High street bank with 3.1 million customers hit by glitch causing payments to be taken twice

12 June 2024 , 11:58

572     0

Co-op Bank has apologised after payments were taken twice from some accountsCredit: PA:Press Association

Customers at a high street bank have been left furious after being charged twice in a tech glitch.

People have complained to the Co-operative Bank that payments have been taken twice from some small business account holders.

One fuming customer on X, formerly Twitter, complained that they are “almost £5,000 down thanks to this with no resolution in sight”.

It is unclear how many accounts have been affected by the glitch.

The bank apologised to users on X.

Under one user’s post, it replied: “Our business team are aware of duplicate, historical transactions showing and they’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience and concern this has caused,” it added.

Co-op Bank’s website says it has about 96,000 small business customers and 3.1 million retail customers.

One person, claiming to be a customer, posted that they “have loads of duplicated transactions from months ago”.

Another wrote: “Can someone in authority please tell us what’s happened to our business account?

“We have been in overdraft all day and still waiting to hear from you.”

A third posted: “Utter shambles regarding duplicate historical transactions being taken from customer accounts without any notification from you this has happened.

“Thousands of £ out people’s accounts without even notifying customers. Tell us how this will be resolved?”

In a statement, Co-op Bank said: "We are aware there are a small number of SME account holders who have duplicated payments showing in their balances and are in the process of correcting this issue.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and are supporting customers during this period."

What are my rights if I’m charged twice?

It’s not clear yet how customers will be reimbursed.

It is worth gathering evidence of any problems so you can make a formal complaint to the bank directly if necessary.

Make a note of charges you had to pay because of the glitch, and any other costs you incurred.

This could include overdraft fees, or charges for rejected payments if you didn’t have enough cash in your account to cover a bill or payment.

If your credit rating has been affected 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 make a complaint to Co-op bank in a branch or online.

Think about how much you expect to be compensated, and when you expect to receive it and include it in your complaint.

Sophia Martinez