Marks & Spencer website is shut down after furious customers log in only to find other people’s personal details being displayed

London-based retailer suspends website but denies it’s been hacked

Customers claim they can see order histories and addresses of others

Happened when they logged on to register new ‘Sparks’ reward cards

By Mark Duell and Amanda Williams for MailOnline
Published: 21:18, 27 October 2015 | Updated: 11:20, 28 October 2015
Marks & Spencer customers were left fuming last night after logging into their online accounts to find other users’ personal details.
The London-based retailer, which has more than 1,300 stores worldwide, temporarily suspended its website while the ‘technical issue’ is investigated – but strongly denied it had been hacked.
Customers claimed they could see order histories, personal addresses and other details of different account holders online when they logged on to register new ‘Sparks’ reward cards.
Problems: M&S customers claimed they could see order histories, personal addresses and other details of different account holders online when they logged on to register new ‘Sparks’ reward cards 

Problems: M&S customers claimed they could see order histories, personal addresses and other details of different account holders online when they logged on to register new ‘Sparks’ reward cards 
‘We’ll be back soon’: The retailer suspended its website after the ‘technical issue’ and posted this image online

‘We’ll be back soon’: The retailer suspended its website after the ‘technical issue’ and posted this image online
Helen Jones, from Oswestry, told the MailOnline she was horrified to log into her account and find that someone had ordered three items in a completely different size.
She said: ‘I had gone out during the day and was given this card to join the scheme, a Sparks card. 
‘The site was really a bit iffy and I couldn’t get to register the stupid card. I must have tried about 15 times. 
I went into the My Account section to change my password and it showed I had ordered three garments – not in my size – which came to around £45. 
‘I hit the page with personal address, and I could see the name, date of birth, address, email, postcode and mobile number of a different woman. 
‘It has given me great reservations. What if my account details are being bandied around left, right and centre? It is a huge data protection issue, especially off the back of what happened with TalkTalk.
‘It is another huge hitch on a major retail site. It does make you wonder if have they been hacked. I really don’t think they should be taking this too lightly.’ 

Customer Sue Price tweeted: ‘Serious problem with my online account – showing someone else’s full personal details and order history.’
And software developer Elizabeth Lynch added: ‘Just tried to create a new account and got shown other user’s Sparks points, basket, cards, delivery address. #Problem.’
Meanwhile customer David Collier from Bournemouth said last night that his girlfriend had created an account and was ‘presented with five other people’s account details’.
And Debbie Dilks from Worthing said on Facebook: ‘I have just found the name, address, email address, date of birth and mobile and landline number of a lady I have never met. This is appalling.’ 
Problem: Sue Price was among customers who logged into their accounts to find other users’ personal details

Problem: Sue Price was among customers who logged into their accounts to find other users’ personal details
Concerns: David Collier told how his girlfriend created an account and saw the details of five other people

Concerns: David Collier told how his girlfriend created an account and saw the details of five other people
Report: Customer Alex Brown said he could see someone else’s mobile number on his online account 

Report: Customer Alex Brown said he could see someone else’s mobile number on his online account 
Different details: A Twitter user named ‘Sarah’ described the incident as a ‘major cock-up’ for M&S

Different details: A Twitter user named ‘Sarah’ described the incident as a ‘major cock-up’ for M&S
Serious problem with my online account – showing someone else’s full personal details and order history

A spokeswoman for the company said: ‘Due to a technical issue we temporarily suspended our website last night. 
‘This allowed us to thoroughly investigate and resolve the issue and quickly restore service for our customers. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.’