A Birmingham man has been put through a financial and emotional ordeal after Nationwide Building Society temporarily lost a monumental £70,000 mortgage overpayment for ten days, leaving him in the dark about the whereabouts of his life-changing sum of money.
A Milestone Moment Shattered
Robert Milne had visited his local Nationwide branch to make a significant overpayment on his mortgage, a move that was supposed to be a celebratory financial milestone. The payment of £70,000 was intended to slash his monthly mortgage repayments by more than £800.
However, the joy was short-lived. Confusion arose when the transaction failed to reflect correctly on the mobile app. After Mr Milne made multiple calls to the building society, he was met with a shocking revelation: the bank had simply lost his money and could not tell him where it was.
Ten Days of Anxiety and Sleepless Nights
What followed was a gruelling ten-day period of intense stress and uncertainty for Mr Milne and his family. He described feeling physically sick and suffering from sleepless nights, not knowing if his substantial savings were safe.
The situation was exacerbated by his partner's disability. Mr Milne reported that the immense stress of the incident triggered a flare-up in her condition, which required a prescription for steroids. Despite numerous visits to the branch and many phone calls, the couple felt they were met with talk but no decisive action.
While the funds were eventually located and the mortgage credited correctly after a total of 14 days, the experience had already taken its toll.
A Dispute Over Compensation and Accountability
Although Nationwide has upheld Mr Milne's complaint and admitted fault, the subsequent offer of £200 in compensation has been a point of major contention. Mr Milne has labelled the amount as "parsimonious" and ridiculously low given the severe distress caused.
He is also demanding answers, specifically wanting to know exactly where his £70,000 was held for those ten days and how much interest Nationwide earned on his money during that period. The building society has so far refused to provide these details.
Consumer champion Scott Dixon weighed in, stating, "This was not a trivial error. Temporarily losing £70,000 is a serious failure." He supported Mr Milne's claim that the stress and impact on his partner's health far exceeded the £200 offer, emphasising the customer's right to a full explanation and fair compensation.
In a statement, a Nationwide spokesperson said, "We're very sorry for any stress this may have caused our customer. Due to an error, there was a short delay in crediting their mortgage, but we reassured Mr Milne at the time that the funds were never lost... We've also offered £200 as a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience."
