RB's community profile page - Smart Money People

Write a review

Newsletter

Go to business site

Viewing profile for,

RB

Total reviews written

Helpful marks given to their reviews

Times reviews seen

All reviews (1)

Review of the Nationwide, FlexAccount:

View on product page

Nationwide: The Bank Its Own Adverts Warn You About

Nationwide spends a fortune on its “A Good Way to Bank” campaign, mocking other banks through Hugo Platt, the arrogant, incompetent and contemptuous boss of the fictional A.N.Y. Bank. In one advert, Hugo dismisses a customer worried about losing his life savings as a “total yawn fest”. Funny, apparently. Until you're the customer facing Nationwide after having your money stolen. After 26 years with Nationwide, my debit card was stolen. A single substantial payment to a Dubai merchant, which I never authorised, effectively emptied my account. Nationwide also helped itself to a hefty foreign-currency fee. I promptly reported the theft at a branch and was assured there were no pending transactions and nothing to worry about. Yet the disputed payment went through. I received no warning. When I discovered the transaction and immediately reported it as fraudulent, Nationwide refused to refund me, claiming Chip and PIN had been used. Yet it has provided me with no evidence substantiating that assertion, let alone evidence that I authorised the payment. Nationwide's adverts would have you believe its fraud protection sets it apart from other banks. Yet in its letter to me, Nationwide effectively claimed to have discharged its responsibilities by attempting 15 calls in 30 minutes. Not one reached me. Apparently, at Nationwide, counting unsuccessful calls passes for protecting customers from fraud. Hugo would be proud: Suspect fraud? Call the customer. No answer? Let the money go — and don't forget to collect the fee. Customer protests? Total yawn fest. What followed was Nationwide's own masterclass in contempt for customers. At its invitation, I supplied comprehensive supporting evidence demonstrating why the transaction was fraudulent. Nationwide disregarded the substance of that evidence and rejected my claim without providing me with any material evidence substantiating its decision — despite the statutory burden of proof imposed on payment providers. And then — astonishingly — Nationwide had the audacity to reprimand me for expressing frustration at its treatment of me. My money stolen. Nationwide's fee collected. My evidence ignored. My refund refused. And a lecture on manners for good measure. Other financial institutions affected by the same theft handled the fraud responsibly. Nationwide alone turned it into a farce. Nationwide invented Hugo Platt to ridicule everything wrong with other banks. The irony is that he would feel right at home at Nationwide. Perhaps its leadership should spend less time mocking other banks and more time examining the one it actually runs. The hypocrisy is breathtaking: spending a fortune ridiculing other banks for precisely the indifference, arrogance and incompetence that Nationwide has demonstrated towards me. After 26 years, my trust in Nationwide is destroyed. I am formally challenging its refusal and intend to pursue the matter until it is resolved. I will continue updating this review as my case progresses. Let Nationwide's conduct be exposed to the public scrutiny it so eagerly directs at other banks. But I am writing this review for another reason: to warn others. Nationwide's adverts would have you believe that the disgrace lies elsewhere in British banking. My experience exposes the disgrace at Nationwide itself: failing to protect a customer's money from fraud, rejecting a fraud claim without substantiating its decision, disregarding the supporting evidence — and then having the sheer arrogance to reprimand the customer for expressing frustration at such treatment. Learn from my experience. Bank elsewhere. Reviewed on: 22nd October 2026

We are helping 1000s to make smarter financial decisions

We use the power of consumer reviews to help increase trust and transparency in financial services and to deliver industry leading insight and events.