RBS Natwest & Ulster Bank Computer Glitch [6th Jul 2012]
On June 19, RBS, NatWest and Ulster bank customers began to notice that they were having trouble accessing their bank accounts. The issue lay with a computer problem which prevented payments going into or out of accounts held at these three banks. What happened? It is thought that the problem occurred because of a software update and the bank was quick to point out that money saving schemes such as moving their IT jobs to India were not to blame for the issue. However it was admitted that an “inexperienced” person had made the initial mistake. The result was that customers of these banks could not see how much money they had in their account and had no idea if their bills were being paid. This meant that bank staff, chip and pin devices and cash machines could not process any transactions. This carried on for ten days, with banks staying open throughout the weekend to try and help their customers. How did it affect customers? Some of those affected were forced to take out payday loans to cover their immediate expenses. Others found that their mortgages were not being paid and businesses which used these banks were not able to pay the wages of their staff, leading to more knock-on effects. Others had their mortgages taken twice from their accounts. One couple had no money for their honeymoon, but NatWest gave them £1,000 as an apology, however it came too late. Another family feared that their daughter's life support machine in Mexico would be turned off because they could not prove they had the funds to pay for it. Unfortunately their daughter died the day after she returned from Mexico. What about now? The current situation is that the backlog of transactions is being dealt with for most account holders, but those at the Ulster bank are having to wait for a few more days until their accounts are updated. Customers in Northern Ireland are complaining that they are being treated as second class citizens an felt that their bank had been put to the back of the queue. A spokesperson has explained that the Ulster Bank follows NatWest and RBS in sequence and the way the technology is set up does not allow them to speed up this process. The Financial Services Authority has been working with the banks to ensure that customers are treated fairly and they also want to see a complete account what exactly happened. What are the chances of compensation? Customers of the banks have been told that they can expect to be fully reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses, but it has not been agreed whether actual compensation will be paid. RBS and NatWest have also said that they do not expect that there will be any adverse effect on their customer's credit ratings, but they are offering advice on how to correct this if it does happen. Despite this, customers are being encouraged to keep a tally of what costs they incurred due to the malfunction and to check their credit rating. This includes keeping receipts and statements both to help them get reimbursed, but also to repair their credit rating. They should also make a formal complaint - to the Ombudsman if necessary. It is also important to explain the distress which the inconvenience caused as this may be taken into account when calculating compensation. However it is worth noting that there is no automatic entitlement to compensation in situations like these. Related Stories: RBS Blames Glitch for Double Mortgage Payments - news.sky.com Natwest payment fiasco - www.huffingtonpost.co.uk Natwest bosses hand deliver £1000 - www.dailymail.co.uk Natwest leaves a black mark - www.express.co.uk RBS computer glitch hits Ulster bank customers - www.telegraph.co.uk RBS Natwest and Ulster computer glitch - www.guardian.co.uk Natwest customers to keep records for credit repair - www.myfinances.co.uk Natwest fiasco - what happens now? - www.guardian.co.uk  |
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