Complaint History & Business Rating for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co

Ona L. says: Nationwide's refusal to clear its tall weeds on its property across from my yard has created a disgusting eyesore that's reducing my property value. In order to win approval of its data center's final development plan, Nationwide promised New Albany residents and city planners that it would plant grass, mow regularly and maintain the appearance of a manicured lawn on its property adjacent to my home. Instead, Nationwide created a 50 foot deep, 60 feet wide bed of weeds directly in back of my house and has never mowed it. According to the City of New Albany, Nationwide claimed the US Army Corp of Engineers determined the area to be a wetland, but when I asked the Corp if that was true, they said no, and sent me proof that it's not a wetland. It was a flat, dry soybean field when Nationwide bought it. The farmer kept it cleared or planted. I have asked Nationwide many times to fulfill its oath to me and my neighbors, but instead they only cleared the weeds behind four neighbors' homes, delineating plans to never mow the weeds behind my home and the home of my next door neighbor. Nationwide created a weed bed in back of their house, too. Why would Nationwide intentionally create a bed of tall weeds in back of our homes? Retaliation; we were the neighbors who alerted the rest of the neighborhood of Nationwide's deficient preliminary plan that called for weeds, 30 foot tall lights, a view of a parking lot and a cheap chain link fence with barbed wire on top on the other side of our homes. My neighbors and I worked with Nationwide and the city planners to improve the plan to prevent loss of property value. At the planning commission meeting on November 15, 2010, Nationwide promised, under oath, to replace the weeds in their plan with regularly mowed grass and to maintain the look of manicured lawns, that complimented our back yards. But Nationwide lied to us, is failing to comply with its final development plan and is in violation of civil rights laws. Refusing to provide services to members of minority groups based on the location of their property is called redlining, and is illegal. Nationwide has a culture and history of redlining, and has had to pay out over $400 million to settle redlining lawsuits over the past 25 years. I'm not asking for money; just for Nationwide to honor its oath to plant grass, regularly mow and maintain the look of a manicured lawn on its property adjacent to my home. That shouldn't be too much to ask for a company that boasts about being "on your side."