McGibbon outrage at bank fiasco

Councillor Johnny McGibbon described the failure as a fiasco voicing his concern that customers continue to face uncertainty.

He also is outraged at the bank’s failure to implement alternative arrangements following the crash.

“The crashed IT System was responsible for keeping customer account details up-dated and its failure is a cause of great concern, particularly now that we have entered not only a new month but are also into the holiday period,” said Councillor McGibbon.

“Many monthly accounts are now overdue and those who have booked holidays cannot rely on the bank’s debit card for a cash flow. The bank’s poor response to the issue has caused uncertainty and doubt and added to the stress of those affected.”

Mr McGibbon said: “Due to the system failure wages and benefits paid into accounts are not updated and out-going payments are not being made. This problem has been sorted out everywhere else so why are customers in the north of Ireland still facing uncertainty.

“The limited measures put in place by Ulster Bank to allow customers to withdraw money are insufficient and place the onus on the customer. This issue has been allowed to run on for far too long. It is of the bank’s making and it is their responsibility to sort it out.”

Cllr McGibbon concluded: “This fiasco has raised a number of questions about the management of the banking industry. How did a relatively, minor software upgrade lead to widespread disruption of in-payment systems? Where was the bank’s disaster-recovery safety-net? Like any business banks depend on their customers and care of those customers’ interests has to be paramount. The public must be assured that this kind of disruption cannot happen again in any of the banks operating here.”