back to article Halifax's '24/7' online banking service is down YET AGAIN

The Halifax's online banking systems, advertised as being available 24/7, 365 days a year, are down for the fourth time in four weeks. A spokesperson for the Halifax, when contacted by The Register to ask about the downage, said: "We've just found out, can we ring you back?" While we waited for them to say something useful, …

  1. joeldillon

    That's, uh, a seriously retro photo to illustrate the story. 4:3 aspect ratio laptop and a CRT?

    1. Ole Juul

      I thought it was the Halifax server.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. John Gamble

          No, that can't be it -- PDP/11s were reliable.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      There's even *gasp* a notepad! Haven't seen one of those in years!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That little eXtra?

    perhaps it is time for a little corporate rebranding?

    Halifax, the bank that said that a 26% LTV was too risky for them to let me have a mortgage in 2005 despite what I wanted to borrow being only 1.2 * my salary for a year....

  3. Hogwam
    Go

    working for me now

  4. Locky

    This was never a problem

    When Howard was running things, the age old issues out outsourcing and offshoring...

  5. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    Perhaps...

    All of the staff at the Indian based SI that now supports the majority of the Halifax's IT estate got their location mixed up and were looking for the "on/reboot" button in Halifax, NS?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BoS too

    Bank of Scotland (another part of Lloyds) also down, but they display the ever so slightly terrifying "You have no accounts accessible through internet banking" error message when you get past the login screen. I know they have just got rid of a load of contractors and outsourced their roles to offshore. Coincidence?

    Confirmed by a call to online banking support line, it's the same for everyone apparently.

    Posting anonymously as I used to work for Lloyds and would like to be able to again.

    1. oomwat

      Re: BoS too

      Sounds like they could use your help :D

    2. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: BoS too

      Halifax and Bank of Scotland is the same website with a different logo. My login details work on both and it shows both my Halifax account and my Bank of Scotland account.

  7. Graham Marsden

    So what's new?

    The Nat West (owned by RBOS) online banking and commercial cards sites claim to be available "Anywhere, anytime".

    Well, yes, apart from when you get a message saying "there's been an error, try later". What it actually means is they're doing site updates or maintenance, but they don't tell you that.

    1. launcap Silver badge
      FAIL

      Re: So what's new?

      > apart from when you get a message saying "there's been an error, try later"

      Sounds like they have been taking lessons from Vodafone and/or Three..

  8. jeremyjh

    Sounds like their press office could use some press training.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Karma is a bitch

    We used to bank with Halifax. When they rejigged their overdraft charges, we suddenly found ourselves paying them £60 a month for the privilege (admittedly due to laziness of aligning receipts and expenses our side).

    I called to query, and was told by the most prim, patronising Scottish lady that "I couldn't expect to borrow money and not repay it."

    This, unfortunately for her, was the day the government had propped up HBOS to the tune of billions.

    "You're quite right" I replied - "Can you put me through to your MD, please. I'd like to know how he intends to repay my billions of pounds as a UK taxpayer". She hung up.

    This was in the AM. I used my lunch break to close that account and move it to Nationwide (who our mortgage and savings are with). Never looked back.

  10. cpage

    EDF Energy has had their website down for at least 2 days

    I've been trying to log in to the MyAccount section of EDF Energy for 2 days - they say they have been having "intermittent problems" for a week. Ho Hum.

  11. HmmmYes

    They have a big problem don't they.

    OK, you can accept that they might not be able to run a 7/24/365 site - not good but ...

    But not monitoring your system's and not being aware they are down FFS!!!!!!

  12. Hugh Barnard

    Move Your Money

    Well, maybe like all these 'banks' they'd better give up all these 'special offers' [money for switching, cashback, insurance we don't need] and concentrate on core business. As if that's going to happen. Yes, like comment above, I've moved out of PLC banks into Nationwide and now looking at Ecology Bank etc.

    When we've all closed our accounts in the casinos, maybe there'll be a few changes.

  13. streaky

    Might have something...

    .. to do with their idiotic SSL/TLS config. Just guessing.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is interesting...

    Using the weird old Indiana rules of rounding, 24/7 = 3.4 and there are 4 days off work for Easter (Good Friday, the weekend and Easter Monday) which leaves 3 days left in the week.

    Both digits appear in 3.4.

    Let me write that again: Both digits appear in 3.4.

    And again: Both digits appear in 3.4.

    Again: Both digits appear in 3.4.

    Yep: Both digits appear in 3.4.

    That means that the Failure of Halifax is one of the events foretold in the Book of Revelations and that the end of the world will therefore happen some time in the future.

  15. Snapshot

    The Halifax online statement system was FUBAR again too. For the last week it's been telling me my card account was inactive for March instead of offering me March's statement. Seems to have been fixed by the 'reboot'......

  16. Cuddles

    "advertised as being available 24/7, 365 days a year"

    To be fair, it would be a pretty weird online system that wasn't advertised as that. The internet doesn't go home in the evening. "Available 24/7, 365 days a year, except when we cock up and break everything" might be more accurate, but that last part can generally be assumed no matter who you're dealing with so it shouldn't need to be advertised explicitly.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Vote with your money

    Retail Banks only work if people put cash into their account or take out loans. Just move to another bank.

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