Proud to be different-Updated review, please read (Nationwide Building Society)

Member Name: ashton08

Product:	Nationwide Building Society
Date:	03/08/08 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly staff, wide range of products to suit all, competitive rates.

Disadvantages: Shuts at 12pm on a Saturday

I have had an account with Nationwide since I was around 5 years old. I suppose I feel a loyalty to them as I have never had any problems with them. The staff have always been helpful and friendly and I like the fact they are a building society, not a bank. They offer a wide range of products but here are my opinions on the ones I have used.



Smart Account;

I had a smart account when I was younger, the smart account is tax free and has competitive interest rates on every pound, so it doesn't matter how much you have in there like other accounts. You have o move to a normal current account at 16. I have now recently opened a smart account for my son; both my husband and I are named on this account so we can access any money in it for him.



Child Trust Fund;

I have also opened a Child Trust fund for my son as they offer good deals here too. We put the £250 voucher given to us by the government but we aren't adding more to it as we prefer to put it in an account he can access if he wants something when he's a little older, rather than waiting until he's 18. They offer 2 types of Child Trust Funds, an 'Equity Stakeholder Child Trust Fund' which is invested in the stock market. To us it was a bit of a risk so we decided to opt for their 'Cash Child Trust Fund', which is basically an inaccessible savings account.



Flexaccount;

Once I turned 16 I moved on to a flexaccount, it is a current account and offers pretty good interest rates. I like the fact they never charge you when using you card abroad. The only problem was that in the beginning I had a cash card as I was too young for a debit card, once I qualified for one I had to open a new account as they couldn't offer me one on the account I was using.



Joint Account;

When I got married my husband and I decided we would open a joint account. Up until this point we had shared the bills 50/50 but as I was pregnant and would soon be on statutory maternity pay, it wouldn't cover my half of the bills. Setting it up was easy, but they did mess up moving Direct Debits onto this account. Once I realised it was easily rectified.



Mortgage;

When we were first looking for a mortgage 5 years ago, we went to an independent mortgage adviser. He looked through all the different mortgage options and Nationwide came out tops, offering us the best deal at the most competitive rates. We went for it and once it was time to renew our mortgage, we went back to the same mortgage advisor. Once again, Nationwide were offering the best deal.



I only have one complaint; it is that it is only open until 12pm on a Saturday. Before maternity leave I used to struggle to get into town to the bank before this time. After all, it is a Saturday and Saturdays are for lie-ins.


For more information on their latest offers etc, see www.nationwide.co.uk

Summary: I don't see myself moving for quite some time.