Technical glitch locks out some online Tesco Bank customers

Tesco Bank customers have been left frustrated after being unable to access their accounts online over the last few days due to "technical issues".

The problem, which Tesco Bank says it became aware of yesterday afternoon, has left "1 in 20" of its current account, savings account, and loans customers unable to see their accounts when they log in online (see our Banking and Saving section for the best buys).

These customers will also be unable to view their accounts when they log in to Tesco Bank's mobile app. Some have reported being unable to log in into their account full stop.

Tesco Bank says it's "working hard" to resolve the problem "as soon as possible", but it has given no timeframe on when it might be fixed.

However, it does add that standing orders and direct debits are unaffected, while customers can continue to use their debit card to make transactions and withdraw cash as normal.

Affected users who want to make an online transfer from one account to another will have to ring Tesco Bank's customer services to do so.

Tesco Bank credit card and insurance customers are unaffected.

Last November RBS was fined £56 million following an IT meltdown in 2012, which meant about 6.5 million customers were unable to use online banking facilities or obtain accurate account balances from ATMs for a period of several weeks (see the RBS fined £56m over IT meltdown MSE News story).

Unhappy customers

MoneySavingExpert.com was first alerted to the issue by unhappy Tesco Bank customers on Twitter. Here are some of the tweets we've seen:

• @STEcopywriting tweeted today: "I need to transfer money from my savings account today but can only log in to my credit card. How long until you [Tesco Bank] fix this?"

• @devonlaroque wrote yesterday: "Another day and another problem with your [Tesco Bank's] IT system – inability to access online accounts!"

• @CarlHolding87 tweeted yesterday: "Had problems logging in all day."

'We are working hard to resolve this'

A spokesperson for Tesco Bank says: "We are aware that some of our customers are currently unable to view their accounts in online banking. We are working hard to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

"Customers can still continue to use their accounts as normal and can contact us by phone if they need any help with their account. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience."