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Flex account, we have been ripping the ar5e out of it.


Chancer
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This article from the Daily Mail highlights the answers to a couple of questions above http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1300053/Where-deals-holiday-money.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

There is a range of alternative cards to Nationwide and it look like if you use a Caxton fx card then your money is protected.
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Cathy, I've just seen your post; here is the website for the Caxton FX card:  https://www.caxtonfxcard.com/

It would seem to suit us very well when Nationwide goes it's own way.  [:)]

The risk with it is if it's lost, as anyone could get at the money in the account. However, we're very careful with cards anyway, and only plan to use this one for Ryanair and for ATMs, so it won't be carried around daily. It was interesting that security we use on other accounts wasn't acceptable for this card, as it required something longer, and the security level was shown on screen as it was typed in.

There's some interesting reading on the left if you go into more than the home page (eg 'security'); we didn't know one or two things they mention!

When taking a card out, you need to pay in a small amount. I transferred money on to it recently while the rate was good; my account was credited within a fairly short time, but interestingly didn't come out of the UK bank account for a couple of days.  [:)]

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I've just been on the Caxton site and they are offering a £/€ rate of 1.1975. This compares with the inter-bank rate on the BBC Market Data page of 1.2191.

Whenever I draw using my NW card I get the inter-bank rate, so the Caxton rate seems to be at least 2% worse than the NW one. As I generally use my NW card in ATMs to move £300 chunks of money I'd get €359.25 from Caxton or €365.73 from NW. The difference of €6.48 (£5.31 at NW's rate) means the marginal extra cost of paying the £7 (2% + £1) NW charge is £1.69. This is so low as to make the extra effort involved in operating a Caxton account unattractive in my opinion. Your attitudes might differ.

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Thank you very much for posting the calculation Albert.

I had been pondering the subject for some while but did not have the info on what rates are actually used to do the calculation, now i dont have to [:)]

I agree with you re the marginal cost, in any case laziness and loyalty to Nationwide would have meant I bit the bullet anyway.

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Looking at the items offered to 16 - 24 year olds I doubt very much if they cost the NW much or maybe anything - most of them seem to be inducements where an offer such as NW are making is going to bring in more business for the company they are hooked up with, where as it seems letting NW customers withdraw funds in Europe FOC carried a real cost.

Seems pretty obvious where they want to target their business

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Tout à fait!

People who's accounts are always keep in good standing dont make the banks any money.

We tore the bottom out of it and only have ourselves to blame.

Still I can stay with them as I was a spotty yoof of 14 when I firt opened my savings account, was less than 24 when I opened my Flex Account and havnt aged or grown up since then.

I wonder if I can score a NW baseball hat to wear backwards?

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I've only just heard about this after a six week sojourn in France and have been dong a bit of investigating...

I've come across this a solution that someone I vaguely know uses.

A Santander Zero CREDIT CARD. Apparently no fees or charges at cashpoints and the interbank rate used.  The person I heard this from preloads a credit balance on the card before travelling thus avoiding interest charges providing he doesn't exceed the preloaded amount.  This sounds like it would work.  Any thoughts?  I need to investigate more.

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[quote user="DerekJ"]A Santander Zero CREDIT CARD. Apparently no fees or charges at cashpoints and the interbank rate used.  The person I heard this from preloads a credit balance on the card before travelling thus avoiding interest charges providing he doesn't exceed the preloaded amount.  This sounds like it would work.  Any thoughts?  I need to investigate more.[/quote]

Just be aware that Santander seems to appear far more than others in respect of complaints investigated by the various newspaper consumer champions. Other than that, it seems a good proposition.

Regards

Pickles

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nationwide chief executive shuts down email address, Guardian

http://tinyurl.com/nationwideguardian

Frustrated? Angry? Then bypass the usual route and go straight to the boss, Times

http://www.ceoemail.com/times.pdf

Complain by email, just not to Nationwide boss, Evening Standard

http://tinyurl.com/nationwidees

Apparently the Nationwide CEO has just opened a new e-mail address and is now listening again.

Please contact [edited by the moderators] to tell him that you're not happy about the proposed changes to the FlexAccount.

Post edited by the moderators.

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Remember we can vote people out of their positions at the AGM so don't close your accounts just reduce the balances as the services could be brought back at a later date. There are always a couple of people on boards who don't agree the the majority vote.

I don't agree we have ripped anything from anywhere, NW advertised free withdrawals abroad, if they hadn't then the number of people opening accounts would not have been as high, so someone got their bonus for hitting target customer numbers. Although not a bank they have almost the same arrogance once the number of account holders hits "target"

I feel we need more than just the CEO's email, the other board members may not go along with the CEO who may just delete emails.

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This just rumbles on doesn't it.

I fired off an email to the CEO yesterday and today got this email response:

Dear Mr *******

Thank you for your email, addressed to Graham Beale, our Chief Executive.

We are sorry to learn of your concerns, and will ensure you receive a response very shortly. In order that we may arrange this, would you please be so kind as to telephone Vicky Emery on 01604 854374 to provide further contact details or account information.  Following which, we will ensure you receive a response very shortly.

Basically she needed me to positively identify myself (good old data protection act) as obviously I had not given my full account details in what was essentially an open email.

In the course of the conversation I did mention that I thought NW had no idea how widespread the ill feeling and anger to their proposed changes was but she seemed oblivious of what I was referring to, not a good sign, but then again I doubt she's front office or customer facing.

I have deliberately left her name and number in there in case anyone else is minded to give here a call on their own account, so to speak [;-)]

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Just thought i'd update you.  I wrote to the chief exec personally to ensure he was aware of the degree of anger caused by the changed terms for use of ATM's abroad.  He didn't have the courtesy to respond but shunted off the letter to someone else who sent the usual guff and ***p about the travel insurance being a benefit for most customers.  I 'd earlier been offered the opportunity to complain via the FSA but felt there was no point since N'wide undoubtedly has something in their small print allowing it to change terms and conditions as it fancies.

I think we should just keep on complaining. They've probably bargained for a certain number of complaints for a certain period but if we keep it up I still like to think we might stand a chance of getting them to moderate the change.

I suggested that they could consider retaining the exisiting terms for existing customers and offer them the choice of taking the travel insurance instead or offer a range of alternative benefits.  They didn't even deign to comment on this.

Perhaps whoever has Graham Beale's email address could share with with the rest of us so we can all email him and copy in VIcky Emery.  We could then post a copy of the email here and get a sense of the numbers complaining so that they can't pretend it's a small minority.

I wonder if we can ask how many complaints they've had under Freedom of Information legislation

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[quote user="mona"]

Perhaps whoever has Graham Beale's email address could share with with the rest of us so we can all email him and copy in VIcky Emery.  We could then post a copy of the email here and get a sense of the numbers complaining so that they can't pretend it's a small minority.

[/quote]

Post edited by the moderators.

Baz

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I got it from Baz's link http://www.ceoemail.com

The email asking me to phone them came from a Jane Print [edited by the moderators] who I guess is closer to Mr Beale and possibly screens his mail.

I think we can all enjoy a schadenfreude moment at Mr Beales expense having collectively caused him the inconvenience of changing his email address, hopefully this new one will soon become equally overloaded, te he he [:P]

Post edited by the moderators.

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[quote user="bubbles"]Have any of you NW customers actually been informed yet of their intentions to start charging for withdrawals abroad?

I haven't.[/quote]

I received notification last month at my French address about the changes to the Flex account stating that from the 1/11/10 they will be charging for withdrawals.

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