SANTANDER’S online services have returned to normal, after hundreds of customers were locked out of their accounts.
At its peak there were 1,771 reported issues as of 9am, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.
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Among the complaints, 78% related to customers struggling with their mobile banking, 22% with online banking and 1% with credit cards.
The number of reports has gone down as of 11.40am and Santander has reported the app is back up and running.
A spokesperson said: “The Mobile App is now working normally.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused this morning and thank you for your patience.”
People were complaining on social media that they couldn’t get online.
One said on Twitter: “Is your app down? I can’t get into it and need to access my account urgently.”
Another wrote: “Is your app down? I can’t connect either through WiFi or 4G! Everything else is fine!”
One man also said: “Is your app down by any chance, can’t even log on online as I need the app to authenticate.
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“Not a very good system if the app is down though eh?”
It comes after HSBC’s bank app and online service appeared to crash last week leaving thousands without access.
The last time Santander experienced widespread issues was in September when its online services went down for several hours.
Can I claim compensation for an outage?
Banks aren’t obliged to pay compensation to customers if there’s been an outage or if they’ve experienced technical issues.
But you might be entitled to some money back depending on how much the disruption affected you.
You’ll have to present evidence of how the outage negatively affected you, including any extra costs incurred through possible late payment fees.
You should make a note of when you were unable to access the services and the names of the people you spoke to at the company that suffered the outage.
You can find more detail about how to complain to Santander on its website.
If your bank doesn’t resolve any complaint, you can take your case up with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
It is an independent body which will resolve any issues based on what it thinks is “fair and reasonable” depending on the circumstances of the case.
The service can resolve your issue over the phone, by email or post depending on what best suits you.
In the case of an IT system outage at a bank, the FOS says any compensation you may receive will be dependent on your circumstances and whether you lost any money as a result.
If it finds the bank was at fault, you may see any fees, charges or fines reimbursed.
