United Leeds Endeavours Reacts to the NatWest Meltdown

With many people around the UK affected by the NatWest banking meltdown United Leeds Endeavours looks at what caused the problems and who was affected.

The IT meltdown that occurred over the past week is believed to have started on Tuesday night when NatWest decided to update a key piece of software which controls the processing systems that deal with retail banking transactions. United Leeds Endeavours understands that this update deleted the schedule for customer’s transactions and so since then the bank have been attempting to play catch up with people’s transactions. This has meant that many people have experienced problems receiving payments and whilst attempting to pay others. United Leeds Endeavours were horrified to hear stories from individuals and particularly businesses who had been unable to pay employees and bills. Many people were also affected by the IT glitch, with some being unable to access their funds for the majority of the weekend. Those worst off were members of Ulster Bank who are still experiencing problems a week on.

Richard Price, a systems developer who has worked on banking systems like that of NatWest explained, "Banking systems are like a huge game of Jenga, most transactions are related and so everything needs to be processed in order.” This is what led to such big problems for so many customers as the order was disrupted.

It has also been reported that NatWest were unable to sort out the problems more quickly as since 2012 the majority of their IT jobs have been outsourced India.

A spokesperson from United Leeds Endeavours said that, “Although we’re pleased that NatWest extended their hours of opening to help clear the backlog of problems, there are still concerns about any after effects of the meltdown. We are glad however, that NatWest have put in place certain measures to help their customers.” These measures include the fact that interest on credit cards is to be waived for one month and customers are able to withdraw £100 over their limit while problems are still being corrected. Any overdraft activity experienced by customers will also not be recorded on customer’s credit files.

NatWest have also promised to implement strict quality assurance and user acceptance test before updating in the future. United Leeds Endeavours hopes that other banks will follow their example to prevent similar problems from occurring in future.

United Leeds Endeavours Impressed at UK Online Streaming

United Leeds Endeavours has recently learned that UK online streaming services are becoming the most advanced in the world with new technologies and services.

 Leeds-based direct sales and marketing company United Leeds Endeavours works with some of the biggest names in the UK entertainment and online streaming industry. The news that UK residents are receiving some of the most advanced viewing of anywhere in the world is a real coup for the industry.

Lovefilm.com, the UK’s most widely used DVD rental and online streaming service announced last week that two major improvements to their service would be reaching their customers in the coming weeks. Firstly they are to offer their online streaming service in HD where customers will be able to able to enjoy content in full 1080p high definition. The catalogue of HD films available to members is expected to expand significantly over the next few weeks and will include The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and BBC documentary Planet Earth.

United Leeds Endeavours is also pleased to share the news that Lovefilm.com has managed to resolve their long-running issue with Universal Pictures and have signed an exclusive streaming deal allowing its members early access to films before they come out on general release. This deal will continue keep Lovefilm well head of rivals Netflix.

Jim Buckle, managing director of Lovefilm said: “Lovefilm is proud to offer its members access to the highest quality content across multiple platforms from another of the world’s most respected studios.”

The managing director of United Leeds Endeavours said, “With the introduction of superfast broadband around the UK over the next few years we’re confident in our prediction that online streaming will become the most widely used method to watch films at home. Lovefilm.com are really charging ahead of their competitors with these two announcements.”

United Leeds Endeavours offers exception bottom-line results to their clients in a wide range of industries. For more information please visit http://www.unitedleedsendeavours.com

United Leeds Endeavours Prepares to Welcome the Olympic Torch to Leeds

With less than two weeks until the Olympic Torch arrives in West Yorkshire, United Leeds Endeavours helps you find the best vantage point.

The Olympic Torch is steadily making its way around the UK and with just over a week until it makes its first appearance in West Yorkshire it's time to get your viewing point planned. Leeds-based direct sales and marketing firm United Leeds Endeavours gives you a heads up of the route that the torch will take around the city and West Yorkshire in general so that you can get you and your family ahead of the crowds.

The Olympic Torch will be in the county on three occasions, on the 19^th, 24^th and 25^th of June. On the 19^th it will arrive in Boston Spa before moving on to Wetherby, Harewood and then onto Harrogate. It will return to West Yorkshire on the 24^th of June starting off in Huddersfield then going via Bradford, Keighley and Ilkley before arriving in Leeds City Centre in the evening. The evening celebrations will take place outside the town hall in Leeds City Centre and the torch will stay overnight in the city until its sets on off on the 25^th travelling through Batley, Wakefield and Castleford.

United Leeds Endeavours has previously reported that one of the torchbearers in Leeds with be 14-year-old Steven Tomlinson, the son of Jane Tomlinson who raised more than £1.85 million for charity before her death from cancer in 2007. A spokesperson for the direct sales company said, “There are a huge number of torchbearers who have done incredible things for their communities and deserve this fantastic recognition. Jane Tomlinson was someone who was well known around the country for her fundraising but who the people of Yorkshire were particularly proud of. Everyone in the county is delighted that her son gets will be keeping her memory alive at this wonderful occasion.”

To plan your exact spot, as well as finding out which roads are going to be closed as the traffic goes by, United Leeds Endeavours encourages you to visit the London 2012 website which has a full, live and interactive map of the torch route. http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/route/

United Leeds Endeavours would encourage people to find out the exact timings that the torch will be traveling near to you and get down in plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere and get a great spot, particularly for the evening celebrations in Leeds on the 24^th. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and definitely not to be missed. We can’t wait!”

United Leeds Endeavours on How to Protect Your LinkedIn Account

It was revealed yesterday that LinkedIn had suffered a severe security breach and that more than 6.5 million passwords had been leaked onto a Russian website. United Leeds Endeavours passes on the advice from LinkedIn and internet security advisers.

Whilst the hack was initially just suspected, today LinkedIn has confirmed that a number of passwords have been compromised though they will not admit how many. United Leeds Endeavours learnt later today that a number of LinkedIn users have now been hit with email scams, suspected to be as a result of the hack. LinkedIn are expected to send an email to affected members which will explain the breach in more detail and give them information on how to reset their passwords.

After reading the advice from LinkedIn and other internet security experts, United Leeds Endeavours has put together a list of things to watch out for with your LinkedIn and email accounts:

1. If you receive and email from LinkedIn examine it carefully. Remember that the email itself might well look legitimate and in the style that you have seen before.

2. Check the email address, if it looks suspicious report it immediately.

3. The scam emails ask users to “confirm” their email address by clicking on a link. The link then takes users to another site.

4. People’s whose accounts have been affected will find their password no longer works. They will receive an email from LinkedIn on how to change the password. This will not have any links in it to click on! If your email does have links then it is a fake and you shouldn't click on them.

A representative for United Leeds Endeavours expressed his concern over the situation. “This hack is clearly very worrying for LinkedIn users. Whilst this time round the problem seems easy to fix, the fact that these sort of security breaches are able to happen is worrying. Social networking for businesses and the general public is incredibly important in this day and age, but users must be confident that they can use it without risk. As more and more of people’s personal information is on the internet more must be done to ensure that the information of social networkers is kept safe and secure from hackers.”

This evening reports have suggested that dating site eHarmony might also have been affected by the same hack. United Leeds Endeavours urges users to keep an eye on the news and take any preventative measures recommended by individual sites.