Natwest banking app down leaving hundreds of customers unable to make online transfers

THE NATWEST banking app is down leaving customers complaining they are unable to transfer money

The problem peaked at 6:50am this morning with over 1,000 people complaining about the issue, according to consumer website Down Detector.

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Some 67% of people reported issues about Mobile Banking, while a further 20% flagged they were struggling to make a funds transfer.

Users took to X, formally known as Twitter, to raise the issue to the bank.

They said: "@NatWest_Help what is going on? I can’t send any money over to my other account?"

While another said: "Anyone else’s@NatWest_Help app keep chucking you out when you try to use it?"

A third customer said: "I get logged out every time I try to authorise a payment.

"Please sort this out before Oasis tickets go on sale or you’re going to have a lot of angry customers!"

NatWest acknowledged the issue and said they were working to fix it.

The bank said: "We're aware that there is an issue arranging transfers through the app.

"We've raised this internally and is currently being investigated by our tech team. "

They added: "I'm afraid we don't have an exact timeframe on this, but our team are working hard to resolve this."

A similar issue was reported back in May, with over 3,000 users unable to get access to their online banking accounts.

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.

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.