NatWest system problems hit millions

Millions of NatWest customers are facing a third day of being unable to access their accounts, view updated balances and withdraw money that has been paid in following major problems with the bank's systems.

Individual and business account holders have found money has failed to be credited and bill payments have not been debited.

The problems have also hit 100,000 Ulster Bank customers and a smaller number of Royal Bank of Scotland customers.

The glitch became fully apparent on Thursday morning when systems failed to update customers’ balances overnight.

NatWest has admitted that this is an "unacceptable inconvenience" for customers and says that it is continuing to try and fix it.

The bank has been keeping customers informed by regularly updating its Twitter account @NatWest_Help. It also kept over 1,000 NatWest branches open until 7pm on Thursday evening and opened them early at 8am this morning (Friday).

On Friday afternoon, NatWest announced that 1,000 branches would be staying open until 7pm on Friday night to help customers. It also said that branches that open on Saturday would extend their opening hours to 6pm and would also open on Sunday from 9am to 12pm.

There have also been horror stories of house purchases not being completed because money was not in people's bank accounts at the time the purchase was due to be completed.

The bank in a statement on its website promised "that no customers will be permanently out of pocket as a result of this".

If you urgently need to withdraw money contact your local branch, as there are reports of some people being allowed to make withdrawals if they can show they would normally receive a regular payment, such as a salary, at this time of the month.

If you have a bill payment due to come out of your account, you should contact the company concerned and tell them about the NatWest problem.

You should also keep a record of all phone calls and emails so you can claim any fees and other compensation back later.

Thinking about switching?

If you are a fed-up Natwest, Ulster Bank or RBS customer affected by this mess why not consider switching?

Both First Direct and Halifax offer £100 introductory bonuses for switching your current account to them. Halifax will also pay you £5 a month as long as you pay in £1,000 each month.

Meanwhile, the Santander 123 account pays you cashback on your direct debits.

We'll continue to update this story throughout the day.

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