Add CategorySUNCORP has apologised to customers after a major outage of its debit card systems left many unable to make purchases of fuel, groceries and baby suppliers.
Customers took to the bank’s social media late on Thursday to report issues, and despite the bank reporting services were back up and running on Thursday night, was forced to backtrack on Friday afternoon.
“We’re aware some customers are continuing to experience issues with card transactions,” the bank wrote on Facebook. “We’re really sorry about this and are working on fixing it as soon as possible.”
One customer, who asked not to be named, said she only found out when her partner went to fill up the car with petrol.
“He ended up having to fill out a form with all of his details which says he has to go back to pay within 24 hours or they’ll call the cops,” she said. “He’s not very pleased about it. The lady I spoke to [at Suncorp] said they had 200 calls waiting in the queue.”
On Facebook, some customers called for compensation.
“Considering how quickly you charge dishonour fees for people who clearly don’t have sufficient funds when direct debits occur, one would think that compensation should be arranged for such an outage that means people are unable to access their own funds,” one customer wrote on Facebook.
“Especially when you’re at the shops trying to buy formula and nappies for your baby. Thanks Suncorp. Cloth nappies and cows milk it is for tonight.”
Another said she “got stuck at a doctor’s surgery not able to pay, and then in the car park for two hours until I could get someone to pay for me all because my card is not working”.
One customer posted a photo of a Suncorp branch packed with disgruntled customers. “Drove 20 minutes to Helensvale, starving, and this is the line still after standing here for 10 minutes, 15 minutes to find a park,” he wrote. “Screw you Scumcorp, bye.”
Another complained about the lack of communication. “Thanks for the heads up, Suncorp,” she wrote. “No notifications on the app or website. Could have sent SMS or email instead of leaving [me] stuck trying to buy groceries and not being able to pay.”
A Suncorp spokeswoman said all card services were back online by 3:30pm AEDT. “This issue was related to Suncorp Visa Debit cards only. Our credit cards were not affected,” she said.