Nationwide breaks silence after Martin Lewis issues 'petition' warning to customers

James Rodger
·2-min read

Nationwide has broken its silence after Martin Lewis urged it to "give members a say" over proposed Virgin Money takeover as thousands sign a petition calling for a vote. A petition calling on Nationwide to give its members a say in the purchase of Virgin Money has 4,711 signatures.

A spokesperson for Nationwide said: "Buying Virgin Money will make Nationwide a stronger building society, ensuring it can offer better mortgages and savings rates compared to the market average and expand its products and services.

"Nationwide has also undertaken several polls of its members, reaching over 10,000 people, showing only very small numbers view the deal negatively. A member vote is not required under Nationwide's own rules or the Building Society Act, and Nationwide’s Board believes that this deal is in the best interest of current and future members."

READ MORE UK households getting four Cost of Living payments worth £300 in June and July

Taking to Twitter/X yesterday, Mr Lewis - who heads up the Money Saving Expert team and is a BBC presenter as well as ITV regular warned: "A petition is growing in strength calling on Nationwide to give members a vote on its proposed £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money...."

A Twitter user replied: "I’m a Nationwide customer. So long as Virgin Money/ Clydesdale Bank continues to issue Clydesdale Bank notes, I don’t have a problem with the takeover." A second said: "Nationwide are the only building society/bank left in my town they are closing for TEN DAYS for refit...."

"CYBG bought Virgin money 5 years ago Virgin money was purchased by CYBG, which owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, last year for £1.7 billion. They announced the name change upon completing the deal," another wrote.

"I left Nationwide 18 months ago after 25 years as a saver. Their customer service went down the drain & now I get a supremely better service from the bank that actually gets the best reviews & as someone who worked for its founder for 20 years I didn't get where I am today," another wrote.

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