RBS and NatWest customers could face weeks of turmoil as a result of computer chaos

RBS and NatWest customers could face weeks of turmoil as a result of the banks’ computer chaos, the Financial Ombudsman Service warned today.
Meanwhile sophisticated internet fraudsters tried to cash in on the confusion by launching a phishing attack on NatWest customers in an attempt to steal crucial personal financial information.
And the pain continues for some 100,000 Ulster Bank customers who still have a frustrating wait until at least the beginning of next week to have their banking facilities restored.
The beleaguered Royal Bank of Scotland said today that just a few customers of NatWest and RBS will still experience delays after the update of account balances cleared for those banks.
But Ulster Bank customers will “continue to  experience unacceptable delays to their accounts being updated” until “the start of next week”, RBS said in a statement.
The computer mistakes that have hit an estimated 12 million customers of the two banks, as well as having a knock-on effect on millions more, could leave problems for many weeks to come, the financial watchdog said.
The FOS’ David Cresswell urged those affected to keep detailed records of what has happened to their accounts as the knock-on effects would take some time to identify and rectify.
"It is really important to make noted of what is happening, of conversations you have with people, of difficulties you are facing, because this is a ripple effect from the original problems," he said.
That includes making lists of extra charges for inadvertently going overdrawn or paying a credit card bill late, and making sure that a your credit rating is not damaged.
NatWest said it has extended branch opening hours to 8am to 6pm in an effort to clear the backlog of problems.
"But the full focus of our efforts will now be on delivering the same result for our Ulster Bank customers,” an RBS spokesman said.
Customer unhappiness was mounting today with many expected to switch banks once their accounts have been restored.






Before I comment I have to declare a vested interest, my job has recently been outsourced from Germany to the Czech Republic. (On a clear day if I went to the top of the TV tower in Berlin I could probably see it.)


Who gains from outsourcing?
First and most importantly, the manager in the company that outsources, he or she gets a big fat bonus for reducing the companies wage bill.
Secondly, the person who gets the outsourced job.
Finally the country which gets the outsourced job, as they have one less unemployed person to support.
Who loses from outsourcing?
Firstly, obviously the person whose job is outsourced.
Secondly the country that loses the outsourced job, as they now have to support an additional unemployed person. 
Finally and most importantly, the customer as they get a worse service, a less reliable product, with longer delays in resolving problems.


If you were about to have open heart surgery, would you want the operation to be performed by a surgeon with ten years experience and training or a cleaner who had no idea what they were doing but was incredibly keen and had watched every episode of Grey’s Anatomy? 

Jimmy Carr admits 'terrible error' over taxes

From today's Independent Newspaper:


Jimmy Carr spoke out after Prime Minister David Cameron branded his tax dodging "morally wrong".
The comedian released a statement saying: "I appreciate as a comedian, people will expect me to 'make light' of this situation, but I'm not going to in this statement as this is obviously a serious matter.
"I met with a financial advisor and he said to me 'Do you want to pay less tax? It's totally legal'.
"I said 'Yes'.
"I now realise I've made a terrible error of judgment.
"Although I've been advised the K2 Tax scheme is entirely legal, and has been fully disclosed to HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs), I'm no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial affairs much more responsibly.
"Apologies to everyone."

Mr Cameron, speaking last night during a visit to Mexico, joined a chorus of criticism of the comedian, whose tax arrangements were revealed in The Times on Tuesday.
Describing them as "straightforward tax avoidance", the PM said it was unfair on the people who pay to watch the comic perform that he is not paying his taxes in the same way that they do.
Mr Cameron said: "I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is completely wrong.
"People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets. He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes.
"That is wrong. There is nothing wrong with people planning their tax affairs to invest in their pension and plan for their retirement - that sort of tax management is fine.
"But some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong.

My heart goes out to Mr Cameroon, how it must hurt him to hear of morale wrong doing. If only he was in a position where he could do something to change the laws relating to UK tax.
If only he was prime minister, I'm sure he'd do something in an instant.
Hang on a second............................................. He is.
And once he's sorted out this particular loophole, maybe then he could look into UK tax avoidance by large companies, such as, Glaxo Smith Kline, Northern and Shell, Amazon and News International.

Beating the tattoo and other things.

Watching the European Championships I have been struck by the number of footballers sporting tattoos. It almost seems compulsory to have them. When I was young the only people who had tattoos were sailors, Polynesian Islanders and ex members of the SS.
Speaking of the SS, I have been amazed at the reaction to the member of Greece’s neo Nazi Golden Dawn party assaulting two female panellists on a televised debate. People have thrown up their hands in shock as to how someone could behave that way. During the debate he threw water on one woman and then slapped another around the face. His defence was that he had been provoked, I presume he meant verbally, which is the sort of thing that happens in a debate. The idea is when this happens you are supposed to confound your opponent with an incredibly witty response. This is obviously beyond the powers of a right wing Neanderthal.
Having a neo Nazi in a debate with his opponents and expecting him to behave in a civilised manner is the equivalent of dressing a chimpanzee in a suit, calling him a waiter and expecting him to serve you dinner.