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EnergyMassive IT failure at Natwest leaves customers stranded
Filed under: Current Accounts
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Tim Ireland/PA Archive/Press Association Images
As Twitter explodes with an outpouring of outrage, Natwest is feverishly trying to put things right.
Your guide to banking
IT crisis
The "technical issues" are having a range of devastating effects on customers. Essentially the main problem is that a number of account balances have not been updated. This means that people who have received payments - including salaries and tax credits - are not seeing them show up in their accounts.In many cases this is leaving them high and dry. Customers are reporting running out of petrol, not being able to put money on their electricity meters, and being stranded without cash as they are due to go on holiday. One tweeted that she was sitting outside her new home in a removal van waiting for funds to clear.
Your guide to banking
A large number of customers only discovered there was a problem when they had their cards declined and went to investigate the problem. The consequent embarrassment and inconvenience has caused a great deal of distress.
Meanwhile, a number of online services are not working, and some people are completely unable to access their accounts online.
Natwest admits
Natwest is admitting to problems. In a statement it said: "We are currently experiencing technical issues which mean that a number of customer account balances have not yet been updated and some of our online services are temporarily unavailable. We are working hard to fix this and hope to have the problem resolved as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers."The problems are also affecting others in the banking group, and Ulster Bank says 100,000 of its customers have been hit with the glitch too.
Customer outrage
Customers have been taking to the internet to make their feelings known. Natwest has an 'ideas' section on its website, which states that "great ideas come from great conversations". At the moment, this page is dominated by angry customers. One said: "Here's an idea. Invest in some resiliency and robustness in your IT systems so this doesn't happen again."Many are disappointed with the lack of information provided by the bank as to the cause and how long it will take for funds to show up in accounts. One commented: "If Natwest used their website to keep its loyal customers updated instead of just more advertising, maybe some people would be more forgiving!"
There have been reports of angry customers gathering at some branches to remonstrate with staff.
A member of the digital team responded: "We are still working hard to fix the current technical issue and hope to resolve within the next few hours. Sincere apologies."
By 4pm, the bank issued a statement with a few more details, but no further information on when the nightmare would be over. It said: "This is a technical problem affecting a large number of NatWest and Ulster Bank customers, and a small number of RBS customers, including some of our business customers."
"It was caused by a failure of our systems to properly update customers' balances overnight. The main problem customers are having is that where people have had money go into their accounts overnight, there may be a delay in it showing up on their balance. This is an unacceptable inconvenience for our customers, for which we apologise."
"We can assure our customers that this problem is strictly of a technical nature and will be fixed as soon as possible. We can also confirm that no customers will be permanently out of pocket as a result of this."
"We will be keeping over 1,000 NatWest branches in all major towns and cities open until 7pm tonight to assist customers who are unable to get to their branch during working hours."
It just begs the question of whether an apology is enough to stop customers voting with their feet.
10 things we hate about our banks
- 1. PPI<p> More than 46,000 of 106,000 the complaints received by the FOS in the second half of last year related to payment protection insurance (PPI). And the organisation is expecting to receive a record 165,000 PPI complaints in 2012/2013.</p> <p> The huge numbers are due to the PPI mis-selling scandal that should now be a thing of the past, but there is no doubt that the insurance, which can add thousands to the cost of a loan, is highly unpopular!</p> <div> </div> <div> (Pictured: Martin Lewis after the PPI payout ruling)</div>
- 2. Mortgages<p> Complaints about mortgages jumped by 38% in the last six months of last year, the FOS figures show, compared to an increase of just 5% in investment-related complaints.</p> <p> Common gripes about mortgages include the exit penalties imposed should you want to sell up or change you mortgage before a fixed or discounted deal comes to an end, and the high arrangement fees charged by many lenders.</p> <div> </div>
- 3. Savings rates<p> While there is nothing in the data released by the FOS about the number of complaints relating to savings accounts, hard-pressed savers have been struggling with low interest rates for several years now.</p> <p> You can get up to 3.10% with Santander's easy-access eSaver account, but many older accounts are paying 1.00% or less and even this market-leading offer includes a 12-month bonus of 2.60% - meaning that the rate will plummet to just 0.50% after the first year.</p>
- 4. Borrowing rates<p> Banks are imposing the highest authorised overdraft interest rates since records began, with today's borrowers paying an average of 19.47%, according to the Bank of England.</p> <p> A typical Briton with an overdraft of £1,000 is therefore forking out around £200 in interest charges alone. Coupled with meagre returns on savings, it's enough to make your blood boil!</p>
- 5. Penalty charges<p style="text-align: left;"> While authorised overdrafts may seem expensive, going into the red without permission will cost you even more due to huge penalty fees.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> Barclays, for example, charges £8 (up to a maximum of £40 a day) each time that there is not enough money in your account to cover a payment.</p>
- 6. International transfer charges<p> If you need to send money abroad, the likelihood is that your bank will impose transfer charges - and offer you a poor rate of exchange. Someone transferring a five-figure sum could easily lose out by £500 or more as a result.</p> <p> The good news, however, is that you can often get a better deal by using a currency specialist such as Moneycorp.</p>
- 7. Waiting on the phone<p> <span style="text-align: left; ">Automated telephone banking systems, not to mention call centres in far-flung parts of the world, are one of our top gripes - especially as we often encounter them when we are already calling to report a problem.</span></p> <p> In the words of one disgruntled customer: "What is it about telephone banking that turns me into Victor Meldrew? Well, maybe it's the fourteen security questions, maybe it's the range of products that they try to push or maybe it's because I'm forced to listen to jazz funk at full volume while my phone bill soars.</p> <div> </div> <div> "Actually though, I think it's because the people I eventually speak to rarely seem able to solve the issue I'm calling about."</div>
- 8. Being treated like a number<p> The days of a personal relationship with your bank manager are long gone - for the huge majority of us at least.</p> <p> When ethical Triodos Bank investigated recently why around 9 million Britons would not recommend their banks to a friend or relative, it found that almost a third felt they were not treated as individuals. Another 40%, meanwhile, were simply disappointed with the customer service they received.</p> <div> </div>
- 9. Long queues in branches<p> <span style="text-align: left; ">When you're in a rush, the last thing you want to do is wait in a long queue at your local branch.</span></p> <p> Researchers at consumer champion Which? recently found that most people get seen within 12 minutes, but you could have a much longer wait if you go in at a busy time. Frustrating stuff!</p> <div> </div>
- 10. Bankers' bonuses<p> The Triodos Bank research also indicated that the bonus culture that ensured the bank's high-flying employees received large salaries, even when it was making a loss at the taxpayer's expense, was hugely unpopular with consumers.</p> <p> About a quarter of those who would not recommend their current banks said this was the main reason why. And with RBS executives sharing a £785 million bonus pool despite the bank, which is 82% publicly owned, making a loss of £2 billion last year, it's not hard to see why.</p>
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