Widower spent months finding inheritance owed to family member
Timothy Heald was forced to hunt for a missing inheritance owed to their grandson after Nationwide “lost” the inheritance money.
Heald’s wife, Pearl, died in March and left a £5,000 inheritance to their grandson, Peter, who lives in Nashville, USA.
Heald attempted to transfer the funds through Nationwide, but the funds didn’t arrive.
After nearly five months of correspondence and delay he contacted North Wales Live to assist.
The publication contacted Nationwide on the 1st of September and the next day Heald was told the money had been found.
The building society have issued an apology, offered £200 in compensation, and promised a full investigation into the matter.
Heald expressed his dismay at the handling of the case as he stated:
“I followed Nationwide’s guidance to the T in organising a transfer of the funds to my stepdaughter’s bank account in Nashville, and the £5000, plus £20 SWIFT fee were debited to my Nationwide current account on April 28 this year. My stepdaughter never received the funds.
I have been in numerous correspondence with Nationwide ever since. All the time they tell me they’re searching for the funds, and tell me they’ve given so and so a deadline to complete such and such a task. Things reached such an impasse that I involved the Financial Ombudsman, and I have just transferred all my banking business to Santander.
Coming in the wake of our bereavement, both my late wife’s daughter in America and myself are distressed and angry at the incompetence of Nationwide in handling such a straightforward matter. But then, in a big organisation like Nationwide, nobody is to blame.”
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