HUNDREDS of Santander, TSB and Natwest customers have been locked out of their accounts after the bank’s internet and mobile banking services went down.
The issues started early this morning and hundreds of customers have complained of problems, according to complaints tracker Downdetector.
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Complaints are about Santander, TSB and Natwest’s internet and mobile banking services – including the app.
The issue is hitting customers across many parts of the country, including London and the south west, as well as big cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow, according to Downdetector.
Furious customers took to social media to complain that had been locked out of their accounts.
One took to Twitter asking Santander: “What is going on with your app I can’t get on it.
“It keeps saying session timed out without even letting me on?”
Another tweeted Santander saying: “Looks like your server is down there is no access to mobile or internet banking?”
Many said they were getting an error message saying their session had timed out, and that the server was not responding.
To check whether services are down for you, banks usually have a dedicated page on their websites which show if any services are affected, including mobile, online and telephone banking as well as card payments.
Banks also regularly issue updates on social media, so Facebook and Twitter are worth checking for live updates.
You can also check websites such as DownDetector, which will tell you whether other people are experiencing problems with a particular company online.
The Sun asked all of the banks when the problem is expected to be resolved and we’ll update this article when we know more.
It’s not the first time this year that customers have been locked out of their accounts due to an outage.
Thousands of Santander customers couldn’t get on their app or log into their online account in May.
Some customers even claimed that they’ve had payments rejected in supermarkets and that their cards weren’t working.
Other banks have also run into technical difficulties with their internet banking services.
Last month, Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland customers were unable to access their accounts for hours after an outage.
While Barclaycard customers were also locked out of their accounts after the bank’s website and app run into difficulties in June.
Can you claim compensation for bank outages?
Unlike telecoms companies, banks do not have a fixed compensation scheme for service disruption, although depending on how much it has affected you, you may be entitled to some money back.
It is worth gathering evidence of your problems so you can make a formal complaint to Santander directly if you’ve been affected.
Try to make a note of when you were unable to access the website or app, plus any costs you incurred as a result.
If your credit rating has been affected by a service outage, because you got a late payment fee after being unable to make a transaction, for example, you should also keep a record of this.
If you spoke to anyone to try and resolve the problem, make a note of their name and when you spoke to them, as well as roughly what you discussed and what they advised you to do.
You can find out more details about how to complain to Santander on its website.
A Virgin Media broadband outage caused chaos for hundreds working from home last month.
While a Sky broadband service crash also left hundreds struggling to get online across parts of the country.
Here’s how to claim compensation for bank, app and card issues due to technical difficulties.
Ant and Dec transform into 1980s video game characters in hilarious new bank ad for Santander
