MPs praise banks and building societies for IT failure responses

A group of MPs has praised banks and building societies for how they have responded to recent IT failures.

According to the Treasury Committee, there have been at least 158 banking IT failure incidents at nine of the UK’s top banks and building societies in the last two years.

During this time, there were at least 803 hours of unplanned outages - the equivalent of more than 33 days.

Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said people’s frustration when technology fails is “completely valid”.

However, she stressed that she is “reassured” that banks are doing all they can to minimise the impact on their customers and “grateful” for their response.

“Even the most successful banks and building societies hit technical glitches,” Dame Meg commented.

“What’s critical is they react swiftly and ensure customers are kept informed throughout.”

She added that she is “particularly thankful to those who are compensating their customers well for the stress they endure”.

What to do if you’ve missed a payment

If a technical problem has led to you missing a payment, you should gather evidence of the problems it has caused. 

This could be an email or letter from a service provider confirming you’ve missed a payment and what fees you’re being charged as a result.

Once you’ve got this proof, complain to your bank and include your evidence. 

In your complaint, make sure you ask them to cover your losses and do everything they can to resolve the situation.

This means making sure you’re not in a worse position than you were before the missed payment.

If you’re not happy with your bank’s response, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.