A computer problem locked Tesco customers out of their online banking accounts from Sunday to Wednesday, sparking outrage and loss of confidence.
Finance magazine This Is Money received droves of letters denouncing Tesco and threatening to withdraw their funds altogether once the problem was corrected. Tesco’s call centre did little to reassure customers, mainly because they couldn’t keep up with the sheer volume of callers. This Is Money reader Robin Stubbs made three hour-long calls without hearing any advice.
The problem stemmed from a failed attempt to transfer Tesco’s entire account to a new system. The ensuing crash left customers in a tight spot, especially those with imminent credit card or insurance bills to pay and no accounts outside Tesco, who risked being fined for late payments or unauthorised dropping into the red on direct debits.
Despite a claim that a solution had been found on Monday, problems persisted until 10:15 am Wednesday, and there are still reports of browser-related difficulties, particularly for those using Internet Explorer. Switching to Firefox or Google Chrome has helped some, but the three-day shutdown and lack of any warning has left a bad taste in the mouths of many.
