Selasa, 03 Juli 2012

RBS-Natwest glitch: Duplicate mortgage payments taken from some customer accounts

RBS-Natwest glitch: Duplicate mortgage payments taken from some customer accounts

By Lee Boyce

PUBLISHED: 10:20 EST, 3 July 2012 | UPDATED: 10:20 EST, 3 July 2012

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The ripple effect of the RBS-NatWest IT glitch two weeks ago is still being felt by its customers, as the banking group confirmed today that some duplicate mortgage payments have been mistakenly taken.

The group didn't reveal exact figures, but said a ‘small’ number of customers have been affected by the error and has once again promised that no one will be left permanently out of pocket.

It issued yet another grovelling apology to customers and urged them to check statements and get in touch so it can put any problems right.

Mortgage payments: The RBS group has confirmed duplicate payments have been taken from some customer's accounts

Mortgage payments: The RBS group has confirmed duplicate payments have been taken from some customer's accounts

Many customers argue that they should be given compensation for their inconvenience on top of their losses.

The group says it has been working ‘round the clock’ to resolve the problems which began two weeks ago and meant NatWest, Ulster Bank and RBS customers' balances were not updating properly.

A spokeswoman for RBS Group said: ‘We apologise to any customers experiencing problems today. We said last week that we expected to see a few bumps in the road for customers as we get things fully back on track.

‘Any customers experiencing problems should contact our call centre or visit their local branch and we will put things right.’

RBS Group chief executive Stephen Hester said last week that he will waive his bonus this year because of the chaos and has promised a ‘full and detailed investigation’.

Despite facing some calls to quit, he has said he is determined to 'personally lead the process' of regaining customers' trust.

The banking group's initial findings were that the problems were created when maintenance on its systems, which are managed and operated by its team in Edinburgh, created an error which stopped people's accounts updating properly.

The problem was made worse because the team could not access a record of the transactions that had been processed up to the point of failure.

A 'substantial backlog' was created because the group, which processes 20million transactions a day, had to try to pinpoint the moment at which processing had stopped, which created more delays.

The bank boss said on Friday that, while a ‘large number’ of customers' problems had been resolved through bank branches and call centres, around 15,000 required a greater degree of attention.

Fears have also been raised that customers could unwittingly have their credit ratings blotted, although the bank is working with other agencies to make sure this does not happen.

Stephen Hester: Some furious customers have called for the RBS boss to quit over the fiasco

Stephen Hester: Some furious customers have called for the RBS boss to quit over the fiasco

Ulster Bank customers badly impacted

The group has confirmed it has had greater difficulty clearing up the glitches for Ulster Bank customers.

The This is Money e-mail inbox has been received numerous complaints from Ulster Bank customers who still haven’t received payments into their accounts since the fiasco unfolded two weeks ago.

Some customers writing on NatWest's website today said they were still experiencing problems with money showing up in their accounts.

In a reference to Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond, who has fallen on his sword following the rate-rigging scandal, ‘Skint from Bradford’ wrote on the ‘ideas’ section of NatWest's website: ‘Mr Diamond has resigned - will you do the same Mr Hester?’

Ulster Bank has said that it has made ‘steady inroads’ to its delays, but added that while the pace of progress has improved it has been slower than customers would have liked.

Ulster Bank customers should hopefully see their balances updating over the coming week, the bank's parent group has said.

Due to the way the technology was set up when the three banks were integrated, Ulster Bank payments happen to follow in sequence after those of NatWest and RBS. This, it says, ‘in no way’ reflects any priority given to customers.

Analysts have said that people's decisions on whether to switch accounts could hinge on how satisfied customers are with how the banking group puts the problems right.

Read This is Money's guide on how to switch bank.

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