MSE News: Co-op, Halifax and Lloyds customers hit by banking chaos

MoneySaverLog

Having several accounts with different banking groups along with a couple of credit cards, one visa the other mastercard from two different banks is the way to go to mitigate this risk of system failure.

I now have bank accounts with LTSB, Halifax, Natwest, Nationwide, HSBC, First Direct - All offer their little perks for banking with them too :-) I also have a Barclaycard and Lloyds TSB credit card in my wallet along with £20 which I replenish as and when I need to.

NittyGritty

wonders if they will pay any compensation due to this, like last time with the other banks went offline

BugsyBrowne

NittyGritty wrote: »

wonders if they will pay any compensation due to this, like last time with the other banks went offline

Why would they do that?

opinions4u

NittyGritty wrote: »

wonders if they will pay any compensation due to this, like last time with the other banks went offline

If you can demonstrate an unavoidable loss I'm sure they will.

If you've merely demonstrated impatience I hope they don't.

Ryan101

opinions4u wrote: »

Contingency is everything.

A bit of cash. More than one card. Use of different banking groups.

My main fallback to my debit card is three credit cards with different banking groups. And a £10 note in my wallet.

I believe Co-op will continue to use LBG systems when they acquire the Lloyds TSB branches next year. So a contingency of a Co-op card for Halifax, Lloyds or BoS customers may be worthy of review and change.

Would a Contingency of say a Lloyds Debit card and Lloyds Credit card be acceptable ?, as surely two systems could not fail at the same time, or as they are part of the same group would that not be an acceptable Contingency plan ?.

Would (For example) a Lloyds Debit card and a Barclaycard be a better Contingency ?.

Thanks

expatasia

digging wrote: »

I too keep a tenner in my purse (for the odd shop that doesn't take card /emergencies etc). I also have 3 different credit cards for back up. I wouldn't want to leave my months shopping in the supermarket because the banking system was down!

Would a supermarket in Britain nowadays happily accept a cheque for the shopping?

MoneySaverLog

Ryan101 wrote: »

Would (For example) a Lloyds Debit card and a Barclaycard be a better Contingency ?.

Thanks

Probably best different bank groups for bank accounts and credit cards and just in case visa is affected a mastercard and visa split in terms of credit cards.

MoneySaverLog

expatasia wrote: »

Would a supermarket in Britain nowadays happily accept a cheque for the shopping?

Doubt it now they have got rid of the cheque guarantee scheme

opinions4u

Ryan101 wrote: »

Would a Contingency of say a Lloyds Debit card and Lloyds Credit card be acceptable ?, as surely two systems could not fail at the same time, or as they are part of the same group would that not be an acceptable Contingency plan ?.

Would (For example) a Lloyds Debit card and a Barclaycard be a better Contingency ?.

Thanks

My main bank account is Haliax, as is my preferred credit card. While I believe these live on different platforms, in the same way your Lloyds TSB debit and credit cards are separated, there are still other risks such as an over-zealous anti-fraud staff member blocking both.

I also carry a Barclaycard and a Tesco Credit Card and just use them occasionally, together with a building society ATM card.

In your position I'd get a second credit card, use it once every couple of months for minor purchases and clear the balance in full. And keep it with you at all times just in case.

The vast majority of IT failures are short lived and at worst mildly inconvenient. But machines are made by men and women. Who are fallible.

Pincher

People who travel a bit already know the horror of credit cards being declined just because you are overseas, so having multiple forms of payment is standard practice.

The problem is redundancy (back up) costs money. In order to qualify for free banking, you need to keep a minimum amount in the account, or charges start appearing. You also need to pay-in a minimum amount every month. I find two current accounts enough of a handful already, and certainly don't have thousands to sit in more current accounts just to keep them free banking.