Customers' fury over RBS technical fault

Bank customers were facing more frustration today after the IT fiasco affecting Ulster Bank, NatWest and RBS dragged into a sixth day.

Parent company RBS said it was still experiencing technical issues which meant some account balances may not be showing correctly, while it also admitted some online services were unavailable.

As it battles to deal with a backlog of payments, around 1,200 branches were open on a Sunday for the first time ever. Trading hours will also be extended to between 8am and 7pm on Monday.

The group told customers: “We are still experiencing technical issues with our service which means account balances may not be displaying correctly.

“Some of our online services such as payments, may also be unavailable. We would like to apologise to everyone who is affected by this.”

Stephen Hester, chief executive of Ulster Bank and NatWest owner RBS, yesterday issued a public apology for the chaos and conceded the bank had let down its customers.

Twenty branches of Ulster Bank opened their doors around the country today, as the group continues to battle a technical fault and around 7,000 staff were on duty in NatWest branches in the UK today.

However, social media sites such as Twitter continued to be flooded with angry messages from customers who found themselves without access to cash over the weekend or unable to pay bills.

The problem with computer software started on Tuesday night and while RBS says it has been fixed, customers were still experiencing problems today.

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.

“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.

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.

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 unbelievable. I’ve had to explain why my rent is late, and they were not at all sympathetic!”

NatWest customers affected by the glitch had to pay to ring the bank’s 0845 helpline number, but a spokesman said callers would be reimbursed for any cost they incurred in doing so.