- Stephen Hester, chief executive of NatWest owner RBS, issued apology for the technical hitch and conceded the bank had let down its customers
- The chaos, caused by a problem with computer software, left many of its clients unable to pay bills or access their money
By Jill Reilly
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NatWest charged millions of customers for ringing their emergency helpline about the technical glitches that have left the bank in chaos over the weekend.
The group is to open 1,200 branches across the country today for the first time ever as the bank clears a massive backlog of payments caused by a computer glitch.
Instead of providing a free 0800 number for concerned customers, the bank urged people to ring an 0845 number which then bills them for the call.
Unusual: A NatWest branch on King St Hammersmith, London, which opened today to deal with the backlog
Last night Stephen Hester, chief executive of NatWest owner RBS, issued a public apology for the technical hitch and conceded the bank had let down its customers.
Branches will open their doors today between 9am and noon, amid continued anger following days of disruption.
The chaos, caused by a problem with computer software, left many of its clients unable to pay bills or access their money.
Mr Hester attempted to reassure customers following mounting fears that thousands of people could be hit with penalty charges if their regular payments - including mortgages - were affected.
'I am very sorry for the difficulties people are experiencing,' he said.
'Our customers rely on us day in and day out to get things right, and on this occasion we have let them down. This should not have happened.
IT glitch: RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester said he was sorry for the difficulties customers were facing
'Right now my top priority, and the priority of the entire RBS Group, is to fix these problems and put things right for our customers.
'This is taking time, but I want to reassure people that we are working around the clock to resolve these problems as quickly as we are able.'
NatWest has more than 7.5 million personal banking customers but it is unclear how many have been affected.
The issues extend to users of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ulster Bank, which like NatWest are part of RBS Group.
Ulster Bank said about 100,000 of its customers experienced difficulties.
While the original technical glitch has been fixed, staff are now working through the build-up of transactions which have not been processed.
Double the usual number of employees are manning call centres to tackle the problems, Mr Hester said.
'Our staff have already helped thousands of customers to access cash and we will continue to provide this service on a 24-hour basis while we work to resolve the problems,' he added.
'I also want to reassure customers that no one will be left permanently out of pocket as a result of this, and again, they should contact us directly about this.'
In a message to staff, he said he was proud of the work his employees were doing but that they were 'not out of the woods yet and there is more hard work ahead'.
The initial problem reportedly arose following an attempt to install a software update on RBS's payment processing system, which was then corrupted.
The fault meant payments went awry, wages appeared to go missing and holiday and home purchases were interrupted.
When account balances were not updated properly overnight, credit and debit payments failed to show up as quickly as they should.
No money: A mother with a baby passes a NatWest cashpoint which says millions have been left high and dry due to 'tecnical difficulties' in Olney, Buckinghamshire
The upheaval sparked fury among customers who turned to Twitter to vent their anger.
One wrote: 'Has anyone actually had anything clear yet? Within the last our (sic) I have had ALL my bills go out ... but oohing (sic) go in! I'm now going to be charged right?? I was told on the phone this morning by one person I would have my money by 8am and then by some one else I would have it by 12pm...whatever next! Now I'm very overdrawn...and still have no available funds!'
Another, Amanda, wrote: 'I just feel so sorry for the staff in the call centres. I spoke to a lady this morning who was clearly close to tears.
'It's difficult to remember, but it's not their fault. I did try not to shout at her but it was very hard, particularly after 35 minutes on hold with the silly announcement saying 'check the website' every few seconds.
'The frustration is now getting to everyone.
'How a situation like this can arise is unbelieva ble. I've had to explain why my rent is late, and they were not at all sympathetic!'
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves said it was 'absolutely imperative that RBS gets a grip on this situation' to assist customers without their monthly pay, who had not been able to settle transactions and who did not know how much money they had in their accounts.
She told the Sky News Murnaghan programme: 'It's causing real hardship at the moment and to say we'll put it all right in the end isn't really good enough.'
But Ms Reeves stressed there were wider issues with the financial services sector.
She said: 'So it's not just an issue about RBS and the problems they've had with their computer system, there are bigger issues with financial services reform that the Government needs to tackle head on in terms of getting the banks lending again to support small businesses and families, and also the Vickers recommendations on splitting up the retail and investment banks and also on the recapitalisation.'
Officials at the bank said that customers who used the paid number would be able to claim compensation later - it is thought they will need to print off an itemised bill to make a claim.
A spokesperson told The Sun: 'The 0845 number was already in existence. We will do all we can to make sure customers will not be out of pocket.'Â
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Real stupidity by Natwest using 0845 number AND in same breath saying no one will be out of pocket as all charges will be refunded. Everyone should write in a letter, charging Natwest for the 045 phonecalls, an expense only incurred due to Natwest causing the problems Further more claim cost of paper, envelope stamp AND 30gbp for your time spend writing and sending the letter to reclaim cost of 0845 call... that will teach Natwest to not do this again.
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foregone conclusion!
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Whoever sent all the IT jobs to Bangalore should take a serious hit for this
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Has anybody actually died?
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Anyone who believes that a 'software problem' can last from last Tuesday until now - when the client has unlimited tax payers money to deal with it - is a moron. RBS / Nat West have held 12 million people's money in the UK for 6 days, how much have they earned ? Rest assured, you account holders won't see a penny of the profit they have made and they will probably charge you for being overdrawn on your own money. Never mind, you can make a claim with the FOS who will take 2 years to reject your claim.
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My daughter phoned RBS yesterday, was in a queue for 18 mins spoke with an adviser for 2 minutes and we have been billed £1.36 for the call."customers will not be out of pocket" - some hope.
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Hester NO BONUS FOR 2012 THEN??????????
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Technical issues do happen I am still more than impressed at how natwest have dealt with the whole situation. Opening branches till late and opening on Sunday and apologising. If this was Barclays you know they would not go beyond the call of duty!!!! Ridiculous bank
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It's no ideal for them to have an 0845 number, but how much extra time would it use up with them setting up a new number!! It's an awful situation and I'm sorry for those caught in it but it seems they are attempting to help! Also people complaining that they are only open until 12 today - its a Sunday and Sunday trading laws apply so it might be because they opened early. They have to find and pay staff for this overtime so it's costing them too.
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It could have been an 0844 8p/minute landline number as used by Sky, Boots, Lexus, Hyundai, Kia, Citroen and numerous other firms to charge you to call them. Many phone packages now include 0845 in the monthly bundle so it's not as bad as it was. Only when the government bans such revenue generating numbers will this stop - big business bleated when 0870 was changed so charges were reduced and, despite claiming it would be a huge hassle, big business switched very quickly to 0844 as there was more money to be made. Use saynoto0870.com to avoid such numbers.
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