The provider explained a 7-day timeframe to bear in mind
Nationwide Building Society has clarified its payment policies after a customer reported having an exasperating experience. The disgruntled customer vented on social media, saying they’d had a “waste of time” so far in trying to resolve a payment problem.
The issue was about a pending payment that had gone out of their account to mobile network giant EE. The customer said the payment was taken on January 4, and they’d cancelled the order the following day.
Despite this, the customer was still waiting for the money to reappear in their account. Taking to social media on January 12, they fumed: “Still pending on my account. Why should the consumer lose the said amount for over a week for no goods?”
Nationwide replied saying they had sent a direct message to the customer with further details. The savings provider was asked for more guidance on the rules around pending payments, and how long they can take to be returned to a person’s account.
What are Nationwide’s rules around 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.”
Nationwide’s website offers guidance on what occurs once the seven-day period elapses: “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.” Nevertheless, those with current accounts may want to note another considerably longer timeframe concerning pending transactions.
The online guidance states: “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.”
When asked about challenging a payment, Nationwide explained: “Customer can dispute a payment in multiple ways via branch, contact centre or online.”
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