RBS/NatWest meltdown: your questions answered The bank put aside £125m to pay compensation, and the then chief executive, Stephen Hester, said: "My top priority, and the priority of the entire RBS group, is to fix these problems and put things right for our customers." He ordered 1,200 branches to open on a Sunday morning so that staff could help customers in person. If I have lost out, how should I complain? Visit a branch or call the following numbers: RBS on 0800 151 0405, NatWest on 0800 151 0404 or Ulster on 0800 046 5486. These numbers are extremely busy, according to customers' reports on social media. RBS chief executive Ross McEwan: 'Systems failure unacceptable' In what circumstances can I claim financial compensation? Ms Allen said anyone left out of pocket as a result of the glitch would be reimbursed. So where customers have been charged fees, for instance for late payments to credit card firms, the bank will cover the cost. But in the majority of cases where customers were embarrassed or inconvenienced it is not clear whether money will be offered. However, some customers have reported being offered £50 to compensate for the "embarrassment" of not being able to pay. One customer said at 1.30pm: "After an hour on hold, RBS agreed to pay me £50 compensation for embarrassment and £9 for my phone call." But the bank would not say whether there was any scale of compensation payments - insisting that "every case was unique" and would be "looked at on an individual basis." If you incurred costs (phone bills, taxi journeys and so on) as a result of not being able to withdraw cash or make payments, keep documentation to present to the bank. If you submit it as part of your claim, keep copies. Will other payments from my account be affected? Because the outage was for a relatively short period, regular payments such as direct debits are not expected to be disrupted. How can I safeguard against future problems of this sort? The best way is to carry cards from several institutions. Many of those using Twitter and other media to complain about their payment problems described how all their cards were from the one bank. Tell us about your NatWest problems - money@telegraph.co.uk