A £340m cash giveaway kicks off next week when one-off payments of £100 apiece will start appearing in the bank accounts of 3.4 million Nationwide building society customers.
However, the unprecedented payout has created a “haves” and “have nots” split within the society’s membership, with some longstanding customers and people holding multiple Nationwide products angry at being excluded.
Some have labelled the Fairer Share scheme “unfair”, with dozens of members posting one-star reviews on Trustpilot and posting critical comments on the society’s Facebook page. Some say they will be moving their money or submitting a formal complaint. Nationwide’s assertion that the scheme “will see members with the deepest relationships rewarded” does not appear to have poured oil on troubled waters.
However, Britain’s biggest building society has indicated there may be cases where people who missed out but can show “very compelling” extenuating circumstances end up being declared eligible for a payout. A review process is under way, although the society suggested this would not be a large number of people.
The Fairer Share scheme was announced on 19 May and will result in £340m being shared with eligible members who hold a qualifying current account and a qualifying savings account or mortgage. Within that, there are further hurdles to be jumped – for example, with some of the current accounts, you have to have paid in a minimum amount over a particular period, plus made some payments out, while there is a £100 minimum threshold for the savings accounts.
The £100 payments will automatically be made into people’s Nationwide current accounts, and they can expect to receive the cash between 13 June and 30 June.
Perhaps it was inevitable that, with only 21% of Nationwide’s 16 million members getting a payout, there were going to be plenty of unhappy people.
Nick Davies, a member living in Leamington Spa, told us he was first a member of one of Nationwide’s predecessors with a children’s account. “Fifty years later, that account has morphed into our joint FlexAccount. We both have our own current accounts with them [Nationwide], and over the years we had our mortgage, various loans, savings and investment accounts, house insurance. I have their branded stocks and shares Isa. How much deeper a relationship could I have? How does someone who opened a current account last year and has £100 in a savings account have a deeper relationship than me?” he said.
Elizabeth Pritchard told us that she and her husband, John, who live in south Wales, were “very disappointed” to have been excluded. “We have been members for decades, though we do not have a current account with the society nor, being elderly, a mortgage. We each have several savings products,” she said, adding: “I understood that in a ‘mutual’, all members were equal but now I find that some members are more equal than others.”
Many of the recent reviews on Trustpilot and the social media posts express similar views. On Facebook, Jon Baker said: “I will be moving my savings out of the Nationwide as a result of the unfair way they have decided who is eligible for the payment.”
In response, Nationwide said: “In designing the payment, we conducted research with a broad range of members, and the majority said it was fair to reward those who both banked and saved or borrowed.
“While we understand that some members who didn’t meet the criteria this time may be disappointed, we hope to be able to make the payment annually, and that even more members become eligible in future.”
The spokesperson also said the Fairer Share payments were “just one way we reward membership. It comes on top of our new 4.75% two-year Fairer Share bond, which is available to all our 16 million members … In addition, we returned over £1bn to members through better rates and incentives last year.”
