**Disruption to Barclays Banking Services Expected to Persist**
Barclays banking services are likely to remain disrupted into Sunday due to an IT glitch, with numerous customers still facing payment issues. The bank has cautioned that some users may see outdated account balances, and transactions made or received may not be reflected following the initial outage that occurred on Friday.
Barclays has expressed its apologies for the inconvenience, stating that it is dealing with “ongoing technical issues that are impacting our customers’ accounts” and assuring that no customer will be “left out of pocket.” According to reports, the outage is attributed to a technical problem and is not currently thought to be linked to a cyber attack. The disruption coincided with January payday for many British workers and the deadline for self-assessment tax returns.
On Saturday, thousands of customers reported continued difficulties with mobile banking, online banking, and bill payments, as noted by outage tracker Down Detector. However, Barclays confirmed that its ATMs are functioning normally, allowing customers to withdraw cash and make card payments.
HMRC has stated that it is “working closely” with Barclays to mitigate any impact on those submitting self-assessments, assuring that HMRC services are operating as usual. Any issues stemming from the Barclays outage will not incur late payment penalties from HMRC, as these penalties do not take effect until March 1.
Among those affected is civil servant Paola Mereu, 39, who shared that her family has been left homeless after their payment for a new house failed to process. After selling their home in Uxbridge, where they lived with their two daughters, the family was set to move into their new residence in West Sussex on Friday. Mereu recounted, “We drove down to West Sussex with all our belongings in a moving van, only to be informed by my solicitor that Barclays was experiencing issues and we could not complete the sale. We sold our house and had the funds, but we couldn’t finalize the other part of the transaction, leaving us essentially homeless.”
Mereu expressed her disappointment, stating, “It took us so long to secure this dream house, and what was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives turned into a nightmare.” Currently, her family is staying with her mother in London, with their belongings still in the moving van.
Frustrated customers have taken to social media to voice their concerns. One user lamented, “Thanks to Barclays, I’m left without money. My food delivery is canceled, leaving my four kids without food. This is unacceptable.
