DOWN AND OUT
Halifax bank app went down with customers unable to log into accounts
Find out what you can do if you can't access your money
HALIFAX customers reported being unable to access their banking app earlier today.
Customers reported encountering error messages when attempting to open the app or experiencing difficulties making payments.
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More than 1,000 reports were made on Downdetector, which monitors website and app outages.
Over half of the reported issues were related to the app, around a third involved the website, and the remainder were login problems within the app.
Dozens of people complained about the issue on social media.
One customer wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "@HalifaxBank can't log in using the mobile app? Is it down?"
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Another said: "Unable to log into the app now for several hours… same error code!"
A third person added: "@HalifaxBank app won’t allow me to make any payments, logged out a few times, now can’t get back in - what's happening, seems to be an issue as other people tweeting."
A spokesperson for the bank said the app and website are now back up and running.
"We know it took some customers a bit longer than usual to get logged on for a short time this morning, with customers able to do so after waiting a few extra moments, or giving it another try," they said.
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Earlier this morning, Nationwide customers were hit with tech issues that left them unable to receive payments.
Customers first complained about problems last night, saying their payments had been listed as pending in the mobile app.
More than 200 complaints were logged on Downdetector but Nationwide now says the issue has been resolved.
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Halifax and Lloyds customers also suffered an outage last week, with more than 2,000 reports made.
Lloyds Banking Group, which owns both Halifax and Lloyds Bank, said the outage was a planned test that lasted just a few minutes and was later halted.
More than £1million has been paid out to banking customers hit by IT outages over the last two years.
Data shared by the Treasury Committee in March found customers of the UK's nine biggest banks and building societies had experienced a total of 33 days' worth of outages in that time.
Lloyds Banking Group said it had paid out £160,000 following 13 incidents.
What to do if you can't access your money
If you can't access your money and you need to urgently, here's what to do:
- Visit your local branch as soon as you can.
- If you can't get there, or it is closed, call your bank and ask for its guidance on what to do.
- If the bank’s phone services are also down or busy, try contacting your bank on social media to ask what to do. But remember: don’t ever share your account details over social media.
- Try to do this on the day the problem arises so you can show you made every attempt to solve the issue.
- If you still can't access your money, begin gathering evidence for a complaint.
Can I claim compensation for an outage?
Banks don't have to pay out compensation to customers if there's been an outage or if they've experienced technical issues.
However you could be entitled to some money back depending on how much the disruption affected you.
You'll need to gather evidence about how you were negatively affected if you want to make a claim.
This could include any extra costs incurred, for example if you were charged for making a payment late.
You should make a note of when you were unable to access the services and the names of anyone you spoke to in the company while you were experiencing the outage.
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Your bank's website should have details about how to complaint.
If the bank doesn't resolve your complaint then you can take up the case with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
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