Ulster Banking Crisis

A_Sober_Paddy · 27-06-2012 5:30pm #1

With the current state of Ulster Bank.

If you are a customer of Ulster Bank, or if this happened to your bank.

Will/Would you leave the bank the moment everything got sorted out?

HigginsJ · 27-06-2012 5:34pm

I'm not with Ulster Bank or have not been affected by the issue so may feel differently if it did happen to me, however I do not feel that there was much Ulster Bank could have done in relation to this.

I'm sure there PR could have been an awful lot better with keeping people informed but overall it is an issue caused by someone else.

Dr.Strange · 27-06-2012 5:36pm

I'm with Ulster Bank and it has affected my direct debits and wages.

But I probably won't bother changing banks once they have it sorted, it's too much hassle.

frag420 · 27-06-2012 5:36pm

They have been good up til now. This is my first issue with them but as I got my cash in branch all is good. Il be staying

Phill Ewinn · 27-06-2012 5:37pm

Some of dem Ulsder bank burds are f'in roides. More than dem dopey hoores I do see in my bank

Jarren · 27-06-2012 5:38pm

I'm staying.

The Radiator · 27-06-2012 5:38pm

Phill Ewinn wrote: »

Some of dem Ulsder bank burds are f'in roides. More than dem dopey hoores I do see in my bank

I concur

I Heart Internet · 27-06-2012 5:46pm

Ditto.

They've been a pretty good bank up till now....all things considered.

I'll give them a second chance assuming everything is sorted out.

BTW I left another bank (to go to UB) not so long ago because i wasn't happy (so I have form!).

Fratton Fred · 27-06-2012 5:50pm

Dr.Strange wrote: »

I'm with Ulster Bank and it has affected my direct debits and wages.

But I probably won't bother changing banks once they have it sorted, it's too much hassle.

This^

I transferred some money from my UK account and it hasn't appeared yet, so my account shows empty.

The branch gave me plenty of dineros to tide me over though.

dee. · 27-06-2012 5:53pm

I'm with Ulster Bank and was considering staying with them until today when I noticed someone has been using my visa debit card to make online purchases - I phoned ulster bank who could not help me or reverse the charges or cancel the card because their systems are down and they could not verify any of my account info. They told me ill have to wait until next week for any help... So I guess I am just supposed to sit here and be happy that some scumbag is spending hundreds of euro of my hard earned money at my expense.

Dr.Strange · 27-06-2012 5:56pm

dee. wrote: »

I'm with Ulster Bank and was considering staying with them until today when I noticed someone has been using my visa debit card to make online purchases - I phoned ulster bank who could not help me or reverse the charges or cancel the card because their systems are down and they could not verify any of my account info. They told me ill have to wait until next week for any help... So I guess I am just supposed to sit here and be happy that some scumbag is spending hundreds of euro of my hard earned money at my expense.

How did you notice that your card was being used?

dee. · 27-06-2012 5:57pm

It showed up on my online statement this morning

Dr.Strange · 27-06-2012 6:00pm

dee. wrote: »

It showed up on my online statement this morning

Oh, I was under the impression that the online banking system wasn't working.

Mine certainly isn't anyway!

dee. · 27-06-2012 6:03pm

Mine was working this morning, now it won't load anything except my available balance. They could confirm the money was taken from my account but thats the most they could help...great service

Dr.Strange · 27-06-2012 6:07pm

dee. wrote: »

Mine was working this morning, now it won't load anything except my available balance. They could confirm the money was taken from my account but thats the most they could help...great service

You'll get it back, I wouldn't worry about it!

hairyprincess · 27-06-2012 6:13pm

If it had been handled better with more information to the customers and if it hasn't gone on as long then I wouldn't leave but as it is they are taking the piss.

I'm out.

humbert · 27-06-2012 6:16pm

I've been with them for ages and have no complaints at all. Good online banking no fee problems.

Major cock up but really as a once off it just has no bearing on whether or not it's a good bank in my opinion.

El Guapo! · 27-06-2012 6:17pm

I'm not with Ulster Bank but my job uses it, so I still haven't got my wages from last week. Plus the account went overdrawn and a standing order was missed due to the wages not going in, so now I'm getting charged for that.
Pain in the hole!

LilMrsDahamsta · 27-06-2012 6:24pm

All my bank accounts are with Ulster. They haven't been impacted at all by this issue. Everything working fine. Staying put.

TPD · 27-06-2012 6:47pm

**** happens, and they'll be doubly careful from now on. This months wages haven't gone in yet as far as I know, but my balance is still accessible, so it hasn't really affected me.

Shenshen · 27-06-2012 6:51pm

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

With the current state of Ulster Bank.

If you are a customer of Ulster Bank, or if this happened to your bank.

Will/Would you leave the bank the moment everything got sorted out?

Even with the current problems, Ulster Bank are still far, far better than any other bank currently offering services in Ireland.
I've been with others before, and I will stay with Ulster Bank, thank you.

Shenshen · 27-06-2012 6:54pm

dee. wrote: »

I'm with Ulster Bank and was considering staying with them until today when I noticed someone has been using my visa debit card to make online purchases - I phoned ulster bank who could not help me or reverse the charges or cancel the card because their systems are down and they could not verify any of my account info. They told me ill have to wait until next week for any help... So I guess I am just supposed to sit here and be happy that some scumbag is spending hundreds of euro of my hard earned money at my expense.

They're insured. No matter how much that person is spending, you'll get every cent back.

Shenshen · 27-06-2012 6:58pm

hairyprincess wrote: »

If it had been handled better with more information to the customers and if it hasn't gone on as long then I wouldn't leave but as it is they are taking the piss.

I'm out.

I work in IT, and I suspect they kept things covered as much as possible in case they were security breaches that could have been exploited otherwise.
Channel 4 gave a very thourough coverage of the explanations they provided yesterday. Not sure if RTE bothered airing it?

carrick79 · 27-06-2012 7:01pm

My anytime banking seems fine. It showed my last withdrawal on the 24th, which afaik was after the glitch (?) Will know more tomorrow when wages should go in but I'm not planning on moving yet.

smash · 27-06-2012 7:01pm

Dr.Strange wrote: »

I'm with Ulster Bank and it has affected my direct debits and wages.

But I probably won't bother changing banks once they have it sorted, it's too much hassle.

2forms of ID and 10 mins in another bank is too much hassle?

Niles · 27-06-2012 8:09pm

Not with them myself but I'd probably stay if I was - it's a one-off freak event (I hope!). Terribly inconvenient for people I know, but I can't imagine it happening again any time soon.

Personally I'd probably stay anyway just to avoid the hassle of switching but maybe I'm just lazy!

Dr.Strange · 27-06-2012 9:35pm

smash wrote: »

2forms of ID and 10 mins in another bank is too much hassle?

Lots of Direct debits & a mortgage aswell. I've been with them for nearly 20yrs without a problem.

Bit of an over reaction to jump ship now...

dee. · 27-06-2012 9:46pm

Shenshen wrote: »

They're insured. No matter how much that person is spending, you'll get every cent back.

Thanks I really hope so

phasers · 27-06-2012 9:54pm

what actually happened? Did some zidiot spill coke on a receiver?

27-06-2012 10:16pm

they've been great with me so far and this is the only issue and they're doing their best i reckon, so no reason to change

**Timbuk2** · 27-06-2012 10:43pm

Have been using them since I was 15 and no problems at all apart from this, so I will be staying - the main advantages are the Visa debit card and Saturday branch openings!

jonnny68 · 27-06-2012 10:55pm

This is what happens when you move your IT operation to India to cut costs and save money you reap what you sow, they deserve to be punished for this, im a customer and even though i managed to get funds earlier after a lengthy queue and questions galore as well as lots of ID this is a catastrophic fu*k up and serious questions have to be asked how this was allowed to happen, why wasn't there a backup in case of emergencies like this.

I'm already hearing some horror stories from Nat West customers in the UK who are part of the same group RBS.

A_Sober_Paddy · 27-06-2012 11:03pm

I'm very surprised by the loyalty of some of these Ulster bank customers.

If it happened to my bank I'd be out of there...but in fairness I work off cash in hand and try to stay away from the corrupt institutes that we call banks.

Augmerson · 27-06-2012 11:13pm

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

I'm very surprised by the loyalty of some of these Ulster bank customers.

If it happened to my bank I'd be out of there...but in fairness I work off cash in hand and try to stay away from the corrupt institutes that we call banks.

Let us know how that works out for you.

I don't bank with Ulster Bank, but my workplace does and so there is a possibility that I won't get paid tomorrow and rent is this weekend, so even though I don't bank with them, I am still affected.

A_Sober_Paddy · 27-06-2012 11:20pm

Augmerson wrote: »

Let us know how that works out for you.

I don't bank with Ulster Bank, but my workplace does and so there is a possibility that I won't get paid tomorrow and rent is this weekend, so even though I don't bank with them, I am still affected.

How what works for me? Cash in hand? When I worked I either got cash or when it went into the bank, I withdrew it and keep my savings in cash and a little in the credit union...

Savings are kept in a family member's safe, in a house where he has a gun so its fairly safe there.

Firefox11 · 27-06-2012 11:33pm

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

How what works for me? Cash in hand? When I worked I either got cash or when it went into the bank, I withdrew it and keep my savings in cash and a little in the credit union...

Savings are kept in a family member's safe, in a house where he has a gun so its fairly safe there.

No not really. what if someone robs you with an even bigger gun. Shootout??

Fr_Dougal · 27-06-2012 11:47pm

Ulster Bank are not telling the full story here, a friend of mine works in IT security for one of the largest banks in the country and he firmly believes that they were hacked and the nonsense they're spouting is a cover up. Frankly I believe him.

Zebra3 · 28-06-2012 3:39am

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Ulster Bank are not telling the full story here, a friend of mine works in IT security for one of the largest banks in the country and he firmly believes that they were hacked and the nonsense they're spouting is a cover up. Frankly I believe him.

But surely a bank would never lie to the proles?

Shao · 28-06-2012 3:48am

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Ulster Bank are not telling the full story here, a friend of mine works in IT security for one of the largest banks in the country and he firmly believes that they were hacked and the nonsense they're spouting is a cover up. Frankly I believe him.

My partner is in a similar line of work and he also thinks their using the corrupted update to cover up being hacked.

I suppose it's better this way , it would cause a panic.

I just hope that freezing all the transactions and shutting down pretty much their whole service has protected people , or they are in for some trouble!

After reading the ulster bank is down thread , there has been alot of strange movements on certain accounts in the last day or so , people reporting money going missing and card usage , which is crazy when the accounts have basically been inactive for a week.

It's also strange to see people say they have had no problems at all throughout this fiasco , and then see other people who were having issues a week before this started an were being fobbed off in their branch.

I just hope they stick to early next week as it has went on far too long for a broken update.
In my branch today , the lady "entertaining" the queue advised that they had made alot of progress last night , and there was 10 men in suits with laptops in and out of backrooms the whole time I was there.

Namlub · 28-06-2012 4:09am

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Have been using them since I was 15 and no problems at all apart from this, so I will be staying - the main advantages are the Visa debit card and Saturday branch openings!

There's a Visa debit card?!

Feelgood · 28-06-2012 5:29am

I work in IT too and have worked in banking and financial institutions during my career.

Most of the IT systems in place in banks these days are unbelievable robust. Data is replicated between multiple sites, high availability software, torage area networks that can restore data in minutes. These systems are designed to prevent downtime and quickly recover from a disaster scenario.

Before changes are made to any IT system, the first thing that happens is critical backup/restore point. That way if you mess something up during a change, all you have to is restore from your backup. If a dodgy change was made, I would expect it to take a maximum of 24 hours to roll back.

There is no way it would take this long to restore from an incident like this. There is definitely a lot more to this story than Ulster bank are letting on, I reckon they were hacked too.

booth70 · 28-06-2012 5:40am

jonnny68 wrote: »

This is what happens when you move your IT operation to India to cut costs and save money you reap what you sow, they deserve to be punished for this, im a customer and even though i managed to get funds earlier after a lengthy queue and questions galore as well as lots of ID this is a catastrophic fu*k up and serious questions have to be asked how this was allowed to happen, why wasn't there a backup in case of emergencies like this.

I'm already hearing some horror stories from Nat West customers in the UK who are part of the same group RBS.

Nothing to do with India.......

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/ulster-bank-tech-glitch-bnotb-caused-by-technician-in-india-556978.html

Mr Simpson · 28-06-2012 5:57am

Namlub wrote: »

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Have been using them since I was 15 and no problems at all apart from this, so I will be staying - the main advantages are the Visa debit card and Saturday branch openings!

There's a Visa debit card?!

Yep, ulster bank have them, aib and boi are getting them. No more Laser Card

**Timbuk2** · 28-06-2012 7:24am

mmcn90 wrote: »

Yep, ulster bank have them, aib and boi are getting them. No more Laser Card

Also PTSB, they're very handy - you can use them anywhere online that Visa is accepted (so pretty much everywhere), and also use them in-store like you can with Laser, and they are better than Laser for transactions in other countries, since Laser is Irish, whereas Visa is international!

As far as I remember, an EBS Moneymanager account comes with a Mastercard Debit card, which works the exact same!

Pottler · 28-06-2012 7:33am

Feelgood wrote: »

I work in IT too and have worked in banking and financial institutions during my career.

Most of the IT systems in place in banks these days are unbelievable robust. Data is replicated between multiple sites, high availability software, torage area networks that can restore data in minutes. These systems are designed to prevent downtime and quickly recover from a disaster scenario.

Before changes are made to any IT system, the first thing that happens is critical backup/restore point. That way if you mess something up during a change, all you have to is restore from your backup. If a dodgy change was made, I would expect it to take a maximum of 24 hours to roll back.

There is no way it would take this long to restore from an incident like this. There is definitely a lot more to this story than Ulster bank are letting on, I reckon they were hacked too.

2 lads who work for me are also with Ulster and are having a hard time of it - overdrawn, etc, hacked methinks? Doubt if we are getting the full story. I notice as well that here in our office we have a new security do-dah that generates a new passwrod every time you go to log onto internet banking(not ulster) that the bank rather rapidly issued to us there on monday... I heard that there may be more fun when payrolls are issue at months end -I wonder if the banks computers are not as secure as they thought and perhaps someone is exploiting that? There's definitly a lad sitting in a bunker somwhere on an island, stroking a cat while techies furiously pound keyboards, hoovering up the worlds dosh. Well, maybe not, but maybe..

Shenshen · 28-06-2012 8:25am

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

I'm very surprised by the loyalty of some of these Ulster bank customers.

If it happened to my bank I'd be out of there...but in fairness I work off cash in hand and try to stay away from the corrupt institutes that we call banks.

As I said, I've been with other Irish banks before.
Apart from this one cock-up, Ulster Bank beats them all hands-down in customer service, availability of services, opening hours, free accounts, interest rates... in short, in every aspect of banking.

I've been with BOI before, who were not able to set up a standing order for 6 months. When I then wanted to cancel it about a year later, they kept transferring the money for another 3 months, telling me every time that, no, sorry, they couldn't reverse that, I'd have to sort it out with the recepient of the money.
You may guess how that went.
When I was with them my wages were always late, I never received them on time, usually about a week late.

My husband is with AIB, anything he transfers from his account to somewhere else takes around 10 days to come through.

So, yes, Ulster Bank f*cked up this time. But the only reason it's in the news is because all customers are affected simulaneously.
Other banks f*ck things up one customer at a time and never make the headlines.

Shenshen · 28-06-2012 8:28am

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Ulster Bank are not telling the full story here, a friend of mine works in IT security for one of the largest banks in the country and he firmly believes that they were hacked and the nonsense they're spouting is a cover up. Frankly I believe him.

It's possible, but unlikely.
I know their systems were due an update. and I also know how badly that CAN go wrong. It usually doesn't, but the potential is always there.
I think the reason they kept quiet about it for so long was to avoid being hacked. They couldn't be sure that the problems they had didn't cause a security breach somewhere.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Shenshen · 28-06-2012 8:30am

mmcn90 wrote: »

Yep, ulster bank have them, aib and boi are getting them. No more Laser Card

I wouldn't hold my breath.
BOI has been promissing to provide Visa Debit Cards for just about under 2 years now. So far, no sign of them.

Solair · 28-06-2012 8:34am

I have my BOI Visa Debit card for a few weeks now. Very handy and it also has contactless payment.

Their rollout is well underway.
They're no longer issuing or replacing Laser cards either.

jesus_thats_gre · 28-06-2012 8:39am

Shenshen wrote: »

I wouldn't hold my breath.
BOI has been promissing to provide Visa Debit Cards for just about under 2 years now. So far, no sign of them.

Got mine in the post last week.

listermint · 28-06-2012 8:47am

Shenshen wrote: »

It's possible, but unlikely.
I know their systems were due an update. and I also know how badly that CAN go wrong. It usually doesn't, but the potential is always there.
I think the reason they kept quiet about it for so long was to avoid being hacked. They couldn't be sure that the problems they had didn't cause a security breach somewhere.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Of course updates can go wrong, thats why you have rollback, it DOESNT take a week for rollback. At best your talking a number of extremely sweaty hours.

Something isnt right here.

Ulster Banking Crisis

Will/Would You Leave Your Bank 107 votes

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