No money till the weekend! 600,000 hit by fresh RBS computer fiasco

MORE than half a million RBS and NatWest customers could be stranded without cash until the weekend after yet another computer meltdown.

Around 600,000 payments worth millions vanished into the ether after the IT systems which process the payment of wages, benefits and direct debits broke down.

The error means workers who were due to be paid yesterday morning awoke to find their money had not gone into their accounts.

It prompted customers to take to Twitter to complain about being unable to do their weekly food shopping or pay bills.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest, said it had fixed the problem, but admitted those affected may have to wait until Saturday to receive missing payments.

This sparked an angry response from the chairman of the Commons Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie, who described the delay as ‘unacceptable’.

HM Revenue & Customs said it had ‘struggled to cope’ with a barrage of calls from frantic families who had not received child tax credits or working tax credits and did not realise it was the bank’s fault.

Some customers said RBS and NatWest even sent them text messages threatening to charge them for breaching their overdraft limit even though it wasn’t their fault. This amounts to £6 a day up to a limit of £90.

Kelly Giblin wrote on Twitter: ‘I can’t believe you have sent me a text, threatening charges for being overdrawn! Not exactly my fault that is it.’ RBS has promised to reimburse these customers – but said they have to contact the bank.

Some who called the bank’s helpline said they were left on hold for almost an hour after phone lines jammed.

Adele Gibson tweeted: ‘Absolutely disgraceful yet again NatWest! I hope you resolve this today and compensate your customers accordingly. I now don’t have enough to get our weekly food shop and I have two children. Well played.’

Nigel Eatough added: ‘Wife’s wages not paid in due to NatWest technical error today! No info on when it will be resolved? GET IT SORTED! Need to pay bills etc.’

The IT glitch also affected customers of RBS’s Irish subsidiary Ulster Bank and its private banking arm Coutts.

RBS insisted the payments had not gone missing but were delayed due to ‘technical issues that had now been fixed’.

A spokesman said: ‘ We apologise for the inconvenience caused and we are working flat out to get these payments updated for our customers no later than Saturday.’

The lender described this as the ‘worst-case scenario’.

But Mr Tyrie, a Conservative MP, said: ‘Many thousands of individuals and businesses have once again been badly hit.

‘ RBS is suggesting that the delayed payments will be processed “no later than Saturday”.

‘This looks unacceptable. Restoration of payments should be a top priority. It is crucial for those in the greatest financial need and also those who find it difficult to go to a branch.’

The meltdown is the latest in a string of IT problems that have plagued the bailed-out bank.

More than six million customers were locked out of their accounts and unable to pay or receive money after a systems failure in the summer of 2012.

The problem lasted several weeks and eventually resulted in a £56million fine for RBS. The High Street giant – which already spends £2billion a year on its IT systems – earmarked an additional £750million of investment over three years to make its systems more secure.

But barely 24 hours after it was fined in November 2014, RBS and NatWest customers complained of being unable to do their Christmas shopping after another glitch meant their cards were declined. MPs last night expressed their exasperation and called for RBS boss Ross McEwan to give up his bonus this year.

Labour MP John Mann said: ‘When will this ever end? These executives need to be less focused on their bonuses and concentrate on running a proper bank.

‘ Mr McEwan should forget about taking a bonus and issue a public apology.’

Conservative MP Mark Garnier described it as ‘an accident waiting to happen’. ‘This is as depress- ing as it is predictable,’ he said. ‘Banks, including RBS, have hopelessly outdated IT systems and are spending billions of pounds patching them up with chewing gum and string.

‘They need to bite the bullet and start again – otherwise this is going to keep on happening.’

Customers who were due to make a mortgage payment or settle a utility bill were advised to contact the relevant company to notify them what had happened.

‘Absolutely disgraceful yet again’