced cash machines which allowed withdrawals in the form of the cheques. However, we found this facility to be unreliable causing the machines to fail, which disabled all the remaining functionality on the machines. In the interests of maintaining the availability of the other services via these machines we decided to remove the cheque withdrawal facility from the machines.
Steve: Why have you made counter restrictions?
David Rigney replies: This is all about improving customer service for the vast majority of our members who visit branches. For example since November we asked members to use the ATM machines instead of the counter for cash withdrawals of £30 or under. We're affecting a change which will create the greatest benefit whilst affecting the fewest people. We want to maintain the high level of service that our customers deserve. Looking at customer feedback, we see that the number one issue which customers complain about is queues in branches. These initiatives will reduce counter transactions and so help us to reduce queues at our counters and give customers with more complex queries more time with our staff.
Richard Buckby: Why does Nationwide not change to MasterCard if VISA is imposing a levy?
Tony replies: There is a similar fee structure at MasterCard. Our cards remain commission free when used anywhere in the world and still offer great value. However, we are directly passing on the charge made by Visa. The majority of transactions abroad with a Nationwide credit or debit card occur within the Visa Europe region and so most card holders will not be charged a fee.
Roy Howard: Why does Nationwide treat payments into a bookmaker as a cash advance when other Credit cards do not? I was unaware of this little "trap" and was recently charged £3 for a payment of £20 plus daily interest!!
David Rigney replies: In common with many other card issuers, payments to bookmakers, casinos, etc are treated as gambling transactions. This is very clearly stated in our terms and conditions.
Sean: You recently removed the collar on many discounted mortgage products. As a Nationwide member who carefully weighed up a fixed versus discounted mortgage I feel the goal posts were moved after I took out a fixed rate product. This doesn't seem fair. Why shouldn't members on fixed rate mortgages also benefit from base-rate cuts in a similar way to the way you've helped those on discounted rates beyond what they signed up to?
Tony replies: We have applied floors on our Tracker mortgages. On trackers reserved before November 2008 we applied the floor/collar at 2% as a temporary measure versus the original 2.75%. Trackers reserved between December 08 and February 09 have a lower limit of 1%. The changes to interest rates do not affect our fixed rates in the same way as trackers as we fund those products differently and they are not linked to the base rate. Customers with fixed rate mortgages benefit from having a fixed monthly payment through their deal term.
Clive Totman: Given the current financial climate do the directors think it right to indulge their passion in football with sponsorship - surely the money would be better spent on increasing member benefit i.e. lower mortgage rates.
David Rigney replies: Thank you for your question. The current climate puts increased onus on us to make sure that we continue to run the business in a prudent manner so we can deliver value back to our members. Therefore, I can understand why you have questioned our investment in football sponsorship.
Like all other investments, our sponsorship is scrutinised against its delivery of value back to the Society. We use sponsorship to raise and maintain awareness of the Nationwide brand. The reason we have chosen to sponsor the national teams is because of its broad appeal and ability to connect with a wide audience.
The cost for our football sponsorship is met from existing marketing budgets that we choose to invest in sponsorship rather than TV or radio advertising etc.
If instead of sponsoring the football we were to pay this money back to members the sum would be approximately 50 pence per customer, per year. Instead, we believe that by investing money in sponsorship we encourage more customers to consider us, which provides a positive return on investment and ensures continued growth for the benefit of all members.
Ian Gibson: Do you think that the time Nationwide has taken to introduce faster payments is acceptable, considering it was in the group that worked with APACS for the development of this?
David Rigney replies: Nationwide has introduced a limited Faster Payments service and we plan to roll it out to the entire current account base during this year. Before we introduce any new feature, we have to be certain that the system we operate is able to meet the demands that will be required of it and, in the case of a payment system, provides the level of security to prevent misuse. We will not compromise security in our systems.
Lesley Rankin: I am sure you are aware that your interest rates on cash ISA's are very low in comparison to other banks. I am currently considering transferring my funds to a better and different bank that will offer me above 3.10% verse only 0.5 % with Nationwide. I have also been a saver with you since my teens in 1973. I feel at present the savers are being punished for those who haven't saved. Will Nationwide be addressing this issue and comparing its rates with other banks?
David Rigney replies: As you know there have recently been a number of cuts to the Bank of England Base Rate which have resulted in our variable rates being reduced. Whilst our instant access ISA now offers lower rates than it has done previously, the rate is still competitive when compared against certain other branch based instant access ISAs available from the major banks.
If you would like to receive a higher rate on your ISA balance, our Fixed Rate ISA Bonds offer guaranteed rates of up to 3.25%, if you don't need instant access to your savings. If you would like to move some or all of your balances into one of these accounts, please visit your local branch.
Andrew Kell: This Q&A is a great idea - but you need to improve the user experience and technology used. I cannot see half the text without scrolling. And why not have live audio/video? This is quite feasible and would be far more engaging. 10/10 for intent. Need to improve the execution!
Tony replies: Thank you for your feedback, and glad to hear that you find it useful. The reason for the refresh not automatically taking you to the bottom of the page is to take into account peoples' reading speed. Audio and video is something that we are currently looking into ...so watch this space!
Miss Chievous: To Tony. Do you like watching The Apprentice? I'm sure directors are getting younger or I'm getting older but congratulations on getting to the top at such a young age - how did you do it?
Tony replies: How charming - you've made my day.
Val: With prudent lending, why are your mortgage rates not falling when saving rates are?
David Rigney replies: Fixed rate mortgages are fixed for the term of the deal. Mortgage customers with either a tracker product or on our Base Mortgage Rate have seen their mortgage rates fall in recent months, the rate on our BMR will reduce to 2.5% from 1 April and the rate is guaranteed to be no more than 2% over the Bank of England Base Rate.
Andrew Kell: I am confused. I put in some questions a few days ago. Will these be answered or are you taking these questions live?? Again 10/10 for intent but needs to improve the process!!
Tony replies: We are indeed answering live. Thanks for your question. We are also answering some of the pre-registered questions as we go along.
Colin Hughes: Does Nationwide impose a financial penalty on the transfer out of instant access cash ISA's?
David Rigney replies: No. However, if customers leave one of our fixed rate ISAs before the end of the term, an interest penalty is payable.
Revd R Baker: What are you doing to improve the situation in making contact with your local branch by phone? On two recent occasions the call centre has been unable to make contact with my local branch, which was both frustrating and annoying, especially as the calls were of an urgent nature. Although I tried without success to make contact, it proved to be in vain. It was far better when we were able to phone our local branch directly.
Tony replies: The contact centre answers the telephone for a number of our busiest branches, freeing branch employees to help customers who call into the branch in person.
Contact centre employees can answer most queries and questions. However, in the event of a customer needing to speak to a specific employee in a branch the contact centre will either transfer your call immediately or arrange for the branch to call you back.
Andrew Kell: Are there any plans to change the policy on accepting transfers in to ISAs - particularly for existing members?
David Rigney replies: We are currently out of the transfer-in market until we are able to provide the service that our members expect. The good news is that we will be back in the market very soon.
Ken Thomas: An earlier response refers to Fixed Rate Bonds offering 4.15% gross. The current Fixed Rate ISA Bonds offer 3%. Why this discrepancy? It seems that the Society is taking advantage of the tax-free status to offer a lower rate, thus eliminating the advantages that an ISA would otherwise offer.
David Rigney replies: Our Fixed Rate Bonds and Fixed Rate ISAs are priced partly in relation to the market and our desired competitive position. Our headline fixed rate ISA rate of 3.25% is competitive in the ISA market. The fixed rate bond market generally pays higher rates, our new 4.15% bond is top of market. However, please note that our 6 month and 1 year Fixed Rate Bonds pay similar returns to the equivalent Fixed Rate ISAs.
Max Christian: Why can't I request an international transfer using your otherwise fabulous online banking service?
David Rigney replies: Thanks for your comment and compliment! In fact, international payment requests are currently available within the Internet Bank through a print and post service. Select your FlexAccount and 'Other Services' then 'Transfer overseas using SWIFT'. This process ensures the security of the transaction. We are looking at making improvements to the service in the future.
Richard Buckby: Was it a wise move to be investing in a new computer system? Can Nationwide not reduce its margins and provide value to saving members
David Rigney replies: We are constantly investing to improve the service that we offer to our members. Part of that investment every year is in our infrastructure and technology. Our current project that you refer to is essential if we are to maintain our position in a competitive market.
David Cooney: Hello Tony, Why do you employ external agencies to telephone Nationwide investors in the evening to ask what they think of Nationwide?
David Rigney replies: David here, Tony's having a rest! We use specialist market research agencies to gather customer feedback on a range of issues, including customer experiences in branches, on the telephone and internet so that we can work towards improving products and services.
Alec Jackson: Your site is very hard to navigate!!! Tonight I have been looking for a list of all your accounts & interest paid on them, could not be found. Please make your site user friendly.
Tony replies: Thanks for your feedback. We're very keen to improve the usability and navigation of our website. In addition to listening and responding to feedback like yours, we've conducted a couple of customer surveys in specific areas of the website, for example mortgage information, to better understand how easy it is for customers to find the information that they need. We are currently in the process of implementing the findings from that survey. Later in the year we are looking to undertake a full web site review.
Regarding your specific comment around finding savings rates, I would appreciate it if you could give us some additional insight to help us better understand how we can improve. I wondered whether you noticed the interest rate selector on the website home page (on the right hand side under the top navigation bar) or the "all savings accounts" link on the savings home page or whether the wording was not very visible or confusing? Any information you can give me on which sections of the site you were visiting for information will help us make improvements. Thank you.
Priscilla Green: What happens to questions which are not addressed in this session?
David Rigney replies: We are trying to answer a cross section of all the questions we are receiving. Hopefully this will satisfy most people. As we are not collecting personal email addresses we will not be answering individual questions directly after the session.
Stephen Bennett: Please could Nationwide update their online banking for Flex Account customers. I have formally requested several times over the past 2 years, to have a FOUR WEEKLY option added to the drop down menu, for the frequency of payments on standing orders. At the moment there is only four options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly and Annually.
The customer services keep fobbing me off.
David Rigney replies: I understand your frustration with this limitation of our payments system. However, the option of 4 weekly payments is no longer widely offered by UK financial services providers, and is a service that is not often requested by our members. The cost to change Nationwide's systems would be significant and so, mindful of using the Society's limited resources most effectively, this development must be prioritised against all other potential improvements.
Ian F Westwood: As a mutual, members benefit from the society. One of these benefits was free currency transactions abroad with credit and debit cards, particularly in the USA . I understand it may remain for the EU but why are you withdrawing member benefits from the members that travel globally?
Tony replies: As you will be aware the Visa charge we are passing on to members is one that is currently charged to Nationwide. This same fee does not apply to transactions made within Europe. In passing on this fee to members we are not making any profit and our Flexaccount still represents great value compared to many of our competitors who in addition to passing on the Visa charge also apply an exchange rate commission.
Clive Totman: Why does it take a few days to transfer funds from my flexaccount to my Nationwide credit card? And where is the money in the meantime and, more to the point, who's getting the interest off it! Surely transfers in the same company should be instant.
Tony replies: Thanks for your question. Our Credit Card is administered by a 3rd party and so the payment from your FlexAccount is routed through BACS (the automated clearing service) in common with rest of the UK banks and building societies. Nationwide does earns some interest during part of the clearing cycle.
Along with other UK financial services providers we are developing the new Faster Payments facility which will result in the majority of payments being credited to accounts on the day they are sent. We will notify customers once this service is available.
Trevor Middleton: As a consumer journalist and a Nationwide customer I've been appalled at your consistently arrogant response to the question of refunding bank charges. As the latest ruling (26th February 2009) by the Court of Appeal has ratified the High Court's decision that charges can be subject to 'unfair contractual terms' laws what do you intend you do about the millions of pounds you have extracted from your customers in this way?
Tony and David reply: The Court of Appeal has not said the fees are unfair, but that a court can now determine their fairness. The judgment is complex and we and the banks are currently considering the implications. We will work closely with the courts and with the OFT to bring this to a conclusion as quickly as possible.
Dr Stephen Harvey: Why are you only paying 0.95% Interest on a Members ISA Bond?
I believe other Building Societies appear to be giving a better rate of interest to reward loyalty.
David Rigney replies: The recent cuts to the Bank of England Base Rate have resulted in us having to reduce our savings variable rates. This means that our Members ISA Bond now offers lower rates than it has done previously, although still 0.25% higher than our Instant Access ISA. If you would like to receive a higher rate on your ISA balance, and don't require access to your savings for a fixed period, we currently make our Fixed Rate ISA Bonds available to new and existing customers, at rates of up to 3.25%. Please be reassured that we value your loyalty and are working on further ways to recognise this.
Kathleen Steel: Why, when my bonds matured at the end of February, did no-one contact me about further investments in Nationwide? I had 3 bonds totalling £253,000 and yet your company seemed completely disinterested in this (not inconsiderable) amount of money. I have since moved my money elsewhere but I would like to make you aware of this situation so you can assure that your building society keeps its customers
David Rigney replies: Thank you for notifying me of this. We mail all of our maturing bond customers approximately 3 weeks before the end of the term to notify them of our current offers, and provide a reinvestment application form to give an easy means of reinvesting funds with us. I am sorry to hear that you did not receive this reinvestment pack and will investigate why this happened.
Andy Surridge: ALL BANKS ARE CROOKS
Tony replies: We are not a bank we are a building society. Thank you for your question.
Darren: Twyford branch is due for closure. I am unhappy about this but sort of understand why due to the current economic climate. However are the two branches in Maidenhead remaining? If so I think closing Twyford is a farce and unfair to the large elderly customer base. Maidenhead does not need two branches, yet you take a valuable resource away from an area with a high elderly customer base that relies on your services for counter transactions. We have not been given any advice as to other counter provision in Twyford and many people will be unable to travel as far as Henley, Woodley or Caversham. Caversham is a tiny branch and is very close to a big branch in Reading, why is this not being closed?
David Rigney replies: The decision to close Twyford branch was not taken lightly. Like any business, Nationwide carries out reviews of different aspects of its business on a regular basis. The decision to close Twyford branch is the result of such a review. The deciding factors were a combination of low usage and the close proximity of other branches, which we consider to be within a reasonable travelling distance. You may wish to consider using one of our growing ranges of alternative access channels which would reduce the number of times you will need to travel to your nearest branch to conduct business.
Andrew Kell: Do you think that as a consequence of the current financial turmoil the mutual business model will prosper and perhaps become a more sustainable ownership model for the wider financial sector?
David Rigney replies: Let's hope so.
Alan Jones: Nationwide staff in branch offer a system to record negative feedback but not positive. Boscombe branch in Bournemouth has the two best managers but as a customer I couldn't let anyone know that. Can they record positive feedback?
Tony replies: Thank you very much for your kind feedback. I will ensure your comments are passed on to my colleagues in Boscombe.
Kate Campbell: Under the current policy of not allowing Nationwide fixed rate mortgage holders to pay the redemption policy and take out a further fixed rate mortgage with yourselves is there a time-limit set before we could apply to come back? Are we excluded for 1 year, 2 years or more?
Tony replies: Nationwide offers a full range of mortgage products to customers when they come to the end of their existing mortgage deal. If customers do not opt for a new deal then they will move onto our Base Mortgage Rate which is guaranteed to be no more than 2% over the Bank of England Base Rate and which will be 2.5% from 1 April 2009.
Roy Snart: How much fraud do you estimate has been eliminated by the use of card readers?
David Rigney replies: Since we introduced the card reader, we have seen a significant reduction in online fraud. We are now confident that we are market leaders in this area of fraud prevention. We will continue to seek new ways of reducing our exposure to fraud.
Jean Spencer: I've recently become unemployed, and wrote to Nationwide proposing to pay a lower sum to pay off my personal loan. This has been rejected and I've been told I need to pay the full amount or will be taken to Court. Why is this in this climate? Why won't you agree to a reduced payment?
Tony replies: Jean. I am sorry we appear not to have been able to help you at this clearly distressing time. I don't have the details of your specific case. I will however ask one of my colleagues to review the situation again tomorrow. Thanks for taking the time to write. Could you please let me have your e-mail and account details?
Dave Holladay: Given that Nationwide generates substantial traffic between Swindon, Northampton and London, what arrangements are being promoted to buy travel for individuals and groups from transport providers in more environmentally sound, efficient, safer, and cost effective ways?
NB. There is a morning direct coach from Northampton to Swindon but the evening service does not connect so well - however the proposed reopening of the Oxford-Cambridge rail link is something to watch, and a change at Oxford does give through connections.
Tony replies: The mobility of our people and materials is key to the success of our business. But we recognise that transport offers real opportunities for reducing carbon emissions and operating costs; managing travel away from single occupancy vehicle use is an important part of our sustainability work. We have a number of policies and awareness tools in place on travel. I'll try to give you a brief summary of these; All employees are required to a follow comprehensive policy for travel bookings which allows us to take advantage of very competitive rates for rail. When requesting a hire vehicle employees are reminded to consider alternatives including car sharing and public transport. We have a large network of video and telephone conferencing facilities which connect all main sites and are alternatives to travel. Local public transport services are hosted on our employee intranet sites for our larger buildings. We're also trying to encourage alternatives in place of the daily commute; our administrative buildings and head offices have car share facilities; large, purpose built bike shelters and changing/shower areas. We offer a free lunch time link bus at our Swindon head office into the local town centre and make sure there is plenty of information for staff about travelling in a sustainable manner on our intranet site. I'll make sure our sustainability manager is aware of the points you have raised.
Steven Smith: With the current climate of directors bonuses what does Nationwide pay?
David Rigney replies: Nationwide strongly believes in pay for performance. A large proportion of directors' total pay is based on the performance of the Society and their own personal performance. Targets for performance pay measure a wide range of factors including member value, profit, income and customer experience. Since 2003 we have asked our members to vote to approve the annual directors' remuneration report at the AGM. An announcement on 2009 directors' remuneration will be made public later in the spring when this year's remuneration report is published and submitted for the members' vote at the 2009 AGM.
Miss Karen Moores: I went into your Uxbridge branch recently for a mortgage and was met by your mortgage adviser who was so annoyed with the way she has been treated. She informed me that you have made many redundancies - why is it that you kept this away from the press whilst Barclays made it official to the national press. Your brand campaigns say; most trusted brand......... Is this still the case? Why are you not telling the press?
Tony replies: There has been some press coverage on this issue.
You will be aware of the continuing difficult market conditions within which Nationwide is currently operating. The outlook for the coming year continues to be very challenging. Against this backdrop our attention therefore needs to be very firmly focused on managing those costs we can control and finding efficiencies and cost savings across the Group. We are therefore reducing the number of sales roles in the branch network given the slow down in the market. This proposal is not a reflection on the hard work, commitment or effort of employees.
Wayne Winterbottom: I have several services with Nationwide including bonds, credit card, stocks/shares, savings, mortgage, joint savings and more. I am more than happy with the service I receive and commend the staff at the Oldham branch who despite the queues and being kept constantly busy are always cheerful!
David Rigney replies: Many thanks for your feedback. Having been born in Oldham myself I am not surprised that the branch team are always happy!
Revd R Baker: Thank you Tony for your reply regarding call centres and branch contact. Unfortunately the situation was so dire that neither the call centre nor the Swindon office could manage to get the branch to ring back. I'm afraid to say that the situation is just not good enough, and something needs to be done to improve the service which at present is virtually nil!
Tony replies: We have a record of your email address and a member of the team will e-mail you tomorrow to understand the particular issues you are having contacting your local branch when the contact centre employee is unable to help you.
Richard Buckby: How do you feel about Derbyshire and Cheshire paying higher rates on bonds than Nationwide?
David Rigney replies: Like other multi-brand financial services organisations, the products and rates on offer may vary between brands, as is the case with Derbyshire and Cheshire - Cheshire and Derbyshire rates are higher than Nationwide and do not permit access to the money in the bond before the end of the term, whilst Nationwide bonds allow closure before the end of the term subject to an early access charge.
Nationwide customers are welcome to open these accounts and can do so directly with the Derbyshire or Cheshire Building Society. Application forms are available via the following links or telephone numbers:
Cheshire
www.thecheshire.co.uk/greatbonds
0800 195 1514
Derbyshire
www.thederbyshire.co.uk/bonds
0845 602 6595
Ron Neighbour: In the current financial turmoil I'd like to know how safe is Nationwide? I have a large amount of money invested and I know the government will only protect 50,000 pounds.
Thank you for your help.
David Rigney replies: I'm sure this is a question on many people's minds in this current climate. At Nationwide we run our business in a prudent manner for the benefit of all our members. We are the world's largest building society and we have one of the strongest balance sheets in UK financial services. We believe we are a solid, stable and dependable financial provider.
We think this goes some way to explain why over 10 million people trust us with their savings and why last year alone we opened over 5000 new savings accounts every day. I'm also pleased to tell you that just recently Nationwide Building Society appeared in Global Finance magazine's survey of the "World's 50 Safest Banks" - one of only two UK organisations to make the list.
Owen Chapman: how long does it take for a savings account card to come though the post
Tony replies: It's up to ten working days depending on the post.
Tony and David say: Thanks for participating in the evening. David and I have had a great time and we are sorry we are unable to answer all of the questions this evening. We will endeavour to answer more of the questions and make them available on our website.
Thanks again and enjoy the remainder of your evening.
Tony and David.
Now, as promised, here are some more of the questions that our directors have answered following the live online event:
Can I just clarify your answer to an earlier question re Isa’s. We have substantial amounts languishing in Members ISA Bonds earning a paltry 0.8%. Are you saying we can visit the local NW branch and transfer all of this in to Fixed Rate ISA Bonds?
Tony replies: Yes, you are able to transfer this money into our Fixed Rate Isa Bonds, and this may be suitable if you do not need access to your money for a fixed period. Please ask in branch for details, our staff will be happy to help
Has Nationwide benefited from the takeover of Cheshire and Derbyshire or has it been detrimental due to the predicament these societies found themselves in with risky lending policies?
David Rigney replies: We have really enjoyed welcoming our colleagues and new members from Derbyshire and Cheshire since they joined in December. Both businesses are performing well and indeed in the last six weeks have attracted £1bn of new savings deposits. This is a great demonstration of the strength of both brands and the value of these businesses combining with the strength of Nationwide.
Its great to bank online with Nationwide with the added security of the Card Reader when needed, and most of my family agree! When visiting family or friends can I safely borrow and use their (Nationwide) Card Reader, along with my own FlexAccount Card of course? Or should I always pack my own Card Reader when travelling?
Tony replies: I’m glad you find this reassuring as at Nationwide we take fraud prevention very seriously. You don’t always need to pack your card reader when travelling, provided you know you’re going to be in a place where someone else has one. You can use anyone’s Nationwide Card Reader as it uses something you have (your FlexAccount Visa debit card) and something only you know (your Visa debit card PIN) to generate a unique eight digit pass code for you to use to authorise transactions when you use our Internet Banking service. It doesn't contain any personal information; it just reads the chip on your card. This makes it even more difficult for fraudsters to get access to your money.
Why is Nationwide proud to be a building society?
David Rigney replies: Thanks for your question. Being a building society is something we’re proud of because we’re owned by and run solely for the benefit of our members. A building society is a mutual organisation so we don’t have any shareholders to pay out dividends to. This allows us to plough our profits back into the business, giving approximately £690 million back to our members in our last financial year. Our mutuality means we can provide great value financial services and offer a broad range of mortgages, savings and other financial products.
Why must your counter staff insist on trying to sell me other products when I'm in a branch? One look at my screen should tell them that I have a number of accounts with you. It is also extremely irritating when waiting in line to have the people in front being delayed in the same way, particularly if, like me, the branch you visit has only 2 counters, and queues end up going out of the door. Please stop this practice!
Tony replies: Customer comments show that they welcome being told about other products and services providing they are relevant and not ‘pushy’. Indeed some customers actually rate Nationwide worse than other organisations when they don’t feel that they are kept updated with new products and services. Our branch employees have access to all your account details so they should only talk to you about products and services that they believe will be of interest to you.
I would like to ask why the current policy is to refuse to allow customers who are on fixed rate mortgage deals to pay their redemption fee to exit the mortgage and to thereafter take another product (including your BMR deal) with Nationwide. I understand that it remains possible to pay the redemption fee, exit the fixed rate deal and then start a new mortgage arrangement with another lender. This seems a little strange to me, to be honest.
David Rigney replies: Nationwide offers customers a range of fixed and tracker mortgages that are competitive in the prevailing market conditions. To be mutually beneficial it is best that these products are held by our customers through to the end of the agreed deal period. The Early Repayment Charges (ERCs) are estimates of our future costs, should a customer break a deal early. With the unprecedented changes in interest rates experienced recently, these charges may not fully cover the actual costs incurred. We continue to honour the contract with the customer to let them cancel their deal early by paying ERCs. However, in the current market environment we do not want to provide further funding for customers breaking a deal, and prioritise giving funding to those committed to seeing a deal through.
I would like to know what level of training your call centre staff have. I have rung in on several occasions, with different queries, and all of the staff I have spoken to do not seem to have a great amount of knowledge about Nationwide products and I often get passed around lots of members of staff until I give up with my query.
Tony replies: Thanks for your feedback. As you might expect we place a great deal of effort into our training, covering off everything from product knowledge to communication skills. New starters are kept in a training environment and only move on once they have reached competency, at which point team managers will continuously coach them to ensure members receive the service they deserve. I am sorry that you haven’t received a satisfactory service but will assure you that we will continue to look at the quality of our training in order to raise our standards.
I have been present at all AGMs and I have asked many times - why there is no Asian or Black person on the Board?
Tony replies: At Nationwide we take our responsibilities to diversity within our workforce very seriously. Whilst I accept the point you make as being factually correct the reality is that we have a diverse Board based on background and skill. I am confident that as the Board changes over time we will seek to build further diversity whilst at the same time always ensuring we select the best candidate irrespective of background or ethnicity.
I have accounts in Nationwide, Cheshire and Derbyshire, Now you’ve taken over Cheshire and Derbyshire is there only one £50k compensation limit
David Rigney replies: Deposits of up to £50,000 in each of the Cheshire, Derbyshire & Nationwide building societies made before the mergers will now continue to be protected until September 2009 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means that existing individual customers of the three societies could have protection for a total of £150,000 – with £50,000 invested in each of the societies. For depositors with joint accounts these limits are doubled giving cover of up to £300,000 for joint account holders with savings in all three societies. The FSA is consulting with the industry on a longer term solution as to whether the limit should be higher still. We would like to see the limits raised to £100,000 per individual (£200,000 for joint accounts). We expect the longer term solution to be in place by September 2009.