I hope you are enjoying yet another bank holiday weekend. That's only for people who are with NatWest though.Thanks to a computer glitch NatWest, RBS and the Ulster Bank haven't been letting people get access to their accounts. This has been causing havoc for thousands of customers, but I have been rather enjoying it. It's not like I have any money in there anyway; all they have done is deny me access to my overdraft.
And it's nice that the problems I have paying my bills are the bank's fault instead of mine. In fact I have sent NatWest a letter pointing out that they have been the reason I haven't paid my bills, and I charged the £30 for the letter. See how they like it.
I also plan to call my bank to make them aware of their cashflow problems. But before I'll let them talk to me I'll have to ask them a few security questions. Like, "What are the 3rd and 7th letters of NatWest's original name?"
NatWest has been forced to open branches for extra hours over the weekend to cope with the fall-out from an IT meltdown. Branches which normally operate on a Saturday morning will extend their hours until 6pm, as well as opening from 9am to noon on Sunday.
So, when push comes to shove they can open during the hours when people can use the branches, rather than just the normal hours they open in the weekend when everyone else it at work.
NatWest has apologised and said it is "working round the clock" to correct the problems.
Really? It's an IT problem. All they had to do was turn it off and turn it back on again.
Still, all of this mess has finally answered a question that's been bugging me for ages. "What would happen if the banks weren't run by bankers, but by doctors' receptionists instead."
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