The great NatWest computer cock-up is merely a symptom of a deeper failure

The great NatWest-RBS computer cock-up has upstaged my personal campaign to expose the lamentable standards of service offered by high-street banks. I was relieved not to find 12 million emails in my inbox from all those whose wages have not been paid or whose house purchases have been held up, and now have to chase compensation through the same dysfunctional maze that was at fault in the first place. RBS chief Stephen Hester’s lame attempt to compare the continuing chaos to a stack of planes waiting to land safely after a spot of bother in the airport, inadvertently conjuring up the mayhem of Die Hard 2, was the last straw. Where’s Bruce Willis with a machine-gun when you need him? 

Meanwhile, readers have kept the anecdotes of incompetence flowing. NatWest features in its fair share — from Sandwich comes news of an ATM issuing forged £20 notes — but is also the only bank so far with a customer who’s prepared to say it isn’t all bad: ‘The saving grace has always been the ability to walk into my local branch at Kenilworth for a friendly greeting and an absolute commitment to solve whatever problem you have.’