NatWest banking app goes down leaving thousands unable to access their money
Thousands of people are struggling to log in to their NatWest banking app, leaving some unable to pay for food.
Problems began just after 9am before leaping to 3,136 affected customers in 20 minutes, according to the internet outage tracker Downdetector.
As of 10.51am, 1,475 NatWest customers say they cannot access their accounts via the app.
Users opening the app have received an error screen reading: ‘We’re sorry, some kind of error has occurred when trying to establish the connection between your device and ourselves.’
The message advised customers to close the mobile app and ‘try again’, adding that the error could be caused by a connection issue.
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People banking with NatWest say they have been locked out of their accounts.
One said on X: ‘This is ridiculous. I have just been to pay and I can’t even pay for my shopping due to the NatWest app being down.
‘I will be writing a full-on complaint, this is awful.’
Another added: ‘Need to travel to urgent medical appointment but can’t get there if my account isn’t working and the poxy app is down.’
Can I claim compensation when a bank goes down?
Banks don’t have to pay out compensation to customers when services break down.
Though, if the outage means you’re out of pocket, you might be able to.
All banks must offer reasonable access to personal and business accounts – if not, they must provide an alternative option.
Compensation is not automatic and you need to contact your bank and provide them with evidence. Some banks may offer a goodwill payment even if you haven’t suffered any financial losses.
Keep a record of the expenses you’ve incurred, such as a bill payment not going through and you’re charged a fee for missing it, and if your credit rating takes a hit because of this.
Make a note, too, of any customer service representatives you speak to during the outage. It’s all evidence when you lodge a complaint.
You generally can’t, however, claim compensation for emotional distress or non-financial losses. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does recommend that banks offer up to £100 for minor claims and £5,000 to vulnerable customers.
NatWest’s service staus page says: ‘Some of our customers are experiencing issues when trying to log in to our mobile app.
‘We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused and we’re working hard getting everything back up and running for you. We will share an update when we have more information.
‘In the meantime, please use Online Banking.’
All other NatWest services, including Bankline and Online Banking, are ‘working normally’.
Around 10million people use NatWest online banking. According to DownDetector, 9% of the complaints received concern it.
NatWest told Metro: ‘We are aware that customers are experiencing difficulties accessing the NatWest mobile banking app this morning.
‘We’re really sorry about this and [are] working to fix it as quickly as possible. Customers can still use online and telephone banking, or visit a branch.’
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