A MAN who claimed over £2,000 back from his building society has been asked to take his business elsewhere. Stuart Mitchell, 32, from Fry Road in Stevenage, was given a refund of £2,444 from Nationwide after it deducted large fees from his account. The fe

A MAN who claimed over £2,000 back from his building society has been asked to take his business elsewhere.

Stuart Mitchell, 32, from Fry Road in Stevenage, was given a refund of £2,444 from Nationwide after it deducted large fees from his account.

The fees, which started off at £25 and gradually went up to £30 over a period of six years, were for unpaid direct debits, when there was not enough money in his account to cover payments.

Less than a week after getting his refund, Mr Mitchell received a terse letter telling him that because he didn't like the way Nationwide does business, he should close his accounts.

He has been given 32 days to withdraw his money.

He told The Comet: "I'm gutted. I've been with them for 16 years.

"It's going to cause me a lot of aggro because I have my wages paid into that account.

"It's pretty unfair. They've admitted they're at fault by giving me the money back and now they're saying they don't want to do business with me."

People across the country have claimed money back from banks and building societies following a ruling which said that many of the charges are excessive.

A spokesman for Nationwide Building Society said it "operates a fair and transparent approach to fees and charges" and charges customers who have broken the terms and conditions of their account.

Each request to refund these charges is dealt with on an individual basis.

The spokesman added: "In Mr Mitchell's case, the original request was denied. However, he started court proceedings at which point Nationwide re-evaluated the case.

"Ultimately the fees were refunded. However, as per the terms and conditions of the account, the society put notice to close the account.

"It is important to note that we have not put notice to close the account because the charges have been refunded.

"Instead, the account will be closed because we feel the relationship between Mr Mitchell and Nationwide has broken down - as the terms and conditions of the account were breached.

"The terms and conditions state that we can close the account if we feel it appropriate.