# Nationwide U.K. sends letters about tax residency to Irish customers in error



## IsleOfMan (28 Nov 2016)

Update: 
*November 2016 - Letters regarding tax self-certification form for United Kingdom HMRC *
 
Some Nationwide UK (Ireland) customers recently received a letter from our Head Office in the United Kingdom regarding new international tax compliance regulations.


The letter should only have been sent to customers of Nationwide in the United Kingdom.


If you are a customer of Nationwide UK (Ireland) *only* and do not have any accounts with Nationwide in the UK then you do not need to respond or take any further action.


We are deeply sorry for any concern or inconvenience this may have caused you.


If you have any concerns or would like to discuss this matter further please do not hesitate to contact us on 1800 800 180 and we will be delighted to assist you.

About 12 months ago I opened an account with the Nationwide U.K's. Ireland branch in Dublin. Today I got a letter asking me to complete a form called the International tax compliance regulations self certification form.

I am being asked to give my Tax Identification number plus a certified copy of my passport or certificate of residency or national identity card or armed forces identity card or shotgun certificate issued by a U.K. police authority etc.

They are saying if I don't complete this form and return the documentation they may be required to to share my account information with HMRC.

My understanding is that the Nationwide U.K. Ireland is regulated by Ireland's Central Bank and that it was a stand alone Irish operation supported by the U.K. parent just as the Ulster Bank is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Is this letter some sort of mistake sent out to their Irish customers in error?


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## Lightning (28 Nov 2016)

Sounds like Nationwide UK (Ireland) might have sent a UK AML letter rather than an Irish AML letter to you. Suggest you ring them.


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## Eeyore (28 Nov 2016)

I got the same letter from Nationwide UK last week asking me to confirm that I'm a UK resident for tax purposes. Looks like they may have sent this in error to a number of Nationwide UK (Ireland) customers. It came with a Royal Mail freepost envelope!


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## mathepac (28 Nov 2016)

Sounds like their mail-merge system can't identify addresses in Southern Ireland / The Irish Free State.


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## PM9999 (28 Nov 2016)

Same letter received here, but I don't think it is in error. The covering letter states "As our records show you have an indicator of tax residency outside of the UK, we need you to follow the steps below". The requirement is to fill in the enclosed form and supply supporting docs.

When you look at the form, it functions either for a UK or non - UK resident -- Qs 1 & 2 determine whether you are UK, US or "other" (including Ireland) tax resident. Once your residency is determined, if it is non - UK, you are asked to identify your country/countries of residence, give your TINs (presumably PPS for Ireland) and supply supporting documentation.

The PITA is that they ask for "certified" copies, which usually comes at a cost (solicitor, notary, bank official etc).

The sanction, if you don't reply, seems to be to inform HMRC (UK tax authorities), which probably has no negative consequences for an Irish resident. My nagging fear is that if you continue not to respond, they may just close the account. I will be responding, but my first shot will be to send simple copies without having them certified.

The Royal Mail prepaid envelope suggests that they might be mailshotting all clients, UK or otherwise, to collect the info and can't differentiate between the UK/non UK clients at envelope stuffing time.

_Edit : the prepaid envelope is international business reply and will be accepted within the An Post system for UK delivery._


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## elcato (28 Nov 2016)

If you are in Dublin you can go into their office on Merrion Row to get photocopies of the relevant documents required for ID etc. I have a feeling I did this a few years ago.


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## IsleOfMan (28 Nov 2016)

But I opened the account with Nationwide U.K. Ireland, in Ireland. I pay Irish D.I.R.T. on the account. It's an Irish account, not a U.K. account.


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## ardmacha (28 Nov 2016)

I too received this letter, which appeared to be posted in Zurich. I've been happy in the past with my dealings with NationwideUK, but this is not a proper way of doing business. It is a condition of their Irish accounts that you be Irish resident and everyone has probably produced their PRSI number to that effect and is paying large amounts of DIRT. They have ID documents on file. Consequently, there can be no need to seek information on your Irish tax number nor your identity. This seems like an example of something I've encountered previous, some new regulation comes in and out of sheer laziness they send out some bizarre half-baked form to everyone rather than take the trouble to check if they already have the information required.  To send out a form to Irish customers suggesting the production of the UK shotgun certificate is insulting. It is not even a question of Irish addresses, they know perfectly well in which branch our accounts are. The new international regulations are not designed to solicit, the last thing the British taxman wants is a load of information on people living in Ireland already known to the Revenue here.

While Nationwide UK is regulated in the UK, which largely relates to matters of financial prudence, presumably its Irish operation shares information with the Irish Revenue as every other bank does.

Perhaps they will close my account, but maybe just as well, this is not the act of a credible financial institution.

But if anyone does want to send "documentation", I suggest one of their own statements would be a "financial statement" .


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## mtk (29 Nov 2016)

got one too!
The world as we know has gone mad !


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## noel 2006 (29 Nov 2016)

I received one of these letters also.  I rang the Dublin office this morning and they advised me it had been sent by mistake to Irish account holders.  They will be writing again to people about this.


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## IsleOfMan (29 Nov 2016)

noel 2006 said:


> I received one of these letters also. I rang the Dublin office this morning and they advised me it had been sent by mistake to Irish account holders. They will be writing again to people about this.



Muppets. I have this existing fixed term account with them. They had an offer on last year offering a slightly higher interest rate to existing customers of one year. I contacted them about this with a view to opening a second account with them. I was told that I didn't qualify because my account had not been with them a year, despite it being fixed for 18 months. They wouldn't budge at all.


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## IsleOfMan (29 Nov 2016)

According to the Nationwide U.K. Facebook page when asked about the above.. 

"Thanks for your message Ted, this information has been requested to us by the Inland Revenue. Amie"


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## robinvn (29 Nov 2016)

I received that letter as well last week and so did my wife. I contacted them through their online banking website and got the following response:

"Thank you for your secure message.

We have become aware that a portion of Nationwide UK (Ireland) customers have erroneously received letters from our head office: Nationwide Building Society in the UK. These letters were intended to be sent to individuals who hold an account with Nationwide Building Society in the UK (not Nationwide UK (Ireland) and who have an address in the Republic of Ireland and not customers who only hold accounts with Nationwide UK (Ireland).

We continue to look into this matter with our colleagues in the UK and hope to write to affected customers as soon as possible. In the meantime please accept my sincere apologies for the confusion this correspondence may have caused you.

Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service team on 1800-800-180 or by secure message and we will be happy to assist you.

Kind regards,"

It looks like a mistake on their end, expecting to get a rectification soon.


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## 1dave123 (29 Nov 2016)

Thanks for checking that out and updating.  Saves me me an email in the morning !


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## IsleOfMan (29 Nov 2016)

Despite the above they are still posting incorrect information on their Facebook page.

"As we have stated earlier, we have been asked by the Inland Revenue to request these details. We absolutely appreciate what you're saying with this, however it's what has been requested from us to gain from your. Whether it is Nationwide in Ireland, or Nationwide UK, we are still part of the same company umbrella. Jade"


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## ardmacha (29 Nov 2016)

If it transpires that this is not in fact required, as seems likely, then I will report them to the UK Data Protection for soliciting personal information under false pretences.


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## IsleOfMan (30 Nov 2016)

Response from Joe Garner.

"Thank you for the email, and I agree that this letter could have been handled much better on our part. We are doing a full investigation to see what can be learned for the future. Meanwhile, please let me offer my apology on behalf of Nationwide Building Society.

Yours sincerely,

Joe"


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## 1dave123 (30 Nov 2016)

[broken link removed]

*November 2016 - Letters regarding tax self-certification form for United Kingdom HMRC *
Some Nationwide UK (Ireland) customers recently received a letter from our Head Office in the United Kingdom regarding new international tax compliance regulations.

The letter should only have been sent to customers of Nationwide in the United Kingdom.

If you are a customer of Nationwide UK (Ireland) *only* and do not have any accounts with Nationwide in the UK then you do not need to respond or take any further action.

We are deeply sorry for any concern or inconvenience this may have caused you.

If you have any concerns or would like to discuss this matter further please do not hesitate to contact us on 1800 800 180 and we will be delighted to assist you.


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## mtk (1 Dec 2016)

UK nationwide offices :
Dude  1 :Oops we forgot about the Irish branch.

Dude 2 : Isn''t Ireland part of the British Isles anyway ?


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## IsleOfMan (14 Dec 2016)

ardmacha said:


> If it transpires that this is not in fact required, as seems likely, then I will report them to the UK Data Protection for soliciting personal information under false pretences.



I am just wondering if those people who received this letter have received a follow up letter apologising for the error and asking them to ignore the request?

If not, it seems that they may have gathered quite a bit of information from people who responded.


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## ardmacha (15 Dec 2016)

IsleOfMan said:


> I am just wondering if those people who received this letter have received a follow up letter apologising for the error and asking them to ignore the request?



I haven't received any letter of clarification.



> If not, it seems that they may have gathered quite a bit of information from people who responded.



At least I am not one of them.


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## pudds (17 Dec 2016)

Got my letter of apology yesterday, but no 'compensation' for all the stress and worry they
put me through


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## Eithneangela (18 Dec 2016)

Ditto. Wasn't stressed and worried though, thanks to the posts here.


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## Brendan Burgess (18 Dec 2016)




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## Lightning (18 Dec 2016)

RTE have picked up on the story today with an article here. 

Nationwide UK (Ireland) were way too slow sending out apology letters.


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## ardmacha (18 Dec 2016)

_"The company said it has informed the Data Protection Commissioner of the mistake and has been told that the incident does not represent a data breach."
_
This is rather disingenuous, it is not a data breach but rather unwarranted solicitation of personal data.


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## Laramie (22 Dec 2016)

I never got any letter of apology. This suggests that perhaps they don't really know who got the original letters and who didn't.


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## Duke of Marmalade (22 Dec 2016)

I got the original letter and the apology letter.  Come to think of it there was quite a lot of "stress and worry" now that _pudds_ reminds me, in fact I think I feel a twinge in my back.  How about a class action guys?


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