Barclays UK has been blasted by livid customers after a debit card glitch left shoppers unable to access their money for several hours.

Card users reported being left waiting at petrol stations and trapped at restaurants after finding they were unable to pay for meals.

Cashless shoppers say they were unable to pay for goods or withdraw cash using debit cards, and were left embarrassed after they consumed goods or services but were unable to pay for them - leading to awkward situations across the region.

Some Barclays customers have also criticised the customer service they received from the bank as the issue was occurring on Sunday (January 13).


The popular national bank issued a tweet at 6.30pm on Sunday alerting customers to the fact that there would be no access to Barclays services for the rest of the evening.

It read: "We’re sorry for the short notice. The Barclays and Barclaycard apps will be unavailable from 18:30 this evening."

A spokesman has apologised for the issue, adding that maintenance was required.

"Embarrassing" and "shocking"

Some customers claim they were not alerted to this particular period of maintenance beforehand, and were left unable to pay with their debit card, withdraw cash from ATMs, or use many features of the Barclays UK mobile app.

Some say they were left waiting at petrol stations for hours after filling up their vehicle but then being unable to pay at the till.

Another customer said it was "embarrassing" and "shocking" that they could not pay for a meal after enjoying food at a restaurant with their family.

One man even said his date at a restaurant had been ruined after he had to leave his mobile phone and driving licence and return home to retrieve another card to pay for his meal.

He said: "Guess I won't be seeing my date again. Cheers Barclays."

A spokesman for the bank said that "messages were issued to all digitally active customers" regarding maintenance earlier in the day between 1am-7am, but customers say they were not messaged directly for the second unplanned period of maintenance between 6.30pm and 10pm.

You can see some reaction to the situation below.

A Barclays spokesman said: "The planned maintenance this weekend formed part of our regulatory requirements which every bank has to follow.

"It was undertaken on a Sunday to minimise customer impact and we provided customers with over a week’s advance notice.

"We apologise to the small number of customers that were unable to use their debit cards during the late hours of Sunday evening."

Want more news?


