Many banking customers have been affected by IT glitches in recent days, leading to frustrations for some people as well as the possibility of being left out of pocket. Customers of Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax, reported problems with payments early on Monday. The bank has said services are now back to normal. Customers should keep evidence of impacted payments in case they need to make a claim, and in the meantime anyone likely to miss important payments should contact the company involved to ensure they waive any fees.

Meanwhile, Barclays confirmed on Sunday that an issue which had delayed payments being processed had been resolved. Its problems had started on Friday, coinciding with payday for many workers and the deadline for self-assessment tax returns. Jenny Ross, editor of Which? Money, said: “The impact of technical faults like these can’t be underestimated, and this latest issue is particularly concerning coming so soon after Barclay’s service outage this weekend, which left some people struggling to buy food and put house purchases at risk.

“Technical issues like these could be devastating for people who could miss important bill payments, find themselves unable to pay for essential services or risk going overdrawn – issues which could come with knock-on effects like late payment or overdraft penalties, or affect their ability to get credit or borrow money. “Lloyds and Halifax must ensure customers are kept updated and are swiftly compensated for any loss resulting from today’s issues.

“Customers should keep evidence of impacted payments in case they need to make a claim, and in the meantime anyone likely to miss important payments should contact the company involved to ensure they waive any fees.”. In general, screenshots and paperwork may be useful to keep as evidence of how someone has been left worse off. There may be various ways that people can make a complaint to their bank, such as by filling in a form on the bank’s website, via its app, over the phone or in a branch.

While a problems is ongoing, it could also be worth checking the bank’s service status page online, to see which services are up and running and which are not, as well as updates on the bank’s social media channels. People may also look to visit their bank branch for help in circumstances when they are struggling to access help online or on the phone. Many physical bank branches have closed in recent years, and if a particular bank branch is far away, there may be alternative options such as a post office or a banking hub.

The Post Office has an agreement with many banks, allowing people to do their day-to-day banking over its counters. Banking hubs are single spaces shared by multiple banks and cash access network Link has confirmed plans for its 200th banking hub. Scammers can also piggyback onto high-profile banking problems, so people should make sure they know who they are dealing with and be on their guard when receiving calls and texts out of the blue.