Friday, 3 January 2020 was meant to be the first payday of the year, after an expensive Christmas. For thousands of customers of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, the money never arrived.
Many took to social media to say so. Their salaries had not appeared in their accounts as scheduled, and the anger was plain.
The banks’ parent group, which now includes Virgin Money, first suggested that customers contact their employers. It then said it was carrying out a “full investigation.” In a statement, the bank blamed the delay on a file used to process the transactions, which carried the wrong date. The Daily Record later described it as an incorrect posting date on one of the group’s Bacs files.
“We are now working to get account balances updated overnight so that correct funds are available from early tomorrow morning,” the bank said. It promised to refund all charges that resulted from the error. All accounts were updated overnight on 4 January, according to the Daily Record, and anyone affected financially would be “put right as soon as possible.”
Benefits missing too
The problem hit more than wages. The Daily Record reported that customers waiting on benefits were caught too, and that people across Scotland were affected.
Megan Devine, a single mother from Cambuslang, said she and her five-month-old daughter, Mairead, would go hungry and cold unless her £410 Universal Credit payment came through immediately. George Stewart, 59, said he could not reach his benefits or anyone at the bank for advice from early that Friday morning. He has a heart condition and early brain disease, and relies on employment support allowance and disability benefit to buy food and heat his home.
Compensation, case by case
Two weeks on, the bank said it was reimbursing those affected. Clydesdale, which has 62 branches in Scotland, said it was contacting all affected customers and would treat each case on its own facts. It could not say how much any one person would be owed. “It does depend on the individual circumstances, hence why we’re dealing with it case-by-case,” a spokesman said.
One customer told the Daily Record he was given £25 after phoning the bank. Another expected £35 by the end of the week.
The group’s name was already in flux. CYBG, the umbrella company’s former name, became Virgin Money UK plc the year before, and the whole business, Clydesdale and Yorkshire included, expected to operate under the Virgin Money brand by the end of 2021. Regulators had cleared the CYBG takeover of Virgin Money in late 2018, and in September 2019 the group announced plans to cut about 330 jobs as a result.
Sources
- Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks hit by payments error
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