Nationwide suffers payment glitch leaving some customers unable to pay bills and rent – The Sun

FURIOUS Nationwide customers say they've been unable to pay bills and rent today after a glitch has delayed payments.

The building society has admitted that all outgoing payments are currently in a queue, although it's not confirmed how long it will take for them to be sent.

Affected transactions include payments sent from Nationwide accounts, while transfers from Nationwide accounts to some savings accounts are also delayed.

Payments from outside Nationwide to the building society's savings accounts are also affected.

If you’ve sent money already, Nationwide says you don’t need to do anything as the cash is in a queue and will be processed as soon as possible.

You can also continue to send money as normal from your account and move money between Nationwide accounts – but it's unlikely to go through straight away.

Nationwide adds that direct debits and standing orders have all been processed normally, and you can still use cards online and in shops, use internet banking, and withdraw cash at ATMs.

But this doesn't help frustrated customers expecting to pay bills and rent on what is payday for many given it's the last Friday of the month.

On Nationwide customer wrote on Twitter: "Okay but how long are we supposed to wait, I’ve got bills and rent to pay, surely you know it’s pay day end of the month, January is a sh*t month as it is and now we can’t pay our bills?!"

Another said: "@AskNationwide hi – any news on how long these payment delays will be..?

"Got to pay rent tomorrow and wondering why my half hasn’t appeared in my partner's account! Also have transferred money to another account so I can use it (pay day etc)".

How to switch bank account

NOT sure how it works? Here's all you need to know and what you should check before:

• Under the Current Account Switching Service, swapping banks should take seven working days. That includes all your payments, direct debits and standing orders being moved too. Just open your new account and then ask your new provider to close your old account using the switch service.
• Make sure you are eligible. Most accounts have certain requirements, such as paying in a minimum amount of cash each month.
• Watch your overdraft. Check your new bank will offer you the same limit — and does not have higher costs for using it.

Someone else wrote: "This is ridiculous, I have people on at me for the payments for bill, when will this get sorted?!"

Another added: "This is a joke. I have bills to pay from another account which are being declined. I cannot switch accounts fast enough!

"I advise everyone to LEAVE #NATIONWIDE as this happens only on pay days! What a joke #LeaveNationwideBank".

Another worried customer tweeted: "@AskNationwide £2k floating about in the banking cloud somewhere. The warning message should have been much more prevalent on you banking app.

"It was hidden and had to be expanded to see what the issue was. You should have stopped payment transactions until fixed."

Someone else added: "Webchat not very helpful. No one will confirm @AskNationwide's position if they cause me to go overdrawn or miss payments using other banks (as they have "lost" a lot of my money at the moment)".

Nationwide hasn't told us how many people are affected but it has millions of users.

Around 103 people are currently reporting problems with the bank on website Down Detector.

Affected customers can visit Nationwide's service status page for further updates – you can also register for "Notify Me" updates via text.

Contact anyone expecting payments to let them know of they delay, and keep evidence of any charges incurred – you can then complain to Nationwide and ask for a refund.

If you're unhappy with the response you get from Nationwide or you don't get one within eight weeks you can take your gripe to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

You can also consider switching bank account.

A Nationwide spokesperson said: “Unfortunately there is a delay on outbound Faster Payments reaching peoples accounts as well as inbound payments reaching some Nationwide savings accounts.

"We are working hard to resolve the issue and apologise for an inconvenience caused. There is no need for people to resend payments and these will be processed as soon as possible."

Nationwide has recently come under fire for hiking overdraft fees by up to £73 a year for millions.

Last year, it also paid £6million to 320,000 customers who weren’t warned they’d gone into their overdraft.

Check out our guide to the best banks for 0 per cent overdrafts.

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