Nationwide Building Society has issued an urgent alert to its 16 million members after a technical glitch caused hundreds of customers to be charged twice for the same transactions.
The banking error, which occurred on Tuesday, resulted in some customers seeing duplicate payments of around £275 leaving their accounts, causing concern and potential financial hardship for those affected.
What Happened with the Nationwide Payments Glitch?
According to the building society, the issue stemmed from a "technical problem" that caused some Visa debit card transactions from Tuesday to be processed twice. The duplicate payments typically ranged around £275, though exact amounts varied between customers.
A Nationwide spokesperson confirmed: "We are aware that a very small proportion of Visa debit card transactions from yesterday have been applied to accounts twice. We're fixing this urgently and will refund any charges incurred."
How to Check if You're Affected
Customers are being advised to:
- Check their transaction history carefully
- Look for duplicate payments from Tuesday 28th May
- Monitor their account balance for unexpected deductions
- Contact Nationwide if they spot any issues
The building society has assured customers that they will automatically refund any duplicate payments and associated charges, meaning members don't need to take immediate action unless they spot an error.
Customer Protection and Next Steps
Nationwide has emphasised that all affected customers will be fully reimbursed for the duplicate transactions and any overdraft fees or charges incurred as a result of the error.
The financial institution, which remains one of Britain's largest building societies, has apologised for the inconvenience and stress caused to members. They've committed to resolving the issue promptly and ensuring no customer is left out of pocket due to their technical failure.
This incident serves as a timely reminder for all banking customers to regularly monitor their accounts for unusual activity, regardless of which financial institution they use.
