I was made homeless after Barclays IT glitch left me with no access to cash
A SINGLE mum and her two kids have been left homeless after a Barclays IT glitch stopped them from placing cash on their new house.
Recently divorced Emily McAllister, 43, was in the process of making an onward payment for her new home when the bank blunder struck.
She told The Sun: “The solicitors couldn’t do anything as I had no money to pay for the house.
"Now I can’t contact them until Sunday – so we’re without our things, our clothes, my daughter’s medication, and had to pay for a hotel.”
Barclays bank, which has 48million customers, suffered a “technical issue” on Friday and Saturday which locked customers out of their accounts.
They were unable to access their apps or withdraw money from ATM machines over a 48 hour period.
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Emily, who has a 19-year-old disabled daughter, revealed the glitch had cost her thousands of pounds after being forced to fork out for storage, pet care, and hotel bills.
“It’s been a nightmare,” she said.
Although her account began working again over the weekend, she had to borrow money from her sister to cover these bills - a privilege she pointed out “not everyone has had”.
Barclays has most recently commented on the issue saying the issue has been resolved, adding: “We’re working on bringing balances up to date and addressing outstanding issues.
"We’re sorry for any disruption and will ensure no affected customers are left out of pocket. Our call centres are open for longer this weekend, and we’re proactively contacting vulnerable customers.”
But Emily slammed the bank’s customer service, revealing they offered her just £50 compensation.
";At the very least, I expected them to cover the costs I’ve had to pay out," she said.
The emotional toll on her family had been the biggest blow.
“It’s already an emotional time selling the marital home”, Emily said.
“But for my daughter, especially, this has been so overwhelming – it’s hard to put into words.”
She added: “The most frustrating thing has been their lack of response. To leave a vulnerable family like this – I just can’t understand it.”
A Barclays spokesperson said: "We're extremely sorry for the impact our technical issues had on our customer and we understand the distress and upset this has caused.
"We have reviewed this case and are in contact with this customer, and we will update them on a resolution as quickly as possible.
"We will ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket."
Some customers reported being able to withdraw “free cash” as a result of the glitch, with crowds of people flocking to ATM machines on Sunday.
People on social media have boasted that they have spent hundreds of pounds during the outage -- with one saying they managed to get “an new iPhone 16 for free”.
However, if you have incurred additional costs directly as a result of a service issue, you may be entitled to reimbursement.
For example, if a bill payment fails to go through due to an outage and you are charged a late payment fee, you should be able to claim that money back.
Similarly, if your credit rating is impacted or you are penalised with late payment fees because a transaction could not be completed, it’s important to keep a record of these incidents.
Banks will generally assess claims on a case-by-case basis, taking into account individual circumstances.
For instance, in Emily’s situation, she incurred significant costs, including paying for a hotel, because the payment for her new home failed to process, delaying her move.
While her bank may consider her claim for compensation, the final decision rests with them.
To lodge a formal complaint, you will need to contact your bank and provide a detailed record of all instances where you faced additional costs, charges, or fees as a direct result of the service disruption.
This could include photocopies of bank statements showing missed payments, receipts, invoices, or other evidence of expenses incurred.
For more specific guidance, you can visit your bank's complaints page.
For example, Barclays customers can find details at barclays.co.uk/complaints.
If you are unhappy with the compensation offered, as in Emily’s case where Barclays only provided £50 – a sum unlikely to cover her incurred costs – you have the option to escalate your complaint.
This can involve taking your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which offers an impartial review of disputes between customers and financial institutions.
The FOS can usually get involved 15 days after you first raised concerns with the bank.
For IT system outages at a bank, the FOS says the compensation depends on your situation and if you lost out as a result.
But if it thinks your bank has done something wrong and treated you unfairly, the FOS can ask it to put things right on your behalf.
It could include telling the bank to pay compensation to:
- Make sure you do not end up out of pocket
- Recognise the inconvenience and trouble you've been through
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It can also tell the bank to take steps to ensure you’ve not lost out any other way - for example by telling it to correct your credit file.
To launch a complaint with the FOS, visit financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/how-to-complain.