UK’s Nationwide To Refund Customers On Overdraft Fees

Nationwide has been ordered to refund customers £900,000 after failing to warn them they would be charged for taking an unarranged overdraft, in breach of UK competition rules, reported the Financial Times.  
The building society’s lack of warning meant its clients were not given enough time to take action to avoid the fees, said the UK competition watchdog on Thursday. The problem affected about 70,000 customers, who were known to the building society as having difficulty managing their accounts and as at risk of taking an unarranged overdraft with higher attendant fees. 
It is the second time in six months the Competition and Markets Authority has sanctioned Nationwide for failing to alert people to its overdraft fees, after it was told to pay £6m in refunds to customers in August last year.
Adam Land, senior director of remedies, business and financial analysis, said: “The fact that Nationwide is a repeat offender makes it even more serious. Following our action, it will now repay all affected customers, and quickly.” The Competition and Markets Authority has been cracking down on bad practice in retail banking since its Retail Banking Market Investigation Order came into force in 2018. During that time it has issued directions to Nationwide, HSBC and Santander and secured £17m in refunds for affected customers.