RBS payment difficulties

[Oswyntail]

Last night there was yet another banking IT failure, which meant that, from early evening onward, users of RBS and Natwest cards (along with other banks who use their facilities) could not use them, either for payment or to obtain cash. There are stories of people being stranded, unable to top up Oysters or pay on trains, with some even thrown off trains.
Did TOCs take any action to handle this situation, such as notifying anyone in a revenue handling function? What approach was taken, and was it correct?

 

[bb21]

Did the bank notify the TOCs as to what had happened?

There are stories of people being stranded, unable to top up Oysters or pay on trains, with some even thrown off trains.

Which hopefully shows some of the more hardcore forum members how important it is to have at least some cash on them.

 

[YorkshireBear]

The TOCs were aware, as visible on their twitter feed but what can they do? Just let people travel for free? Suppose it is not peoples fault if they cant pay.

 

[Ministry Man]

The TOCs were aware, as visible on their twitter feed but what can they do? Just let people travel for free? Suppose it is not peoples fault if they cant pay.

Even the Queen allegedly carries a tenner in her purse in case of emergencies

 

[Moonshot]

Wow ....I hadnt seen this.....my own Natwest card failed in a local supermarket earlier, despite the fact there are funds in there.

 

[northwichcat]

Even the Queen allegedly carries a tenner in her purse in case of emergencies

Didn't know they had a ticket inspector on the Royal Train!

 

[TheEdge]

Didn't know they had a ticket inspector on the Royal Train!

Yep. And Prince Phillip has 7 outstanding UFNs.

 

[Oswyntail]

....
Which hopefully shows some of the more hardcore forum members how important it is to have at least some cash on them.

And when the cash machines are affected as well?

 

[WelshBluebird]

In this situation couldn't the payments be done on the machines guard use on board trains? Or would these still be affected (despite the fact they are "offline" machines)?

 

[maniacmartin]

And when the cash machines are affected as well?

Well they should obviously get the cash before the IT failure.

This is a poor show from RBS, when their failure lasting a few weeks is still fresh in peoples' minds. I reiterate my previous advice - hold cards from at least 2 different banking groups, and also some emergency cash!

 

[Harlesden]

Last night there was yet another banking IT failure, which meant that, from early evening onward, users of RBS and Natwest cards (along with other banks who use their facilities) could not use them, either for payment or to obtain cash. There are stories of people being stranded, unable to top up Oysters or pay on trains, with some even thrown off trains.
Did TOCs take any action to handle this situation, such as notifying anyone in a revenue handling function? What approach was taken, and was it correct?

Do you have a source for this claim? If true, it would surely make headlines in the national press.

 

[talltim]

Emergency Krugerrands sown into the lining of your coat are the answer...

 

[ModernRailways]

The best one I saw was someone who said to an inspector 'My card wasn't accepted in the ticket machine'. He told her she would be given a penalty fare, and that the bank should pay it for her. She then asked 'Can I pay it now?' the inspector looked at her weirdly and said 'Yes.' She promptly took out a £20 note and handed it over. He told her 'You can use cash to buy a ticket from a machine.' Her response 'Yeah, and?'. Unbelievable that someone could be so stupid.

 

[Moonshot]

The TOCs were aware, as visible on their twitter feed but what can they do? Just let people travel for free? Suppose it is not peoples fault if they cant pay.

Years ago I used to be a retail manager with a major supermarket group.....on the extremely rare occasions that EPOS ( ie the till scanning equipment ) failed, we had a procedure of estimating what shoppers had in their trolleys and asking for payment accordingly. This was actually great news for the shopper as we invariably discounted significantly as a gesture of goodwill.

If that IT failure was prolonged, the Store Manager had the power to close the shop doors until normal service was resumed.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Well NatWest online banking seems to be working again and no cash missing

 

[Aldaniti]

Unbelievable that someone could be so stupid.

Not really, thousands of them roam the streets of Britain every day. The frighting thing is that they're given the vote.

I've been a Williams & Glyn's and then RBS customer for over 25 years and they have never let me down. I don't tend to carry much cash but I do carry a cash card for a savings account held with a completely different banking group.

 

[bb21]

And when the cash machines are affected as well?

A bit late to start thinking about taking some cash out when things start going wrong. It never rains...

 

[W230]

Last night there was yet another banking IT failure, which meant that, from early evening onward, users of RBS and Natwest cards (along with other banks who use their facilities) could not use them, either for payment or to obtain cash. There are stories of people being stranded, unable to top up Oysters or pay on trains, with some even thrown off trains.
Did TOCs take any action to handle this situation, such as notifying anyone in a revenue handling function? What approach was taken, and was it correct?

Do you have a source for this claim? If true, it would surely make headlines in the national press.

But you could give this example to any retail situation. :?

You're trying to pay for a meal at a restaurant after you've eaten. Your cards don't work. Should the restaurant let you have the meal for free?

That seems to be the opinion of some posters with regards to rail travel!

 

[CNash]

The best one I saw was someone who said to an inspector 'My card wasn't accepted in the ticket machine'. He told her she would be given a penalty fare, and that the bank should pay it for her. She then asked 'Can I pay it now?' the inspector looked at her weirdly and said 'Yes.' She promptly took out a £20 note and handed it over. He told her 'You can use cash to buy a ticket from a machine.' Her response 'Yeah, and?'. Unbelievable that someone could be so stupid.

Not stupid, "enterprising". If she pays the penalty fare and claims it back off her bank, she's had a free train journey. If she buys a ticket with cash, she hasn't.

 

[Oswyntail]

...
You're trying to pay for a meal at a restaurant after you've eaten. Your cards don't work. Should the restaurant let you have the meal for free?

That seems to be the opinion of some posters with regards to rail travel!

So what should be done? After all, a passenger may have tried, legitimately and in good faith, to purchase a ticket on board but had their card unexpectedly refused. If the TOC knew about the banking trouble, and the likely occurrence of card failures, would it communicate with on-board staff, or condone more draconian action? Did any TOC take any action?

 

[Lockwood]

Even the Queen allegedly carries a tenner in her purse in case of emergencies

I thought that was in case she got asked for ID when buying fags and booze

 

[route:oxford]

But you could give this example to any retail situation. :?

You're trying to pay for a meal at a restaurant after you've eaten. Your cards don't work. Should the restaurant let you have the meal for free?

That seems to be the opinion of some posters with regards to rail travel!

Merchants can still process the transaction manually and without an authorisation code...

(It is a contractual requirement between Merchant and Amex/Visa/Mastercard) that there is always a provision for manual processing.)

Personally, like other posters I would never carry just the cards of a single banking group.

 

[Carlisle]

I thought that was in case she got asked for ID when buying fags and booze

I guess your right cos if the fault reoccurs it won't be enough to cover her return fare to Sandringham at Christmas

 

[Tetchytyke]

You're trying to pay for a meal at a restaurant after you've eaten. Your cards don't work. Should the restaurant let you have the meal for free?

That seems to be the opinion of some posters with regards to rail travel!

A sensible restaurant would probably take down your details and send you the invoice in the post, providing you had proof of your identity.

The railways have a process for this already, called an Unpaid Fares Notice. It wouldn't be beyond the wit of man to do this for people who only have RBS Group cards given the publicity around the banking failure.

 

[northwichcat]

A sensible restaurant would probably take down your details and send you the invoice in the post, providing you had proof of your identity.

Some restaurant chains have loyalty cards so if the customer had one of these then it would make that process much easier.

 

[gordonthemoron]

has RBS provided a believable excuse (rather than the vague computer glitch)?

 

[northwichcat]

has RBS provided a believable excuse (rather than the vague computer glitch)?

The new chief executive has said under previous management the IT system had not had enough investment and said he will outline a plan of actions in the new year after a detailed analysis of the problem has been carried out. The exact cause of the problem won't be revealed until that analysis has been carried out.

 

[IanXC]

has RBS provided a believable excuse (rather than the vague computer glitch)?

All I've heard them say is, it wasn't what happened last time (they've not said what that was either) and it wasn't the sheer volume of transactions.

 

[gordonthemoron]

what happened last time looked suspiciously like a very poor software upgrade, this looks different (we in IT don't do large upgrades mid week)

 

[yorkie]

But you could give this example to any retail situation. :?

You're trying to pay for a meal at a restaurant after you've eaten. Your cards don't work. Should the restaurant let you have the meal for free?

That seems to be the opinion of some posters with regards to rail travel!

But you wouldn't be thrown out of the restaurant mid-meal, would you?

When it comes to pay, if there's a banking problem, then I expect arrangements would be made to take payment later when the problem is resolved.

The railways can make such arrangements, for example with the issuing of an 'Unpaid Fare Notice'. In reality it may not always be practicable to do so, but that's another matter.

So it's not correct to say passengers should be thrown off trains, and I wouldn't expect that to happen. If it has, then I'd be interested to know the details and would provide any assistance possible to ensuring the complaint is dealt with appropriately.