The bank outage left people unable to pay for necessities from food to rent to taxes (Image: GETTY)
The recent outage at Barclays Bank, which began on January 31 and lasted until February 3, had a significant impact on customers. Some were left without their monthly wages, while others incurred £100 fines from for missing the self-assessment tax return deadline due to the technical glitch.
One family from Uxbridge even found themselves homeless as a result of the outage. They had recently sold their house and planned to purchase a new property in West Sussex on Friday.
The family told the that they were “in limbo” without a home until the issue was resolved and their funds could be transferred to complete the sale. However, customers are not without recourse if they are left out of pocket due to a bank outage.
It is crucial, however, that customers begin this process during the technical issue and retain any evidence of costs they incurred as a result of the outage.
:
This can include screenshots, receipts, relevant emails or letters, according to . Customers may be able to request that the bank restore them to the financial position they would have been in had the problem not occurred.
It might be beneficial to reach out to other firms you may now owe money to as a result of payments not going through, to see if a solution can be found with them.
Regrettably, for those affected by the Barclays issue, has confirmed it will not offer refunds of penalties and interest charged on overdue tax, as the delay was not caused by an error in their systems.
You may also be able to request goodwill compensation from the bank with the problem if you feel you have suffered emotional or other damages and inconveniences. If a request doesn’t yield results, you may be able to lodge a formal complaint.
Don’t miss… [UPDATE]
If the bank hasn’t responded to your complaint within a set number of weeks – eight weeks for Barclays – or you are dissatisfied with the response, you can escalate it to the Financial Ombudsman Service as a last resort. The Ombudsman is free to use and has the power to order banks to pay monetary compensation.
The MSE experts also issued an urgent warning about scammers who may be exploiting the situation. They advised people to always contact the bank directly to verify any communications.
Barclays has stated that it is actively trying to contact customers who may have been left vulnerable due to the issue “and will ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket”. They are also working on updating accounts following payment delays.