Nationwide explains key dates for fund being credited to customer accounts | Personal Finance | Finance

Nationwide Building Society has explained its payment rules after a customer complained of having a frustrating experience. A customer reached out to Nationwide over social media after saying they’d had a “waste of time” trying to get help so far with their problem.

They explained the problem that had caused them to get in touch involved a pending payment that had been taken by mobile network provider EE. They claimed the payment had been taken on January 4 and they had cancelled the order the next day.

Yet the customer was still waiting to get the funds credited back to their account. Writing on January 12, they said: “Still pending on my account. Why should the consumer lose the said amount for over a week for no goods?”

Nationwide responded to say they had sent a direct message to the customer with more information. The mutual was asked for more guidance about the rules that apply for pending payments.

A spokesperson said: “A card payment will typically show as pending for seven days until the clearing file from the merchant is received to match off the pending transaction. This is a standard industry timeframe.

“The refund will be returned to the account as soon as it is received from the merchant. Merchants typical time frame quoted is five to seven days.”

The Nationwide website has this guidance about what happens after the seven days has transpired: “If a pending transaction hasn’t been taken by the company after seven days, we’ll stop reserving the money so that it’s available for you to spend.

“The pending transaction will no longer show in your account and your available balance will go back.” However, current account holders should note another much larger timeframe relating to pending payments.

The online advice says: “For current accounts, it’s a good idea to keep enough money in your account to cover the payment. That’s because some can take up to 180 days to go through. So, the money could still be taken at a later date.”

Nationwide was also asked how a customer can dispute a payment. The group said: “Customer can dispute a payment in multiple ways via branch, contact centre or online.”

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