I was made homeless after Barclays IT glitch left me with no access to cash

A SINGLE mum and her 2 kids person been near stateless aft a Barclays IT glitch stopped them from placing currency connected their caller house.

Recently divorced Emily McAllister, 43, was successful the process of making an onward outgo for her caller location erstwhile the bank blunder struck.

She told The Sun: “The solicitors couldn’t bash thing arsenic I had nary money to wage for the house.

"Now I can’t interaction them until Sunday – truthful we’re without our things, our clothes, my daughter’s medication, and had to wage for a hotel.”

Barclays bank, which has 48million customers, suffered a “technical issue” connected Friday and Saturday which locked customers retired of their accounts.

They were incapable to entree their apps oregon retreat wealth from ATM machines implicit a 48 hr period.

Emily, who has a 19-year-old disabled daughter, revealed the glitch had outgo her thousands of pounds aft being forced to fork retired for storage, favored care, and edifice bills.

“It’s been a nightmare,” she said.

Although her relationship began moving again implicit the weekend, she had to get wealth from her sister to screen these bills - a privilege she pointed retired “not everyone has had”.

Barclays has astir precocious commented connected the contented saying the contented has been resolved, adding: “We’re moving connected bringing balances up to day and addressing outstanding issues.

"We’re atrocious for immoderate disruption and volition guarantee nary affected customers are near retired of pocket. Our telephone centres are unfastened for longer this weekend, and we’re proactively contacting susceptible customers.”

But Emily slammed the bank’s lawsuit service, revealing they offered her conscionable £50 compensation.

"At the precise least, I expected them to screen the costs I’ve had to wage out," she said.

The affectional toll connected her household had been the biggest blow.

“It’s already an affectional clip selling the marital home”, Emily said.

“But for my daughter, especially, this has been truthful overwhelming – it’s hard to enactment into words.”

She added: “The astir frustrating happening has been their deficiency of response. To permission a susceptible household similar this – I conscionable can’t recognize it.”

A Barclays spokesperson said: "We're highly atrocious for the interaction our method issues had connected our lawsuit and we recognize the distress and upset this has caused.

"We person reviewed this lawsuit and are successful interaction with this customer, and we volition update them connected a solution arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

"We volition guarantee that nary impacted lawsuit is near retired of pocket."

Some customers reported being capable to retreat “free cash” arsenic a effect of the glitch, with crowds of radical flocking to ATM machines connected Sunday.

People connected social media person boasted that they person spent hundreds of pounds during the outage -- with 1 saying they managed to get “an caller iPhone 16 for free”.

But a Barclays spokesman warned aboriginal connected Sunday that this was not the case, and that immoderate funds withdrawn “will beryllium debited from accounts”.

How bash I assertion compensation aft an outage if I'm near retired of pocket?

Banks are not obligated to supply compensation to customers for work disruptions successful the aforesaid mode telecom companies are.

However, if you person incurred further costs straight arsenic a effect of a work issue, you whitethorn beryllium entitled to reimbursement.

For example, if a measure outgo fails to spell done owed to an outage and you are charged a precocious outgo fee, you should beryllium capable to assertion that wealth back.

Similarly, if your recognition standing is impacted oregon you are penalised with precocious outgo fees due to the fact that a transaction could not beryllium completed, it’s important to support a grounds of these incidents.

Banks volition mostly measure claims connected a case-by-case basis, taking into relationship idiosyncratic circumstances.

For instance, successful Emily’s situation, she incurred important costs, including paying for a hotel, due to the fact that the outgo for her caller location failed to process, delaying her move.

While her slope whitethorn see her assertion for compensation, the last determination rests with them.

To lodge a ceremonial complaint, you volition request to interaction your slope and supply a elaborate grounds of each instances wherever you faced further costs, charges, oregon fees arsenic a nonstop effect of the work disruption.

This could see photocopies of slope statements showing missed payments, receipts, invoices, oregon different grounds of expenses incurred.

For much circumstantial guidance, you tin sojourn your bank's complaints page.

For example, Barclays customers tin find details at barclays.co.uk/complaints.

If you are unhappy with the compensation offered, arsenic successful Emily’s lawsuit wherever Barclays lone provided £50 – a sum improbable to screen her incurred costs – you person the enactment to escalate your complaint.

This tin impact taking your lawsuit to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which offers an impartial review of disputes betwixt customers and fiscal institutions.

The FOS tin usually get progressive 15 days aft you archetypal raised concerns with the bank.

For IT strategy outages astatine a bank, the FOS says the compensation depends connected your concern and if you mislaid retired arsenic a result.

But if it thinks your slope has done thing incorrect and treated you unfairly, the FOS tin inquire it to enactment things close connected your behalf. 

It could see telling the slope to wage compensation to:

• Make definite you bash not extremity up retired of pocket
• Recognise the inconvenience and occupation you've been through

It tin besides archer the slope to take steps to guarantee you’ve not mislaid retired immoderate different mode - for illustration by telling it to close your recognition file.

To motorboat a ailment with the FOS, sojourn financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/how-to-complain.