Nationwide double-charges hundreds of customers for credit card repayments

Those affected were charged twice for payments they made towards the balances of their Nationwide credit cards on Saturday 4 January, with some being pushed beyond their overdraft limits as a result and left at risk of missing other payments.

Nationwide has apologised for the mistake, which affected both those repaying from a Nationwide current account and those with other banks, and says that the duplicate payments were refunded last Friday (10 January). But if you've incurred charges from other providers as a result of the error, you'll need to contact Nationwide directly to get a refund – see full help below.

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'I had to cover a loss of £1,800 – the customer service was appalling'

Trevor Pole, 67, from Nottingham, told us he was charged twice for a payment of £1,800 from his Nationwide current account to his Nationwide credit card, which he made using its automated phone service.

Trevor realised his payment had been taken twice when he was sent messages telling him his account was overdrawn beyond his agreed limit, and that he didn't have enough funds to pay out scheduled direct debits. 

Yet Trevor says Nationwide customer services was unable to return the duplicate payment when he initially got in touch about the issue, forcing him to transfer money from his savings account to cover the loss. 

He said: "Other customers affected by this may not have been in a position to cover their loss as I was. I understand that errors can occur, but their reaction from a customer service perspective has been appalling."

We also heard from the Maxwell family, who were overcharged by £2,500 when their payment was taken twice – meaning they were left overdrawn, and had their monthly council tax payment fail.

Both Trevor and the Maxwells were eventually refunded last Friday, a week after the original payments were taken.

I've had a Nationwide payment taken twice – what can I do?

Nationwide says all duplicate payments have now been refunded, and the re-credited payments should now be showing in customers' accounts.

If you have a Nationwide current account and went into your overdraft or over your limit due to the issues, any fees or charges should also have been refunded automatically – make sure you check.

But if you incurred fees and charges from a third party as a result of the error – for example, if you went into your overdraft on a non-Nationwide current account, or were charged a late payment fee after a direct debit failed due to lack of funds – you'll need to get in touch with Nationwide directly to ask that the money is refunded.

It says that any extra compensation for the issues will be awarded on a case-by-case basis.

You can contact Nationwide on 08000 55 66 11, by sending a message through online banking, or by writing to Nationwide at The Complaints Team, Nationwide Building Society, NW 2020, Swindon, SN38 1NW. Make sure you explain exactly what happened and include any evidence you have – for example, correspondence relating to extra charges you've incurred.

Nationwide says it's unlikely there will be any impact on customers' credit reports due to the problems – but says that if there were an incorrect report, it would ensure this was corrected.

What does Nationwide say?

Nationwide wouldn't tell us exactly how many customers were affected by the error, but it's understood to be hundreds.

A spokesperson said: "We apologise to our customers who unfortunately had the payment to their credit card taken twice. Only a small number of customers were impacted by this and all duplicate payments have now been refunded."