Abbey National bosses are apologising to customers after debiting their mortgage payments twice this month.

The fault is being blamed on the Royal Bank of Scotland's automated clearing system, which gave the order to take payments from a small number of Abbey National customers.

An Abbey National spokesman says the problem has now been fixed and that all charges arising from the mistake will be reimbursed.

He says: "Royal Bank of Scotland has informed all UK banks of this error and has requested their co-operation in respect of the affected accounts.

"If any mortgage customers who do not bank with Abbey National experience any problems as a result of this error, they are advised to contact their own bank with an explanation that there has been a duplicated debit in relation to their mortgage."

All customers who have been affected are protected by the terms of the Direct Debit Guarantee.

The guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that participate in the Direct Debit Scheme. It means that if a debit is ever taken in error, the customer is entitled to an immediate refund.

Last updated: 09:44 Wednesday 4th April 2001

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-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), April 04, 2001