LOSING access to your bank’s website and mobile app can be extremely frustrating.
Hundreds of Co-operative bank customers have been left furious this morning (October 5) as an outage affected services.
According to DownDetector, over 550 users reported issues with the co-op site.
In response to a customer complaint on X (formerly Twitter), the bank said: “We’re currently experiencing an issue with our online services (Online Banking and Mobile App).
“I’m really sorry about any inconvenience this causes and I can assure you that we are working to get this resolved as quickly as possible.”
According to DownDetector, just under 60% of customers are facing issues with their online banking.
Just under 30% of users are also facing issues with their mobile banking.
We explain what to do if the Co-operative Bank goes down – and whether you’re due compensation.
How can I check if the Co-operative Bank is down?
The bank has a dedicated news page on its website to show service problems, including internet banking, mobile apps, ATMs, debit cards and credit cards.
You can also check on any future work they have planned and what it might mean for you.
Plus, you can check websites such as Down Detector, which will tell you whether other people are experiencing problems with a particular company online.
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 outages?
Unlike telecom companies, banks do not have a fixed compensation scheme for service disruption, although depending on how much it has affected you, you may be entitled to some money back.
It is worth gathering evidence of your problems so you can make a formal complaint to the bank directly.
Try to make a note of when you were unable to access the website or app, plus any costs you incurred as a result.
If your credit rating has been affected by a service outage, 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 find out more details about how to complain on the bank’s website.
What happens if the Co-operative Bank refuses to compensate me?
If you’re unhappy with how the bank dealt with your problem, you can contact the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
It is an independent body which will look at the evidence you present, and make a fair decision about the action a bank should take.
The FOS can usually get involved 15 days after you’ve raised concerns with the bank.
In the case of an IT system outage at a bank, the FOS says any compensation depends on your circumstances and whether you lost out as a result.
If it thinks you did, then it has the power to tell the bank to reimburse any fees, charges or fines you were hit with, for example, if you were unable to make a payment for a credit card bill or to your mortgage provider.
It could also tell a bank to pay you for any money you didn’t receive, such as interest, if you weren’t able to pay money in.
If your credit score was affected, it may tell the bank to correct your credit file.
The FOS might also tell the bank to reimburse you for any extra costs you had to make, such as phone calls or trips to your local branch, as well as a payment for any inconvenience it caused.
