People in downtown Toledo were not happy Friday afternoon about their banking service at Firth Third, after apparent problems affected the bank’s computer system.

“It’s horrible. I am mad. I had to walk all over the place to find a bank that works. Come on!” Andrew Stanickowsky, of Toledo, said, adding that he needed to make a cash withdrawal and walked into a Fifth Third Bank branch downtown to save on ATM fees but was turned away by a clerk who told him “the system was down.”   

Fifth Third Bank was having a problem with the company’s network, according to a statement released on Twitter.

“We are experiencing an issue with our network,” the company tweeted. “We are working as quickly as possible to restore service for our affected customers, and we apologize for the inconvenience.”

We are experiencing an issue with our network. We are working as quickly as possible to restore service for our affected customers, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

— Fifth Third Bank (@FifthThird) December 6, 2019

The service began to come back after at least four hours at about 4:15 p.m. The bank released the following statement on Twitter: “UPDATE: We experienced a temporary issue within our network connectivity this afternoon. Service is now being gradually restored and we apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.”

A bank spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. The company said on social media that there was no evidence that the service interruption was caused by an external threat, such as computer hacking. 

Mr. Stanickowsky was not alone in his feelings.

Julio De Leon Garay, also of Toledo, said it was imperative that he withdrew money from his bank account to pay rent, but an ATM inquiry showed that he had less money in the account than he had anticipated. He then walked into the Fifth Third “to find out what was going on,” but was refused service for the same reason Mr. Stanickowsky was.

“I spent an hour trying to get my money. It’s cold and I had to walk from the bus stop to get here,” Mr. De Leon Garay said.

Others were more understanding, including several people who said they weren’t seriously inconvenienced.

Larry Guth, also of Toledo, had a problem with his bank card trying to get cash from the Fifth Third. He was turned away by a cashier, and then eventually got his cash from the ATM on the second try.

Said Mr. Guth: “I understand. They are usually very good here. Things happen.”  

First Published December 6, 2019, 7:05 p.m.