Bank app or online banking not working: what to do, and where to complain (the United Kingdom)

Is it the bank, or only your app?

This site displays an unofficial status for the service, drawn from visitor reports in the past 24 hours and compared to normal report levels. When no reports have arrived recently, that only tells you that users have not reported a problem—it does not confirm the service is working.

Look at the bank's official status page; the service page links to it if one exists. Beside the verdict, a short grey line reports how the bank's website behaved when we checked it: a fast reply, a slow reply, no reply, or a check we could not run. This is background information only. A website response does not prove the service works; a website that rejects requests is not necessarily broken.

Check the bank's official help and contact pages on the service page to see if the bank has posted details about the issue.

• Check the service page on this site, the official status page, and the official help pages.

What to do right away

Test the service on a different device or using a different internet connection (for instance, mobile data instead of your home broadband) to see whether the problem is tied to your setup or happens everywhere. Next, try the alternate way to reach the service: if you normally use the app, try the website; if you use the website, try the app.

Read the bank's official help articles. The service page here allows visitors to report a problem once per hour. The page displays a graph of reports across the past 24 hours and shows the geographic spread of reports. If many users report the same problem at the same hour, the problem may not be only yours.

• Try another device or connection, try the app if the website fails or vice versa, check the official help pages, and consider a report if you think it is a bank issue.

Who can confirm a problem, and how to reach the bank

The bank's own status page is your first source for official information. The service page on this site links to it. The service page also provides links to the bank's help pages and contact details. Reports on this site come from users and are not official.

If it is not resolved: where to complain

The Financial Ombudsman Service investigates complaints from consumers against financial businesses, including banks, for products and services such as bank accounts. Most complaints are resolved directly with the business, so start by complaining to your bank first.

When you file a complaint, keep records of any conversations and correspondence with the bank. This information will help the Ombudsman work more quickly if your complaint reaches its office. Its website sets out how to raise a complaint with a financial business and at what point the Ombudsman can take it on.

• Gather your records of conversations with the bank before complaining to the Ombudsman.