Banks Struggle To Tackle 'Glitch' Backlog - Sky News

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6:55am UK, Saturday June 23, 2012

Hundreds of Natwest and RBS branches will be open this weekend following a technical error that meant more than 12 million customers could not access their money.

The banks, which are part of the taxpayer-owned RBS group, will stay open until around 6pm on Saturday and many will be open again tomorrow in a bid to clear the backlog of transactions.

It remains unclear exactly when the issues will be completely resolved.

The repercussions have extended beyond the banks' own clients, with one couple who are not NatWest customers left unable to move into their new home.

Hundreds of customers have vented their frustration over the problems, with some finding payments had gone awry and others observing disappearing wages, or holidays and home purchases disrupted.

Account balances were not updated properly overnight, meaning credit and debit payments were not showing up as quickly as they should.

Meanwhile, concerns were raised over penalty charges, amid suggestions that thousands of customers could be hit with fines if their regular household bill payments - including mortgages - are affected.

The problems also extend to Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ulster Bank users.

All three banks are part of RBS Group, which is attempting to clear a raft of problems caused by the technical fault which it believes it has fixed.

The group has apologised and moved to quash fears over withdrawals, assuring customers their money is "in the system" and staff will be on hand in branches to help them access their cash.

It has pledged no one will be left out of pocket. Anyone who incurs penalties because of the problems has been urged to contact their branch.

A statement on the NatWest website read: "We would like to apologise to all of our customers who have been affected by our current technical issues.

"We appreciate that this has caused an unacceptable level of inconvenience, and we are working around the clock to fix this."