Would you have passed security on this phonecall?

[DongDingBell]

So, I've just failed security to renew the broadband account.
Could you have answered these questions? - edit for your own accounts. I wouldn't expect you to get my answers!!

Name on account
e-mail address
Exact amount of last bill (to the nearest pence, it changes each month)
Date the money comes out of the account (it changes each month)
Last 4 digits of your bank account (not the card number)

I failed the last 3. Would you have got them all? Or am I spectacularly useless at this stuff?

My answers were: 23-25 pounds - answer 24.97
Just after the first - answer 2July
Not a clue.

Sorry OP, but I can do this quite easily!
Im in the process of moving house/buying a new house, and over the last few days I’ve had multiple phone calls where I’ve been asked for say, my United Utilities acc number, so I put the call on speaker and log into my account and tell them. Changing my address with car insurance, they ask for my policy number so I quickly look it up. They are very used to people saying “yep just give me one second whilst I look…” and it takes a matter of seconds. It would be the same with the type of phone call you’ve had today, I’d just log onto my banking as we are speaking and I’d check, and tell them. They expect this, it’s not a memory test.

Why would you need the landline? You can be on a call on a mobile and also open your banking app.

Yes easily. I would put the call on speaker and open my banking app (using Face ID) to check.

Vodafone have confused my husband's sign-up a couple of years ago (cancelled as virgin came through with a better deal)
With my new account which we now have broadband with.
They wanted him to verify my account.
I know I have to talk to them again and sort it out.

I had one like this a few years back. How much is your council tax? What date does your mortgage come out? How much is in your current account?

Vague idea but they wanted it accurare. I said gang in, I'll check, and they said I wasn't allowed to and they'd gave to end the call.

I had a strop, they called me 'urgently' about a suspicious transaction, I see no harm in not passing full security to deal with that one issue. I'm also not keen on going through security questions with someone who called me not me calling them.

Fair enough. I use online banking and assumed most people did now. I'll often have to give my details to friends etc if we've organized something and I've paid.

Was this Vodafone by any chance? My DPs phone was stolen and he was ordering a new one from Vodafone- the questions were - where and when was your last contact with Vodafone? He said that he spoke to someone by phone the day before and they said - wrong answer! He was surprised and they told him the last contact they had was an in store contact within the last few days. He told them that that wasn’t him and could’ve been the person who took his phone.
next question - what date did you take your contract out - he had no clue as it was years ago! And then your last bill to the nearest £2.00 - again no idea as the bills get texted to his phone which was stolen. Basically told you failed security and they hung up.
He rang back later - got someone sensible who asked him personal questions that only he would know ( and not the thief with his phone!) And thankfully now has a new phone!
Painful process

Do you have a banking app or are you using online banking through a webpage? I have two different banking apps and I don’t need to do any of the numbers from texts or verify the traffic lights. They both use my Face ID. If this is a banking app, consider opening an account with an app that you can just use your Face ID/fingerprint or passcode for and using that for any direct debits so you can get into the account easily on the phone when doing security. Transfer the amount for bills into there each month.

You put the phone on loud speaker and say, “hang on, I’ll just need to log into my banking app”. You don’t need to fill the silence. open your banking app, Face ID, finger print or passcode (I can’t remember my pass code which is why I have Face ID set up). Go to the account with that direct debit, use the search function to type “EE/Sky/Virgin” and then answer the questions. Searching for the utility would also be able to show me all the transactions in the default search period so I could say “it’s usually paid on the 2nd but last month it was paid on the 30th”.

I had a whole credit card I couldn’t use and couldn’t cancel because I never could pass security on the phone. God knows how everyone else finds it so easy - I could do it easily online and in my own time but trying to do it while on the phone makes me physically hot and flustered and I just find myself logged out, typing the wrong passcode and locking myself out, not able to read numbers out loud in the right order etc. I’m a professional with a stressful job too but this is a combination of stresses I simply can’t cope with.

When they say something like “what’s the 5th and 11th digit of your card number “ I just want to hang up! I could do it in writing in a second but not out loud. It’s like different parts of my brain are all competing with each other. And if there’s any sort of background noise on either end I’m useless.

Yeah you say that but in reality you either end up unable to get back into the phone call screen or you accidentally hang up or they can't hear you on speakerphone ... I hate using my mobile for calls I find it is determined to screw me over at every opportunity.

This. You can also say: “This will take me a minute as I’m dyslexic so it can take me a while to log in”. Don’t be flustered, or feel rushed. Take your time.

If it makes you feel better you can tell them what’s happening, (eg ok they are sending me a code by text I just have to wait for that) every so often but you don’t have to.

I agree that it seems ridiculously involved to just renew your broadband and I do eye roll at some of the lengthy security checks needed for not very important things, but you are probably fighting a losing battle there so probably better to just try to find a way to work with it so you can get what you need doing done. Good luck!

I would expect it to be a lengthy screening process because it would take me time to look up all that information.

I’m also ASD and not having a plan for a phone call can fluster me and I can start to make mistakes so it’s important that I take my time with the lookups. It has happened before. I just say something like, wow, you need something that specific, give me a few minutes and start searching. Sometimes I manage small talk, sometimes not.

I’ve found that most of the businesses requiring things like this aren’t rushing their customer service agents in the same way that other companies might be. So you don’t face the same pressure to get through the call as quickly as possible. The entire exchange tends to be a bit more relaxed.

Like others have said, I could answer those questions using my banking app, but they never ask security questions like that where I am. I just get asked what my account number is that few times I've had to call the broadband provider or whatever. If they need to make sure I am who I say I am, they ask my social security number which would have been used to open the account, because I live in a country that isn't dumb and has proper identification for the population. No showing gas/electric bills addressed to you to prove your identity and address!

Recently, one of the security questions I was asked was the month and year my current account was set up. It was to set up a government gateway account, I think. Given it was approximately twenty years ago, it was completely unrealistic to expect me to remember. Fortunately it was a multiple choice question, or I would have had no chance at all.

I wouldn’t have known these things and I don’t have a banking app to be able to check quickly either.

I get what you mean because when I’m put on the spot my brain is like tumbleweed. I do have banking app though which is easy to access so could probably manage to check. That's a lot of security for broadband though. At least now you can write down the info and ring back.

Yes

I can log into my online account with a 5 digit passcode - it takes less than 10 seconds.

What bank are you with that means you need texts and all sorts?

This.

I just say let me check and stay silent while I do it. If it’s taking a while I might day “sorry it’s just loading”, but if they’re asking detailed questions they can wait in silence for 2 minutes while I find the answer

If you have an iPhone, there will be a green “button” which is rhetorical life call in top right hand corner, whatever screen you are on. Press that and return to call. Or swipe up and see all the open apps, including the call screen.

Surely set up biometrics? What bank is asking you to tick traffic lights?! I access my online banking with a thumb print

When you get a text code through just press and hold the code and it should copy it then just paste in the appropriate box for log in.
Easy to forget the numbers when moving app to app!

Companies make allowances for disabilities, you just have to let them know!!

They also have vulnerable customer policies - ask about them.