NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland online banking meltdown: Millions hit by technical fault

NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland online banking meltdown: Millions hit by technical fault

• Student Kora-Lee Holmes, 21, stranded in Venice because her NatWest card is not working
• Bank say they are 'experiencing technical issues which mean that a number of customer account balances have not been updated'
• Bank unable to confirm how many of its 7.5million customers are affected
• Bank admits the problem isn't fixed, and customers expecting to be paid tonight could also be affected
• NatWest say over 1,000 branches will stay open until 7pm to help customers
• NatWest say the problem was NOT caused by hacking
  

By Rob Cooper

PUBLISHED: 07:43 EST, 21 June 2012 | UPDATED: 14:09 EST, 21 June 2012

Millions of NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers have been hit by a technical fault which meant salaries were not paid into their accounts - and millions more could be affected tomorrow.

Tax credits and other payments did not go in overnight and people were logging on to find their money had not arrived.

One customer who was supposed to be buying his first house with his pregnant wife will be forced to spend a night without gas or electricity in his old property because of the glitch.

The banking group apologised to its customers for the problems, which began yesterday, and said it was working hard to fix them.

But a spokesman admitted it was possible that the glitch could also affect customers expecting payments to be made into their accounts tonight.

Banking meltdown: NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers who had salaries, tax credits or other money paid into their account overnight were logging onto their accounts to find out it had not arrived

Asked whether it was possible that more account-holders will encounter problems tomorrow, the spokesman replied: 'Potentially, but hopefully not.'

NatWest could not say exactly how many of their 7.5million personal account customers have been affected but it is understood to be in excess of one million.

Business customers have also been affected.

The group said tonight that the problem was not caused by hacking.

One branch in West London had closed its doors with only two members of staff outside telling customers that they would not know until tomorrow when services would be restored.

They also said NatWest customers should only use the bank's own ATMs to guarantee being able to get money out.

At 2.50pm, nearly seven hours after the problems began, NatWest finally added a statement to the page saying: 'We continue to experience technical issues and are doing everything we can to resolve ASAP

Around 100,000 UlsterBank customers have also reported difficulties. NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and UlsterBank share a number of internal computer systems.

First-time buyer Raul Poddy, 30, faces spending the night sleeping on a mattress on the floor of his old rented home in Durham with his wife and one-year-old child because he was unable to buy his new property.

Stranded: Kora-Lee Holmes, 21, missed her flight home from Venice because her NatWest card was not working

His wife Kerry is 20 weeks pregnant and their belongings will have to be put into storage until the purchase is completed.

Mr Poddy told the BBC: 'It is not good enough for this to happen in this day and age.

'We were saving for a deposit for almost a year, and spent so long getting every last detail perfect, then this happens.'

Kora-Lee Holmes, 21, has been stranded in Venice, Italy, unable to pay her hotel for the stay because her bank card is not working.

She missed her flight home while she battled to make the payment and her father Adrian was forced to spend £200 booking her a new flight home.

The Hull University student said: 'I tried paying the hotel with my NatWest Visa debit card but it didn't work and when I got on my online banking I was unable to transfer any money.

'I was trying to get the money paid while all the time the clock was ticking down to when my flight took off. I tried phoning NatWest but there was a 45 minute queue.

'I just got the standard response on the website about a temporary problem with the site and that was at 8.30am Italian time. This didn't help me.'

She will now fly back to Newcastle instead of Manchester because it was the only flight available tonight.

The Hull University student has just graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and tomorrow starts work as a students' union officer.

Technical glitch: NatWest have been unable to say when the problem will be fixed

She said a member of NatWest customer service team got in touch to say they wanted to help after MailOnline published a story.

This afternoon 'ideas' from angry customers were automatically feeding through to NatWest's homepage.

One customer wrote: 'All systems gone on strike until RBS/NatWest receive another bailout from the taxpayer.'

Some customers were not reporting any problems.

Twitter user Thomas Hemingford wrote: 'Disabled people with shopping deliveries are not getting food essentials thanks to no money going in bank. ‪#NatWest‬ responsible.'

There were also reports of a large crowd of angry customers gathering outside a branch of NatWest in Reading, Berkshire.

Bob Spearman, from Petworth, West Sussex, told the BBC his tax credit payment had not been paid into his NatWest account.

'We, like many other low-income families, live from week to week and the Child Tax Credit weekly payment is a lifeline on which we rely,' he said.

A spokeswoman for UK Payments Administration, which oversees payments generally, said the problem was not a central one and therefore it did not appear to have affected other banks.

Technical problems: A warning on the NatWest homepage this afternoon - and below a customer jokingly suggests they are waiting for another bailout

Enlarge  

Helpful banking: A message on the NatWest sight warns that they are currently experiencing technical difficulties

BANKING BLUNDER: NATWEST ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO POST THEIR SUGGESTIONS ONTO THEIR HOMEPAGE

As NatWest battled to get their computer systems up and running again, they allowed customers to post their 'ideas' directly onto their homepage.

Irate customers unable to get hold of their money had a few comments Here are some of them:

'All systems gone on strike until RBS/NatWest receive another bailout from the taxpayer' - lollollol

'Account updated now but money is missing! Basically been called a liar on the phone by "helpful" staff. I'm going up there now ...' - BeyondAngry

'Disaster! Go back to keeping your money at home! Its safer and more reliable! How embarrasng this is for you! I for sure will be going else where! Sick of this fault after fault!' - Nothappy

Well just logged into my online banking and it says my money is there...But is it really? - Christina Smith

However, people expecting payments from people or businesses which bank with NatWest and RBS could encounter delays due to the technical issues at their end, she said.

She said: 'We don't know exactly what the issue is yet. We don't think it is (affecting) all payments.'

A spokesman for Royal Bank of Scotland 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 bra nches in all major towns and cities open until 7pm tonight to assist customers who are unable to get to their branch during working hours.'

A spokeswoman for UK Payments Administration, which oversees payments generally, said the problem was not a central one and therefore it did not appear to have affected other banks.

But people expecting payments from people or businesses which bank with NatWest and RBS could encounter delays due to the technical issues at their end, she said.

Last week RBS and NatWest launched a mobile banking app enabling people to take money from an ATM by making a request on their mobile phone.

NatWest customers with concerns about their money can call a 24-hour helpline on 0800 015 4212.

RBS customers can call 0800 015 5035.

The Ulster Bank 24-hour helpline is 08457 424365. Customers based abroad can call +44 289 053 8033 from 8am to 10pm.

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