Natwest Technical Issues

Agricolae

I'm not sure if a decent explanation has been attempted yet in this thread for the problems. To be fair, most people are more interested in when this will be fixed rather than what happened, but I know that some people appreciate an explanation that deviates from the generic responses given on the phones.

Six months ago NatWest had similar outages. At the time I worked on the phone lines and the amount of abuse I got was pretty bad when people realised I couldn't help them. When this happens it hits people living on the poverty line much harder and the number of stories I heard about not being able to buy nappies, baby food, metered gas and electricity etc. was phenomenal.

The thing to realise is that the front line staff are not well briefed about the minutiae of the problem, and we should not expect them to be. So don't be harsh on them if they're unable to offer much of an explanation.

Speaking of which, the explanation... (please note this is an "educated" guess using general banking knowledge).

The first thing to understand is that banks do not process all payments in the same way. Broadly speaking, there are two categories of payment processing:

1. Real-Time: Payments which are requested and made (almost) instantly, e.g. when you send a payment on your online banking, or transfer money between accounts.

2. Batch: Payments which are "queued" up on day x and then processed overnight so they credit an account on day y. This is called batch processing because it is done in batches which are submitted at regular intervals after business hours.

This covers payments made via the BACS infrastructure. This is a huge number of transactions. Nearly all wage payments and government benefits are paid via BACS, and Direct Debits are also paid via BACS (but in the opposite direction).

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Ok, so now that we know the difference between the transaction types, and we already know that people's wages/direct debits/benefits are affected, we can guess where the problem lies - batch processing. There has very likely been a system problem which has affected batch processing and probably had a "ripple" effect on other bank systems.

I cannot really say any more other than that the last time I heard there was no ETA on when things would be back to normal, but the department in charge of resolving the issue believed that things would be mostly resolved by 3pm today. This is the same message you would have been hearing from staff when you have phoned the main lines. They will simply give the latest updates they are aware of.

I am hoping and praying that when I go into work tomorrow, the problems have been fixed.

Joe_Bloggs

Why not have the Chief Executive and relevant subordinates tell the tale to an appropriate parliamentary select committee as soon as possible, under oath.
J_B.

CKhalvashi

stclair wrote: »

Accounts can be closed by putting it writing verbal account closures are not accepted im sorry to say.

Strange. I closed mine over the phone.

Loopgames

Are they having problem this morning too? Expected some money today and isnt showing online!

Dr_Cuckoo3

Loopgames wrote: »

Are they having problem this morning too? Expected some money today and isnt showing online!

yes - try to make a bill payment and you will see

Broadwood

At the end of the day, contingency planning whether by government or on a business level or in our domestic lives is just common sense which should be part of the National Curriculum.

Common instances of covering unplanned eventualities are:-

Having emergency services - Police - Fire - Ambulance - Coastguard - Mountain Rescue - RNLI - Cave Rescue - Mines Rescue - AA - RAC - Green Flag - Dynorod etc. etc.

Carrying a spare wheel and tools in a vehicle. - punctures happen.

Buildings (and vehicles) with fire/smoke alarms and sprinklers/extinguishers. Also electrical fuses and trips switches.

Keeping spare bulbs, a first-aid kit, a working pen and paper, a can of fuel plus long-life spare food and drink in the car for emergencies. Maybe jump leads and a £10 note hidden somewhere. It's not uncommon to get stuck on the motorways for as long as 6 hours if there has been a pile-up or sudden flooding.

Keeping a high-viz top (24/7/365) and a small folding shovel etc in the boot for when we get stuck in snow or other random emergency. Also a 12 volt phone charger and a road atlas.

Keeping spare bread in the freezer also extra tins/packets of food and a carton of long-life milk in the cupboard for unexpected visitors or bad weather.

No doubt the list could go on and on. Life doesn't always go to plan and it never will.

jr29

Great NO WAGES TODAY!!!!!! Beyond a joke now, I was expecting a one off payment yesterday which didn't go into account and now wages havn't gone in today, starting to panic now, have 2 small children to feed and a car that's booked in for m.o.t today, if it doesn't get done no car = no work for me.

fozmcfc

I think it is clear that they are still sufferring large problems.

My wages haven't gone in and they always are showing on the morning of them going in.

If you are going into a branch today, do appreciate that it is not the frontline staff fault and they are human beings.

Having worked in different companies customer services, I know exactly who is likely to get more help, those who throw a tantrum or those who remain calm and polite.

Best of luck to the staff of Natwest/Ulster and RBS today.

callum9999

jr29 wrote: »

Great NO WAGES TODAY!!!!!! Beyond a joke now, I was expecting a one off payment yesterday which didn't go into account and now wages havn't gone in today, starting to panic now, have 2 small children to feed and a car that's booked in for m.o.t today, if it doesn't get done no car = no work for me.

Then go into the branch and get some money out then. Loads of people seem to be handed up to £300 just for asking for it (it will be taken out of your account eventually of course!), but if you can prove it's your payday I'd imagine you'd be guaranteed to get it.

This incident has really astounded me though. I had no idea so many people with babies and toddlers don't bother to keep food in the house!

pop_gun

Moody's have downgraded RBS. I wonder if these "glitches" has anything to do with that.