Thousands of mortgage holders overcharged admits BoS

Posted: 23 Oct 2006 11:34:33 GMT

Thousands of Bank of Scotland mortgage holders have found their bank accounts cleared out after the company accidentally charged multiple mortgage payments

Thousands of Bank of Scotland mortgage holders have found their bank accounts cleared out after the company accidentally charged multiple mortgage payments.

Around 7,000 customers had up to three mortgage payments subtracted over consecutive days last week, with the bank blaming a technical error.

Those with insufficient funds in their accounts to cover the charges have had the problem compounded by steep penalty charges for unauthorised borrowing.

Bank of Scotland said that it had begun trying to reach affected customers by phone and would be mailing out warnings to arrive this week.

It also pledged to refund all extra payments taken over the course of this weekend but has not yet confirmed that all money has been returned.

"A technical error occurred, which was spotted," a bank spokesman told the Times. "Unfortunately, a number of customers were charged payment more than once.

"We are working flat out to deal with the problem, which should be rectified in the next few days. We ask customers to accept our apologies."

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