Serving our members
Our strategy is to maximise the value returned to our members. The value we generate is distributed either by offering better deals than our competitors or it is retained to strengthen our capital position, allowing us to invest in the business.
Returning value: During the year we generated an estimated £660 million in the form of pricing benefit to our members and customers. Click to see our pricing benefits statistics.
Access to services: In 2004 we pledged to invest £300 million over six years to make it easier to do business with us. Since then, over 415 branches and agencies have benefited from the investment, including 145 branches refurbished or re-sited this year. We are continuing to invest in frontline services, focusing on improved efficiency, branch experience and personalised service.
As well as meeting our legal obligations for disabled access to our branches and services, we continue to look for improvements. We have linked up with Direct Enquiries, the national online register of accessible businesses, where customers can find listed the facilities offered in Nationwide branches. We relaunched our leaflet, Services for Members with Disabilities and we also published further guidance for employees about disability issues.
Quality of service: Nationwide’s customer satisfaction score is among the highest in the industry and our quality of service is regularly recognised in leading awards. For example, in the 2007 Personal Finance & Savings Awards, we were named ‘Best Mortgage Provider’ and were ranked second in the industry for ‘Best Overall Customer Service’.
As of April 2007, complaint volumes (excluding those relating to FlexAccount Charges*) increased by 3% on the previous year, amounting to just over 5,000 complaints from a membership of 11.65 million.
* Complaints relating to FlexAccount charges are not included above. On this standalone topic, complaint volumes rose exponentially. Intense media and consumer attention on the subject of bank charges across the industry provides some context for the high level of complaints in relation to FlexAccount charges. However, Nationwide has fewer and lower charges than many of its competitors and we remain committed to free banking. Indeed, FlexAccount is free for day-to-day use and regularly features in best-buy tables. Bank charges across the industry are the subject of a legal test case and along with others in the financial services industry, Nationwide awaits this ruling.
Working to tackle financial crime: Identity theft is an issue of increasing concern to Nationwide and our members. We have strategic initiatives in place to help tackle financial crime through effective employee training, leading technologies and systems.
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