Locked out of accounts

bouicca21

I do my banking online, using an iPad. I bought a new iPad and discovered that this created difficulty in accessing my accounts. One bank made the process straightforward. The other locked me out completely and sent me into a loop every time I tried to regain access. Since I have biometrics set up on this account you would think regaining access would be easy. But no.

I followed all the instructions, I went through the chat bot, I got passed to a real person and followed their instructions. This is an entirely online account for which i do not have a debit Card. There are no bank branches in my particular suburb, so I travelled half an hour to the nearest branch, waited half an hour to see someone, spent another 30 minutes explaining the problem with the loop. It has now been escalated to their technical people because no one can explain why this is happening.

I might get an answer later today, but I will have been locked out of this account for a week and unable to make pay a large bill that is due. There isn’t enough in my other bank to pay it.

Is it reasonable to ask for compensation for the hassle? stress apart, I have spent the equivalent of a full day on this including a wasted an afternoon trying to get a solution in branch. And if it is, how much should I ask for?

Gandalf644

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6686045/locked-out-of-accounts

Have you still got your old iPad and are able to access the account via that?

Are you able to access via mobile phone or website as opposed to app?

I had to exchange my then brand new iPad last year at Apple as it had a fault in the user facing lens which had the same effect as you say as it distorted everything including facial recognition. I have had no problems with the exchanged iPad.

bouicca21

no, no and no.

I transfered all info from old iPad to the new one, then wiped it. Mobile phone app, iPad app, website all went into the same loop.

flaneurs_lobster

Your money is locked into an account which you cannot access.

You have another account which you can access.

When you went to the bank branch and they were unable to help access your account using your iPad, why didn't you ask them to transfer funds to your alternative bank account?

Are you not able to contact the bank and ask for funds to be transferred or for them to pay the bill that is due?

What bank account is this? No debit card, allows bill payments, has branches.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82162230#Comment_82162230

I’d wager that a bank with branches will have telephone banking as well.

Another option; the account might have a chequebook: write a cheque to yourself from this “locked” account and deposit it (using its app?) in the other.

gt94sss2

Biometrics tend to be stored per device and not centrally for security reasons.

You have a totally online account but were able to go to a branch? It would help if you named the institutions..

Do you not have a username/password for that account?

As for compensation, I would say no - as it sounds like user error rather than something they have done

flaneurs_lobster

As for compensation, I would say no - as it sounds like user error rather than something they have done

Maybe worry about getting access to your money and getting outstanding bills paid before any consideration of compensation (which will almost certainly not be applicable).

The error is on your part by not ensuring that you had access to your account on your new device before removing access from the old.

Not really clear but are you saying that installing the bank's app on a new iPad has stopped access from the old iPad, your phone and the bank's website?

bouicca21

yes installation on a new iPad has somehow blocked access from phone and website. If it were user error I would expect the customer service people to be able to unblock it and they can’t. It’s RBS and the branch is a NatWest.

I don’t use this account by cheque or visa because it is for household expenses that are either on direct debit or need a bank transfer. It may seem an odd system to others but it helps me budget.

Kicking myself now that I didn’t ask them to transfer the money to the other bank. So obvious a solution, just didnt think of it.

flaneurs_lobster

Kicking myself now that I didn’t ask them to transfer the money to the other bank. So obvious a solution, just didnt think of it.

They MIGHT still be able to if you ring them.

Odd problem, I run the RBS app on three devices without issue.

Can only think that something that is common across devices at the account level has become changed or corrupted, so password or passcode or the selfie video that RBS have stored.

TadleyBaggie

I've switched Apple devices several times since using banking apps and have never had this issue. Biometrics is a red herring, as it simply provides a more convenient method to authenticate the device/user. There should always be an underlying method for authenticating that is device independent.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82162329#Comment_82162329

..before any consideration of compensation (which will almost certainly not be applicable)

The OP said - "..so I travelled half an hour to the nearest branch, waited half an hour to see someone, spent another 30 minutes explaining the problem with the loop. It has now been escalated to their technical people because no one can explain why this is happening." - so it seems a bit premature to rule out the posibility of a service failure (which might justify some form of compensation).

Making a formal complaint is sometimes the best way of getting issues like this resolved promptly.