Nationwide (Nationwide Building Society)

Member Name: catherine21

Product:	Nationwide Building Society
Date:	08/09/09 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Helpful staff in branch, no commission on spending abroad

Disadvantages: Not so great staff on the phones, low savings rates

I have held a current account and savings account with Nationwide for around 10 years now, so have a reasonable amount of experience of their services in these departments.

Nationwide offer free current accounts, and it is one of these that I use for my day to day spending and direct debits. Their current accounts have some really good features including the ability to spend money abroad commission free. I find this really useful and one of their big selling points as it means when you go abroad you do not have to worry about taking a lot of cash with you. The exchange rates they offer, I've always found to be very competitive.

I also use Nationwide for saving, although at present their savings rates are not very competitive, and I've actually transferred a lot of my savings elsewhere to try and get better interest rates.

As well as these products Nationwide also offer mortgages, loans, insurance and credit cards.

You can bank with them online, over the phone, and in branch. Their internet banking is very easy to use, and they are very good with security and keeping you up to date with security announcements, for example, viruses to look out for.

My experiences of their branches has always been good, and I find their staff very helpful. They are always polite, and when I've had any problems they have always been able to help. One example of this was when some money disappeared out of my account which I had not spent. I went into my local branch, and they calmed me down (I was very stressed about it, obviously!), they helped me fill in the forms, and cancelled by card straight away. Soon after this, the missing money was refunded back into my account.

They have branches in most towns in the UK, and their website provides a list of them, so it is easy to see where you local one is.

Unfortunately, I've not found their staff on the phone to be very polite or helpful, and as most of their numbers are 0845 ones, I would try to avoid contacting them by phone.

Overall, I've had good experiences with Nationwide, and when I've needed their help they have provided it. I would recommend them, and will be using their current account for the forseeable future.

Summary: A good building society