Banking error swipes €3.5m from O2 customer accounts

THOUSANDS of customers of mobile phone giant O2 were left reeling after their bank accounts were inadvertently emptied of €3.5 million.

A banking error meant O2’s direct debits for September were taken out twice from the bank accounts of 22,000 customers.

On average each customer saw €159 too much disappear from their accounts earlier this week, with the total overpayment coming to €3.5m nationwide. Yesterday, the banks pledged to refund the monies and waive any fees if the overpayment caused accounts to become overdrawn.