Ulster Bank Systems are down *READ* Mod post #291

Solair

I would say it's simply a case of scale and priorities.

Ulster Bank's tiny, in terms of current account customers, compared to NatWest.

NatWest: 1600 Branches and 7.5 million customers.
Ulster Bank: 146 branches in the Republic of Ireland and 90 in Northern Ireland. 1.9 million customers.

RBS Scotland (the retail operation) about 700 branches.

Ulster Bank's the smallest entity within that group, and it's complicated by the fact it's operating across two currencies and sets of banking infrastructure too.

Also, the British tabloid media would do a LOT more damage to RBS' global image than the Irish equivalent would. So, I would assume that's also driving their priorities. You don't want to be on the wrong side of the entire UK media, where as causing media outrage in Ireland's a bit less of worry.

tunedout

I'm due to be paid tonight. My account is with Ulster Bank. Anyone know if it will be in my account in the morning?

pl4ichjgy17zwd

tunedout wrote: »

I'm due to be paid tonight. My account is with Ulster Bank. Anyone know if it will be in my account in the morning?

Mine was due in last night and didn't come through...think it's a case of luck of the draw...

1966

tunedout wrote: »

I'm due to be paid tonight. My account is with Ulster Bank. Anyone know if it will be in my account in the morning?

Not a hope i'd say.
if your account is with Ulster then you can go to branch with ID & Payslip and they should see you right. If not your own bank should look after you.

Caseywhale

I imagine there are people out there who have balances on their credit cards with other banks, which they cant pay now. Interest will be applied and it will cost them.
I hope Ulsterbank are going to pay this interest.

thewheel2.0

Wow this thread is long. Quick questions:

Whats the general opinion should we all move banks now?

What bank should we move to that has a good online banking system, visa debit and no charges?

How much money can you take out with a payslip?

Im getting paid tonight for the first time in my new job, I'm broke and really screwed

Esoteric_

My pay from last week (coming from an UB account to my AIB account) came through today, 6 days later. Wasn't expecting it to come through at all and had been living on money I borrowed from my sister, so it was a nice surprise when I checked my account online an hour ago.

Due to be paid a fairly substantial sum tomorrow though, for a few weeks of holidays that I'm owed, so it better come through because I'm doing things this weekend that require money!

I guess UB are looking after other bank customers first, since I'm with AIB and got my wages from last week, whereas the UB customers seem to be getting nothing yet.

I understand that it takes time to fix the issue and the backlogs, but ffs, the middle of next week is absolutely unacceptable. I know that they need a chance to rectify the issues, but two weeks is a ridiculous amount of time to inconvenience people for. The fact of the matter is, this isn't a simple error in the sense that people NEED money to survive, and with the economy the way it is at the moment, how can they expect people who can't make it to the banks with payslips due to unsocial working hours or whatever to survive without money for two weeks? Especially those who get paid monthly. UB need to pull the finger out. It's completely unacceptable.

Esoteric_

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Wow this thread is long. Quick questions:

Whats the general opinion should we all move banks now?

What bank should we move to that has a good online banking system, visa debit and no charges?

How much money can you take out with a payslip?

Im getting paid tonight for the first time in my new job, I'm broke and really screwed

1. I don't think it makes much of a difference. I doubt a glitch of this enormity will happen again, but things like this could hit any bank at any time. It's a stupid human error. Personally, I don't see any real need to change banks. That said, I WOULD change banks if I were with UB, simply for peace of mind.

I don't know which banks have visa debit, but I find AIB to be very good and their online and mobile banking is very straightforward and easy to use.

I think (but could be wrong) that UB are allowing customers to take around 300 euro, with a payslip and photo ID. I'd say it depends on your income though. I'm sure if you're waiting on over a grand, they'd allow five or six hundred.

testicle

AIB -> UBL transfers seem to be happening as normal overnight

thewheel2.0

LyndaMcL wrote: »

I think (but could be wrong) that UB are allowing customers to take around 300 euro, with a payslip and photo ID. I'd say it depends on your income though. I'm sure if you're waiting on over a grand, they'd allow five or six hundred.

Ive been working for over 6 weeks unpaid cause its a new job and paid monthly. So almost 2 grand Im waiting on. Id want 500 at least tomorrow!

Anyway I just want a good bank that has visa debit and updates their statements swiftly (On a normal week UB takes ages to get visa transactions into your statement).

Red Crow

1) Was due to be paid last Thursday morning which has not gone through
2) Due to be paid again tomorrow morning and I don't expect to see any of that
3) €100 goes missing from my account unexplained. I rang UB to fix this. They said they would ring back within the hour. That was at 10 A.M. and still no call.


Bye bye Ulster Bank.

den87

Getting paid in cash off the employer tomorrow, on hols next week and don't wanna spend a week hanging round waiting for money.

Probably put said cash into a tsb account I never got around to closing.

Akvavit

Quick question for those that have gone down to a branch, to get some money based on payslips and picture ID.

Have there been any mentions about how much can be taken out - I have 2 weeks worth of pay pending somewhere in the system - roughly 900€ - and rent coming up Friday.

Would it be expected that one could take out 600 for rent, and "just in case money" for next week (as I am not really certain that the whole "back up start next week" holds much water.

irishgeo

What's the story with claiming back interest I am owed due to this mess. Normally paid on Wednesday from UB to my BOI account. I have lost out on 1 days interest because of this, maybe more. How would I go about claiming this back.
A complaint to the regulator would be interesting?

natty_asha

I just love how its reported on RTE that they are prioritising credit payments first and then standing orders and dd yet my account is showing a balance of -€240 because all my dd and s/o from last week have being updated today but I'm still waiting on my husbands wages from last thurs!

Also I noticed that the s/o for my online savings acc with ulster bank left my current account but hasn't appeared in my savings account.

Such a load of bull!!!

Resi12

This is ludicrous at this stage and the fact there is no answer still. Awful. I'm not even affected thankfully, well I was looking to purchase something but can't now because it can't go through. Obviously it's not near as bad as people who can't withdraw money but it's still a pain none the less.

The_fever

Another day in a caravan in the country with three young kids and an ulster bank debit card, still no sign of money this morning waiting a good while now so decided to ring them. My branch is in Dublin, nearest branch to where I am is over sixty miles away. I explained my predicament to them. Within an hour they were arranging for me to be picked up In a taxi taken the sixty miles to branch be given cash and brought back in taxi. Could not have been more helpful, constant telephone calls from them makIng sure everything in order. Really really impressed. I chose to borrow money for diesel and drive , they refunded the diesel money. Big well done to all the staff who made that happen for us today . They have kept a customer.

bluebell76

Akvavit

With your pay slip + id you can withdraw €500 providing payslip is for at least this. if you need more I would suggest you ask your employer to contact their business a/c manager & they can arrange for you get more money from your local branch.

bluebell76

has anyone been in touch with any of the companies they have direct debits with? I contacted a few as I didnt want to be cut off if I didnt pay in time. They advised me if the transaction didnt go through to pay by a different method! I dont want to pay twice as UB says it will be processed but cant undo it!!

Islander13

irishgeo wrote: »

What's the story with claiming back interest I am owed due to this mess. Normally paid on Wednesday from UB to my BOI account. I have lost out on 1 days interest because of this, maybe more. How would I go about claiming this back.
A complaint to the regulator would be interesting?

Please, people are going to have genuine problems to resolve without people clogging up phone lines looking for miniscule interest amounts

irishgeo

Islander13 wrote: »

irishgeo wrote: »

What's the story with claiming back interest I am owed due to this mess. Normally paid on Wednesday from UB to my BOI account. I have lost out on 1 days interest because of this, maybe more. How would I go about claiming this back.
A complaint to the regulator would be interesting?

Please, people are going to have genuine problems to resolve without people clogging up phone lines looking for miniscule interest amounts

I am aware of that. When the dust settles. If the shoe was on the other foot the bank don't be long looking for their overdraft interest and their piece of flesh.

dashboard_hula

I'm due to be paid tonight and probably won't see it. I'm on the lash tomorrow night (exam results wheeeee) and I'll be down there with my ID, my bank card and my blood type. I've a pretty small branch, so I had them well told to expect me Thursday and they promised me solemnly that I would be able to get drunk.

cyrusdvirus

The_fever wrote: »

Another day in a caravan in the country with three young kids and an ulster bank debit card, still no sign of money this morning waiting a good while now so decided to ring them. My branch is in Dublin, nearest branch to where I am is over sixty miles away. I explained my predicament to them. Within an hour they were arranging for me to be picked up In a taxi taken the sixty miles to branch be given cash and brought back in taxi. Could not have been more helpful, constant telephone calls from them makIng sure everything in order. Really really impressed. I chose to borrow money for diesel and drive , they refunded the diesel money. Big well done to all the staff who made that happen for us today . They have kept a customer.

Wow.... That's damn impressive!! And i mean that

warlikedave

ULSTERBANK LAUNCHES A NEW AD CAMPAIGN

BuffyBot

irishgeo wrote: »

What's the story with claiming back interest I am owed due to this mess. Normally paid on Wednesday from UB to my BOI account. I have lost out on 1 days interest because of this, maybe more. How would I go about claiming this back.
A complaint to the regulator would be interesting?

Do you mean the payment is going into a interest bearing/savings account? They payment should arrive with the correct date on it even if it is applied late so you shouldn't lose out in theory. Even If not, then maybe see if BOI will adjust it for you in consideration of the problems UB encountered (I'd be surprised if you have to, but however..) if all that fails then I'd contact UB. They've already confirmed that if someone had encountered a demonstrable loss from this they'll make it right.

Ulster Bank's the smallest entity within that group, and it's complicated by the fact it's operating across two currencies and sets of banking infrastructure too.

I think Isle of Man Bank and Coutts and Co would lay claim to that crown

prettyrestless

tunedout wrote: »

I'm due to be paid tonight. My account is with Ulster Bank. Anyone know if it will be in my account in the morning?

I doubt it. Still waiting for my wages from Friday

Capri

Davidth88 wrote: »

The reason Natwest/RBS were fixed first.... The UK Gvmt own RBS ... he who pays the piperman.

Also the Irish Central Bank and regulator don't give a monkey's .... have you heard anything from them or the gvmt about this ?

No because they are too busy cosying up to the banks just like they did in 2008.

Maybe done already -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/banking/9358252/RBS-computer-failure-caused-by-inexperienced-operative-in-India.html

RBS computer failure 'caused by inexperienced operative in India'

The computer glitch at the Royal Bank of Scotland which left millions of customers unable to access their accounts could have been caused by just one junior technician in India, it was suggested last night

The “inexperienced operative” accidentally wiped information during a routine software upgrade, it has been claimed.

The member of staff, who was working on the programme for the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Ulster Bank, is believed to have been based in Hyderabad, India.

According to technology website The Register, at least some of the team responsible for the error were recruited in India following redundancies in the department in the UK.

Unions have already blamed the fiasco on the decision to outsource much of the company’s IT jobs, as Indian staff are paid as little as £9,000, compared with £50,000 their British counterparts were paid.

Stephen Hester, chief executive of RBS, said that there was “no evidence” that outsourcing had caused the problems.

He said: “The IT centre in Edinburgh is our main centre, it is nothing to do with overseas. Things go wrong. Things go wrong in technology.

“We have to learn the lessons from what went wrong here and try to make then less likely to happen in the future.”

The error is understood to have occurred after a software update froze part of the banks’ computer systems last Wednesday, affecting 17 million customers.

Although the problem was resolved on Friday, it created a backlog of more than 100 million transactions that were not paid in or out of bank accounts as they should have been.

Deleted information then had to be painstakingly re-entered into the bank group’s computer system.

A source, who worked for RBS for “several years”, told the Register an “inexperienced operative” had made an error while performing the relatively routine task of backing out of an upgrade.

He said: “When they did the back-out, a major error was made. An inexperienced person cleared the whole queue ... they erased all the scheduling.”

RBS have not yet commented on the claims.

The bank has already promised customers will be reimbursed for the cost of fines or late payment fees incurred as a result of the delays. Banking experts said that the cost to RBS of dealing with the IT problems, including extra staff costs as well as the money to reimburse customers, is already likely to be between £50 million and £100 million.

Mr Hester has also admitted that the bonuses of senior members of RBS staff are likely to be reduced because of the incident.

He said: “All of us are judged in part by customer service, from me on downwards. And we should be.”

Earlier this year Mr Hester was forced to waive a share bonus worth £963,000 after a public outcry and political pressure.

The Financial Services Authority said: “We will expect RBS-NatWest to provide us with a complete account of the issues once this is fully resolved and to take any necessary steps to ensure that the risks of these problems occurring again are addressed.”

pl4ichjgy17zwd

Mr Hester has also admitted that the bonuses of senior members of RBS staff are likely to be reduced because of the incident.

Oh no, their poor bonuses :rolleyes: Not like the whole thing has left thousands of people with absolutely nothing

chasm

Megan Bitter Sparkler wrote: »

Oh no, their poor bonuses :rolleyes: Not like the whole thing has left thousands of people with absolutely nothing

That guy has some nerve! It shouldn't be reduced it should be lost altogether.

hairyprincess

How bloody typical that they would put the blame on one little techy.

Utterly pathetic. Take responsibility senior staff :mad: