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DOWN AND OUT
Millions of HSBC, Virgin Money, Lloyds Bank, Barclays & Nationwide customers unable to access accounts or make payments
We reveal how to check if you're entitled to compensation
MILLIONS of customers at some of the UK's biggest banks have been hit by glitches affecting digital banking.
Nationwide, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Bank and Virgin Money were among those apologising on Friday (June 28) to customers over the issues.
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Customers were complaining of issues making payments as well as logging into accounts online or via apps.
It comes on what is commonly pay day for workers across the country.
The issue has largely been caused problems with the Faster Payments service, which allows customers to make money transfers in minutes online or by phone.
HSBC UK said there had been a “separate payments issue affecting multiple banks”, and Nationwide blamed a “third-party payments issue” for the glitches.
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Pay.UK, with operates the system, said that the technical issue had been fixed and payments were returning to normal.
Barclays also alerted customers to the issue, which has left some customers unable to send or receive payments.
According to DownDetector, more than 7,000 people were reporting issues with their HSBC accounts at about 8.45am today.
According to the site, 67% had issues with their mobile banking, and 20% with logging into their mobile account.
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The issues began around 8.20am and have been ongoing.
Disgruntled customers took to X, formerly Twitter, to complain that they were unable to access their bank accounts online or on their mobile app.
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One customer said: "@HSBC_UK when payments go down on your payroll day. Thanks for the added stress!"
Another added: "Still not loading properly. Very poor service. Why has this not been fixed yet?"
Another furious social media customer said: "Hope you're planning to compensate people for this 'issue' on your part, not being able to pay bills on pay day is causing huge issues for me and many others!"
HSBC confirmed that it was experiencing additional issues within the app, including viewing of recent transactions alongside the issue with third-party payments.
How to check if your bank is down
THERE are a few different ways to find out if your bank is experiencing an outage.
Senior consumer reporter Olivia Marshall explains how you can check.
If you're trying to send money to someone, or you just want to check if you have enough cash for a coffee, finding your online banking is down can be a real pain.
Most banks have a dedicated news page on their website to show service problems, including internet banking, mobile apps, ATMs, debit cards and credit cards.
You can also check on any future work they have planned and what it might mean for you.
Plus, you can check websites such as Down Detector, which will tell you whether other people are experiencing problems with a particular company online.
It added that customers customers should now be able to log into online and mobile banking.
Customers of First Direct, which is also owned by HSBC, did not complain of any issues.
DownDetector also showed a spike in reports of outages for high street bank Virgin Money and building society Nationwide.
Virgin Money said on X that it was “aware of intermittent issues with accessing online banking and our app, which we’re working to resolve as quickly as possible”.
“Thanks for your patience while we restore the service.”
It follows an earlier post alerting customers to “delays to payments both in and out of their Virgin Money account”, and asking people not to try again to make a payment if they had received an error message.
In response to customer complaints on social media, Nationwide said: "We are aware there is a delay with some customers receiving their salary or pension payments today.
"These payments are being processed, and will be paid into your account today. Sorry for any inconvenience this is causing."
Barclays apologised to customers on social media for issues with its Faster Payment system.
Responding to a customer on X, it wrote: "The team are doing everything they can to support the Faster Payment system scheme to get this back up and running."
Meanwhile Lloyds Bank customers complained that they were unable to use the mobile app.
One customer on X said: "Is there a timeline to have your android app fixed?
"I see many people are experiencing problems today with the app freezing on the authenticating page.
"It's evident the problem is not phone or account specific."
In response, Lloyds told customers to contact its internet banking team.
A UK Finance spokesperson said: "We are aware that some customers experienced issues with making faster payments earlier today.
"We have been working with our members and understand that the issue has now been resolved."
Can I claim compensation for the outage?
Banks don't have to pay out compensation to customers if there has been a drop in service, unlike how telecoms companies have to.
But if you have incurred costs as a result of service issues, it's likely you could get your money back.
For example, if a bill payment didn't go through as a result of an outage and you’ve been charged a fee for missing it, you should be able to claim that money back.
If your credit rating has been affected by a service outage, because you got a late payment fee after being unable to make a transaction, for example, you should also keep a record of this.
If you spoke to anyone to try and resolve the problem, make a note of their name and when you spoke to them, as well as roughly what you discussed and what they advised you to do.
You can find out more details about how to complain on the bank's website.
It is worth gathering evidence of your problems so you can make a formal complaint to the bank directly.
What happens if my bank refuses to compensate me?
If you're unhappy with how the bank dealt with your problem, you can contact the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
It is an independent body that will consider the evidence you present and make a fair decision about the action a bank should take.
The FOS can usually get involved 15 days after you've raised concerns with the bank.
In the case of an IT system outage at a bank, the FOS says any compensation depends on your circumstances and whether you lost out as a result.
If it thinks you did, it has the power to tell the bank to reimburse any fees, charges, or fines you were hit with, for example, if you were unable to make a payment on a credit card bill or to your mortgage provider.
It could also tell a bank to pay you for any money you didn't receive, such as interest, if you weren't able to pay money in.
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If your credit score was affected, it may tell the bank to correct your credit file.
The FOS might also tell the bank to reimburse you for any extra costs you had to make, such as phone calls or trips to your local branch, as well as a payment for any inconvenience it caused.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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