T
Tom
Guest
I'm presuming you all have online bank accounts, credit cards etc. I certainly do. I like the convenience they offer, and the ability to make payments without speaking to people on the phone, or going down to the bank.
What I don't like are the increasingly silly (well, at least in my opinion) security arrangements that you have to go through. Of particular annoyance to me are the questions about 'memorable places' or 'memorable dates'. Two questions that have absolutely no relevance to me, whatsoever. I've done a fair bit of travelling, so I have a fair few memorable places, and as for memorable dates? Perhaps if I was married, but what else is there? My online bank account recently added this to the login. They weren't happy with a 6 letter password (via drop down boxes), and a login id. Worked perfectly well for me. Perhaps they're just all getting paranoid.
Which leads me to what just happened as I tried to make a first payment on my new credit card (I change regularly for the 0%). After working my way through the assault course that is the login screen, and finally entering all my payment details (the DD isn't set up yet), I was asked for my security code. I instantly assumed it wanted the 3-digit code on the back of the card, and put that in. Cue the old Family Fortunes buzzer, I try again, XXX WRONG, one more time I think (using the other set of number keys just in case), then I get: XXX YOUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN LOCKED OUT STFU NOOB (well it didn't say stfu noob but it might as well have.
I tried to contact them using the website, but guess what? You need to enter the correct security code to do that, and cos I got it wrong 3 times, I can't email them. By now I had realised that there is a super-special security code, different from the login password and memorable crap. So I phoned them up. The automated machine took 2 attempts before it got my CC number right (or so I thought). Followed by a long wait (0730 and 'we apologise for the delay; this is due to an extremely high call volume' - wtf?) Then a real person says hello, and asks how she can help. I tell her what happened, and the conversation goes something like this:
'Ok Mr Khan?'
'Er....no'
'ahhh, we are having some problems with our system' (funny how often that happens, what are they running, Amstrads?)
'Mr Dale?'
'You're not exactly inspiring me with confidence here. What happens if I say yes, and get into Mr Dale's account?'
'Oh that couldn't happen sir'
'What, with your superbly maintained systems?'
'Mr Jeffs?'
'Thats me!'
Anyway, its all sorted now, but it did bring home to me how much I fucking hate all this security crap. How much of it is really necessary, and how much of it is their paranoia? I mean, do they really see online fraud becoming a bigger problem than cashier apathy?
What I don't like are the increasingly silly (well, at least in my opinion) security arrangements that you have to go through. Of particular annoyance to me are the questions about 'memorable places' or 'memorable dates'. Two questions that have absolutely no relevance to me, whatsoever. I've done a fair bit of travelling, so I have a fair few memorable places, and as for memorable dates? Perhaps if I was married, but what else is there? My online bank account recently added this to the login. They weren't happy with a 6 letter password (via drop down boxes), and a login id. Worked perfectly well for me. Perhaps they're just all getting paranoid.
Which leads me to what just happened as I tried to make a first payment on my new credit card (I change regularly for the 0%). After working my way through the assault course that is the login screen, and finally entering all my payment details (the DD isn't set up yet), I was asked for my security code. I instantly assumed it wanted the 3-digit code on the back of the card, and put that in. Cue the old Family Fortunes buzzer, I try again, XXX WRONG, one more time I think (using the other set of number keys just in case), then I get: XXX YOUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN LOCKED OUT STFU NOOB (well it didn't say stfu noob but it might as well have.
I tried to contact them using the website, but guess what? You need to enter the correct security code to do that, and cos I got it wrong 3 times, I can't email them. By now I had realised that there is a super-special security code, different from the login password and memorable crap. So I phoned them up. The automated machine took 2 attempts before it got my CC number right (or so I thought). Followed by a long wait (0730 and 'we apologise for the delay; this is due to an extremely high call volume' - wtf?) Then a real person says hello, and asks how she can help. I tell her what happened, and the conversation goes something like this:
'Ok Mr Khan?'
'Er....no'
'ahhh, we are having some problems with our system' (funny how often that happens, what are they running, Amstrads?)
'Mr Dale?'
'You're not exactly inspiring me with confidence here. What happens if I say yes, and get into Mr Dale's account?'
'Oh that couldn't happen sir'
'What, with your superbly maintained systems?'
'Mr Jeffs?'
'Thats me!'
Anyway, its all sorted now, but it did bring home to me how much I fucking hate all this security crap. How much of it is really necessary, and how much of it is their paranoia? I mean, do they really see online fraud becoming a bigger problem than cashier apathy?
