RBS system problems strike again

Savings and ISAs

Updated on 07 March 2013 | 1 Comment

NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank systems experienced disruption for the second time in eight months last night, leaving millions without access to their cash yet again.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) group experienced system problems last night leaving millions of customers unable to access their cash.

Problems were reported with online banking, cash withdrawals and debit card payments at around 10pm on Wednesday evening.

NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank account holders were affected.

Not again

It’s been less than a year since the RBS group experienced severe system problems during a routine upgrade.

Just eight months ago a software ‘glitch’ meant that customer balances weren’t updated.

Millions of NatWest customers were left unable to pay bills, move money or access cash as their accounts were not funded with their salaries. 100,000 Ulster Bank customers also suffered and a smaller number of RBS users.

It took several days for the service to return to normal and many branches extended opening hours to help deal with queries and to help deliver cash.

In the aftermath of the debacle around £125 million was paid out to customers in compensation.

Apologies

The latest problem lasted just a couple of hours on Wednesday evening.

Services returned to normal just after midnight with a hardware fault being pinpointed as the reason for the disruption.

RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank all issued apologies via Twitter within moments of fixing the fault.

All read: “We are disappointed that our customers have faced disruption to banking services for a period this evening, and apologise for that.”

A RBS spokesperson repeated this apology when we contacted them and said:

"This problem was caused by a hardware fault and was not related to the issues we experienced last summer. It was much easier to fix, though clearly an unacceptable failure."

Compensation

The spokesperson also hinted at the possibility of compensation.

"Any customer who was left out of pocket due to this outage should get in touch so we can put things right for them."

So if you’re still experiencing difficulties in accessing your cash or think you deserve compensation here are the contact details:

NatWest:  0845 788 8444

RBS:  0845 724 2424

Ulster Bank: 0845 742 4365 (NI) or 1 850 2121 461 (ROI)

Read our guide to beating call centre queues to make sure you get through.

Thinking about switching?

If you’re fed up with the poor service from NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank you should consider switching.

First Direct offers a £100 introductory bonus for moving to its 1st Account.

Elsewhere Halifax offers a smaller £50 incentive for making the move as well as a six-month fee-free overdraft.

Meanwhile the Santander 123 account offers up to 3% cashback back on your direct debits.

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