Not upheld: misleading information about application deadline complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Ms G and Mr K complained that Nationwide Building Society misled them about the deadline to apply for a new mortgage interest rate product, resulting in their mortgage going onto the standard rate for one month at an extra cost of approximately £300. They claimed the letter stated they needed to inform Nationwide by 31 August 2025, but Nationwide said the deadline was 24 August 2025. The ombudsman examined Nationwide's letter dated 5 August 2025 and found the 24 August 2025 deadline was clearly stated three times, with the 31 August 2025 date referring only to what would happen if no product was in place by then. The ombudsman found the deadline reasonable to allow for administrative processing and concluded that Ms G and Mr K's failure to apply by 24 August 2025 was not due to Nationwide's error. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Nationwide's letter clearly communicated the 24 August 2025 deadline on three separate occasions, giving Ms G and Mr K sufficient time from 5 August 2025 to apply. The ombudsman noted that it is standard practice for lenders to have a switching deadline prior to the product take-effect date to allow time for administrative processing. The sentence about 31 August 2025 in the letter referred only to what would happen if no product was in place by that date, not the application deadline. Since Ms G and Mr K missed the 24 August 2025 deadline and applied on 26-27 August 2025, this was not due to an error by Nationwide, and therefore it was not fair and reasonable to require backdating.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website