Nationwide Building Society · DRN-5981086

The complaint Mrs R complains Nationwide Building Society didn’t close her current account when requested. What happened In November and December 2023, Mrs R began the process of switching her current account from another bank to Nationwide. Mrs R however changed her mind and decided not to go ahead with the switch. On 4 December 2023, Mrs R spoke with Nationwide to confirm the switch had been cancelled. Nationwide confirmed the switch had been cancelled. However, it said as the process had begun it had opened an account for Mrs R and she should check if any direct debits or standing orders had already been transferred over as she’d need to manually cancel these, if she didn’t want them coming from her Nationwide account. Two standing orders were set up during the switch process on Mrs R’s Nationwide account. Mrs R’s Nationwide account included an arranged overdraft, and over the following months these standing orders utilised the full overdraft facility, eventually exceeding it. Mrs R says Nationwide first contacted her in July 2025 about exceeding her overdraft limit. Consequently, Mrs R complained. She was unhappy Nationwide hadn’t cancelled the account when she’d requested and had then allowed standing orders to be taken without her permission. Mrs R also said Nationwide held incorrect contact details for her and a fair remedy would be to write off the overdraft and remove any adverse information from her credit file. Nationwide doesn’t agree it’s done anything wrong. It says it explained Mrs R would need to cancel any standing orders or direct debits that had been set up in 2023 and this didn’t happen. Nationwide also said it had sent statements to Mrs R each month. Nationwide therefore said the overdraft needed to be repaid and it wouldn’t amend the information reported to credit reference agencies (CRAs). Unhappy with Nationwide’s response, Mrs R referred her complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. One of our Investigator’s looked into what happened and didn’t think Nationwide had done anything wrong. She said it had processed standing orders that were set up on Mrs R’s account, so it was reasonable Nationwide ask this be repaid. Our Investigator said the information Nationwide had reported to CRAs was accurate, so it didn’t need to amend this. She also said Nationwide had said it would waive any interest and charges it had applied to the overdraft when Mrs R pays off the capital borrowed, which she felt was fair in the circumstances. Mrs R disagreed with our Investigators opinion. She said Nationwide had left the current account open when she’d requested it be closed and it had therefore breached its regulatory duties. Mrs R was also unhappy with how Nationwide had responded to a data subject access request (DSAR).

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As the matter remained unresolved, the complaint has been passed to me to decide. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. I want to acknowledge that I’ve summarised the events of the complaint. I don’t intend any discourtesy by this – it just reflects the informal nature of our service. I want to assure Mrs R and Nationwide that I’ve reviewed everything on file, alongside taking into consideration the relevant rules and regulations applicable to this complaint. And if I don’t comment on something, it’s not because I haven’t considered it. It’s because I’ve concentrated on what I think are the key issues. Our powers allow me to do this. I note Mrs R has raised concerns about Nationwide’s handling of her DSAR, whether it was processed in a timely manner and if all the required information has been provided. I also note that Mrs R is unhappy with the problems she’d had in updating her contact details with Nationwide, since its initial response to her complaint. While I appreciate Mrs R considers these points closely link to the complaint referred to our Service, I can’t see that they have been raised as specific complaint points with Nationwide. Our Service is only able to review complaints that have already been raised with the relevant firm. So, if Mrs R is unhappy with Nationwide’s handling of her DSAR or updating her contact details, in the first instance she’d need to raise these as a complaint with it directly. Having received Nationwide’s response, should Mrs R remain unhappy, she can then refer this as a separate complaint to our Service. I therefore won’t comment on theses aspects any further. Standing orders Moving then to Mrs R’s concerns about Nationwide’s handling of her account switch. I’ve started by listening to the calls from December 2023. I understand Mrs R was unhappy when trying to access her account online, so decided to cancel the account switch. Nationwide confirmed it had cancelled the switch, meaning Mrs R’s account with the other provider wouldn’t be closed. Nationwide however was also clear that as the switch process has begun, a Nationwide account had been opened. It also said Mrs R would need to check both accounts for duplicate direct debits and standing orders. I’m satisfied from these calls, Mrs R confirmed she understood she’d need to check whether any payments had already been set up on her Nationwide account. I haven’t however seen that Mrs R confirmed if any payments had been set up on her Nationwide account or tried to cancel these. As the account switch process had already begun by the time Mrs R requested to cancel it, two standing orders had been set up to leave from her Nationwide account. Alongside this, as part of the switch process, Nationwide had already agreed to provide Mrs R an arranged overdraft. As Nationwide didn’t receive any instructions to cancel these payments or close the account, I don’t then find Nationwide was wrong to process these payments, using the overdraft facility it had agreed to provide. As the overdraft facility was used to process these payments, I do find Nationwide was then reasonable to charge interest in line with the terms of the account. I do however acknowledge Nationwide has offered to waive this interest it’s applied when Mrs R settles the outstanding overdraft.

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Taking everything into consideration, I don’t find Nationwide was wrong to process the standing orders, and is reasonable in asking the overdraft is repaid, for the reasons explained above. Contact details Between January 2024 and February 2025, Mrs R’s overdraft facility was utilised and then exceeded its limit in February 2025, due to the standing orders, alongside interest Nationwide charged for using the overdraft facility. Nationwide has shown it tried to reach Mrs R on the mobile number on her profile, throughout February to June 2025, however, wasn’t able to reach her. Mrs R has explained this was her old number and not the one she’d provided when applying for the account switch. Mrs R already had an account with Nationwide, before starting the process of opening a current account through the switch process. As the switch process was cancelled, it would appear Nationwide never confirmed whether Mrs R wished to update her contact details to the ones provided in the switch application or those it already on her profile. This would therefore explain why Nationwide tried to reach Mrs R through her old contact details. While I appreciate this answer is unlikely to be the one Mrs R is hoping for, I don’t think Nationwide was wrong for not confirming or amending her preferred contact details as the account switch had been cancelled mid process. Consequently, I don’t think find Nationwide was wrong to try and contact Mrs R via the contact details on her profile in earlier 2025. Credit file As Mrs R exceeded the agreed overdraft limit, Nationwide reported this to CRAs. As I think Nationwide was reasonable in processing the standing orders for the reasons explained above, I haven’t found it made an error on this point. Nationwide has a responsibility to report an accurate reflection of payment history on an account and this is what I’ve found it’s done here. I therefore don’t find Nationwide must change the information it’s reported on Mrs R’s credit file about the overdraft. Conclusion In conclusion, while I appreciate this answer will likely come as a disappointment to Mrs R, I won’t be directing Nationwide to do anything further in relation to this complaint. I find Nationwide clearly explained that Mrs R would need to cancel any standing orders that had been set up, although it had cancelled the switch process. As the standing orders weren’t cancelled, I think Nationwide was reasonable to then process these transactions. I’ve found Nationwide reasonable in the way it corresponded with Mrs R, for the reasons I’ve explained above. As a result, taking everything into consideration, I haven’t found Nationwide made an error in relation to the concerns Mrs R has raised. I would also note that Nationwide has offered to remove any interest it’s applied to the overdraft when Mrs R repays the balance owed through the standing orders being processed. For further information about this, Mrs R should contact Nationwide directly.

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My final decision For the reasons I’ve explained, I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mrs R to accept or reject my decision before 28 April 2026. Christopher Convery Ombudsman

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