British bank TSB says it will fix days-long transaction troubles tonight
(2021/05/07)
- Reference: 1620405869
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/05/07/tsb_online_and_app_banking/
- Source link:
TSB admitted today it still hadn't fixed a transaction processing issue that has for days held up customers' payments, with users continuing to have issues at the time of publication.
We're told the transaction hold-up, which the Edinburgh-based bank said was linked to debit accounts, would be resolved "overnight." It did claim to have fixed a "temperamental" technical fault preventing some customers from accessing their online accounts, however.
Reg readers who double up as customers of TSB – once known as the [1]comedy bank because of the frequency at which its web-based services fell over – maintained they were still having troubles logging onto the app or website, with some having experienced issues for days.
[2]
[3]
[4]
The website was telling punters: "Unfortunately we can't retrieve some of the account information you've requested right now. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please try later."
The app displayed the same message, "Sorry, we can't access your accounts at the moment. Please try later."
A quick hop onto the anger echo chamber that is Twitter shows a flood of complaints from customers about the problem dating back to 27 April.
Hi. I'm sorry to read that. Can you DM a little more information around what's happening, and whether you're getting any error messages please? Many thanks. Chris [5]https://t.co/9PZZ5xkDAD — TSB (@TSB) [6]April 27, 2021
The service wobbles continued into 28 April and have persisted ever since.
And yet again it goes down. [7]pic.twitter.com/9eLfUV9eL1 — Dan Hall (he / him) 🏳️🌈 (@LimehouseDan) [8]April 28, 2021
This transaction could not be processed
In addition to sporadic problems with getting into their accounts, customers told us that transactions made at the end of April have still not cleared.
"TSB users, including myself, have got a lot of pending transactions where we've used the debit card but they are yet to actually be debited from the account," said one Reg reader.
[9]
"I have 21 pending debt card transactions from the Bank Holiday weekend! Waiting on two refunds as well which have gotten caught up in the debacle…I wonder will it beat the [10]2018 outage ?"
Our reader isn't alone.
[11]@TSB how am I meant to pay bills when you don't really tell customers that there is a processing delay with card payments unless we check here or the status page but you don't put anything on the phone or the app. — Nathan Lewis (@NathanLewis1987) [12]May 7, 2021
Similar complaints were lodged on outage spotting site [13]isitdownrightnow.com , with one user grousing: "All payments I've made in the last week are still in my account pending. Rent, council tax are now late being paid. What's going on TSB.. it's a joke now."
A quick reset and Bob's your unc... nope, That's not working!
The bank told us: "Our credit card customers had intermittent issues during the week which are resolved. For any customers that are experiencing issues they need to restart the app or reset their credentials. We're asking customers to contact us so we can help them."
A Reg reader opined of this advice: "The [TSB] Twitter people [are] playing by the scripts wasting users' time by telling them to delete the app and re-install when it's clearly a server issue!"
Other users were equally unconvinced.
[14]@TSB when are you going to get the system up & running again so that we can use the on-line banking? Why is your system pretending it's the individual's fault? — Helen Millier (@millie464) [15]May 7, 2021
TSB said of the processing issue: "On debit cards, that's related to some pending transactions which have taken longer to clear and will be resolved overnight. It hasn't impacted use of debit cards or available balances in accounts."
The bank did not clarify whether it would be compensating people who were penalised for late payments. It is 7th of May today.
[16]
The backdrop to the latest wobbles at TSB is that the bank is [17]closing 120 branches , which, in combination with COVID restrictions, means that online services have become even more important. The company should be aware of the negative publicity that outages can generate, with the problems of 2018 having caused the [18]previous CEO to lose his job and [19]cost the bank £200m . ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2019/11/22/tsb/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://t.co/9PZZ5xkDAD
[6] https://twitter.com/TSB/status/1386980220385832963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://t.co/9eLfUV9eL1
[8] https://twitter.com/LimehouseDan/status/1387486757487263750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/27/tsb_reports_loss_100m_it_meltdown_cost_200m/
[11] https://twitter.com/TSB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[12] https://twitter.com/NathanLewis1987/status/1390646374979538946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[13] https://www.isitdownrightnow.com/tsb.co.uk.html
[14] https://twitter.com/TSB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[15] https://twitter.com/millie464/status/1390668919736881152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/12809606/tsb-bank-closures-list-jobs/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2018/09/04/tsb_boss_paul_pester_leaves/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/27/tsb_reports_loss_100m_it_meltdown_cost_200m/
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
We're told the transaction hold-up, which the Edinburgh-based bank said was linked to debit accounts, would be resolved "overnight." It did claim to have fixed a "temperamental" technical fault preventing some customers from accessing their online accounts, however.
Reg readers who double up as customers of TSB – once known as the [1]comedy bank because of the frequency at which its web-based services fell over – maintained they were still having troubles logging onto the app or website, with some having experienced issues for days.
[2]
[3]
[4]
The website was telling punters: "Unfortunately we can't retrieve some of the account information you've requested right now. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please try later."
The app displayed the same message, "Sorry, we can't access your accounts at the moment. Please try later."
A quick hop onto the anger echo chamber that is Twitter shows a flood of complaints from customers about the problem dating back to 27 April.
Hi. I'm sorry to read that. Can you DM a little more information around what's happening, and whether you're getting any error messages please? Many thanks. Chris [5]https://t.co/9PZZ5xkDAD — TSB (@TSB) [6]April 27, 2021
The service wobbles continued into 28 April and have persisted ever since.
And yet again it goes down. [7]pic.twitter.com/9eLfUV9eL1 — Dan Hall (he / him) 🏳️🌈 (@LimehouseDan) [8]April 28, 2021
This transaction could not be processed
In addition to sporadic problems with getting into their accounts, customers told us that transactions made at the end of April have still not cleared.
"TSB users, including myself, have got a lot of pending transactions where we've used the debit card but they are yet to actually be debited from the account," said one Reg reader.
[9]
"I have 21 pending debt card transactions from the Bank Holiday weekend! Waiting on two refunds as well which have gotten caught up in the debacle…I wonder will it beat the [10]2018 outage ?"
Our reader isn't alone.
[11]@TSB how am I meant to pay bills when you don't really tell customers that there is a processing delay with card payments unless we check here or the status page but you don't put anything on the phone or the app. — Nathan Lewis (@NathanLewis1987) [12]May 7, 2021
Similar complaints were lodged on outage spotting site [13]isitdownrightnow.com , with one user grousing: "All payments I've made in the last week are still in my account pending. Rent, council tax are now late being paid. What's going on TSB.. it's a joke now."
A quick reset and Bob's your unc... nope, That's not working!
The bank told us: "Our credit card customers had intermittent issues during the week which are resolved. For any customers that are experiencing issues they need to restart the app or reset their credentials. We're asking customers to contact us so we can help them."
A Reg reader opined of this advice: "The [TSB] Twitter people [are] playing by the scripts wasting users' time by telling them to delete the app and re-install when it's clearly a server issue!"
Other users were equally unconvinced.
[14]@TSB when are you going to get the system up & running again so that we can use the on-line banking? Why is your system pretending it's the individual's fault? — Helen Millier (@millie464) [15]May 7, 2021
TSB said of the processing issue: "On debit cards, that's related to some pending transactions which have taken longer to clear and will be resolved overnight. It hasn't impacted use of debit cards or available balances in accounts."
The bank did not clarify whether it would be compensating people who were penalised for late payments. It is 7th of May today.
[16]
The backdrop to the latest wobbles at TSB is that the bank is [17]closing 120 branches , which, in combination with COVID restrictions, means that online services have become even more important. The company should be aware of the negative publicity that outages can generate, with the problems of 2018 having caused the [18]previous CEO to lose his job and [19]cost the bank £200m . ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2019/11/22/tsb/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://t.co/9PZZ5xkDAD
[6] https://twitter.com/TSB/status/1386980220385832963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://t.co/9eLfUV9eL1
[8] https://twitter.com/LimehouseDan/status/1387486757487263750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/27/tsb_reports_loss_100m_it_meltdown_cost_200m/
[11] https://twitter.com/TSB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[12] https://twitter.com/NathanLewis1987/status/1390646374979538946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[13] https://www.isitdownrightnow.com/tsb.co.uk.html
[14] https://twitter.com/TSB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[15] https://twitter.com/millie464/status/1390668919736881152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YJW4eCvgY4lOY3CpjTbpaAAAAMo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/12809606/tsb-bank-closures-list-jobs/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2018/09/04/tsb_boss_paul_pester_leaves/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/27/tsb_reports_loss_100m_it_meltdown_cost_200m/
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Foxglove
Upvoted because I think you're right.
But really, why should they care?
The last screw up cost them money but that doesn't seem to have been a disincentive.
Paul Pester walked away with a chunk of cash so why wouldn't the current CEO?
Maybe they've employed the current CEO under a different contract so he feels some pain for presiding over failure, but I reckon he'll still get a decent wad if he's forced to walk the banking plank.
People have short memories and seem to accept this. Yes, they bleat on social media but then do nothing. El Reg readers excepted of course.
Korev
That's what the board are banking on...
$1bn contract with IBM
MCPicoli
As I predicted more than one year ago, TSB has now $1bn+ less and the same troubles (with some variation). Of course, NOTHING could go wrong by signing a contract for a company systems maintenance with IBM... Could be any other IT provider, doesn't matter if the company is disfunctional.
It sounds as though they are taking a similar route to the earlier debacle, denying there is a serious problem until everything has fallen apart.