to think HSBC are a bunch of idiots

[jade80]

I suspect I am in particularly grumpy mood today! But HSBC and their bloody new method for accessing internet banking! You used to tap in your date of birth, account details and two of the numbers from your 8 digit secret code, nice and easy, you could hold all the relevant info in you head.

Now you have to press a button on a little code pad, enter a PIN, then press more buttons and enter the code it gives you into the website, as well as type in an answer a question. And then repeat the whole bloody process every time you want to transfer money or make a payment, despite already being signed in.

Now a.) i had no issues with the way they used to do internet banking. I am confident it was secure and I took the necessary measures to minimise the chance of anyone accessing my account.

b.) as soon as it turned up I knew I would lose the bloody thing (which I did a few weeks later, and when replacing it- and moaning at the HSBC employee- he told me they cost three quid each to issue! What a waste of money!)

3.) it takes ages longer than it used to, when I held all the relevant details in my head and did not have to cart the code pad around with me (it's a bit crap and weak or I would attach it to my keys- but I don't think it would last more than a week without breaking.

So yeah, it now takes longer to use their system, limits you to either carrying the code pad around, or only using internet banking at home, and is generally a massive waste of money, which makes me want to throttle that kid on the advert every time she waves her crappy moneybox at the old bloke.

So, anyway, which banks have easier to access internet banking? Or are they all like this now? (Mr HSBC implied this was the case when I rang to ask if I could go back to the old way of accessing internet banking before I ejected my laptop from the window.)

Please tell me if you know of a better one, before I lose the damn thing again and have to wait a few days for the new one to turn up in the post, followed a day or so later by another letter with a code to activate it. By which time I've made the payment another way anyway.

Yes, yes, I am irrationally annoyed!

I have a natwest account and you only need the code reader thing if you are setting up new payment details i.e. you dont need it to send money to an existing recipient. LTSB dont have a card reader thing either - you need your user number, password and then 3 characters from a piece of memorable information you have given when you set up online banking. If you set up a new payment with them they do an automated phonecall to a telephone number they hold on file for you in order to get it set up.

I agree OP. hate it. Especially the having to do another code for transfers.

I think it makes everything less secure cos the less you check your account the less likely you are to spot fraudulent activity on it.

Clown, thanks, will look at them although have heard scary stories of Satander!

To access Natwest online you just have to put in your customer number, and then they ask you for letters and numbers from your passwords. jade I think Ive just had so much shit service from banks in the past and problems anything that runs normally is a bonus!

Their customer service on telephone banking is good, Ive always found them pleasant and helpful. Plus if a direct debit comes off and its the wrong date for example all you have to do is phone them up and then they can recall it - and the money comes back to your account the next day - well it looks then as if it has never left, it doesnt take weeks to sort out.

They all lose a lot of money from phishing and hacking. The keypad system makes it all much safer.

Seona- thank you. Is it right what fuckity said though, that others are planning to do this too? Will have to ask and not change to them if they are- or I will go through this annoyance again when they change over!

Northern numpty- good point about being less likely to spot fraud.

natwest also has mobile banking so i can check my balance, get a mini statement and transfer between my own accounts from my mobile phone

I think if you have to ring them for anything they are one of the most useless bunch on the planet.
Finding a good branch is the key. The staff at mine are great.
Also they are under no illusion that they are seen as awful and are trying to improve.

Thanks duckdodger, natwest def on the list!

Notquitecockney- I'm not sure it does make it that much safer though- e.g. see northern numpties post above. It doesn't stop people using your details to make purchases, does it?

Yes like seona I have the Natwest app for my phone.

Hmm, app for phone may be swaying me into making a call!

Oh I hate it too. And it's so attractive to kids, mine keep pinching it and I inevitably find it stuffed down the side of the sofa or being used as part of a hexbug maze. Once DS took it to nursery!
I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it :(
I wonder if people are going overdrawn more often because they can't be bothered to check their balance as often?

Ha ha at him taking it to nursery!! Oooh I know what you mean about the blood pressure- it's daft really, such a silly thing, but soooooo infuriating!

I think people are more likely to go overdrawn, yes, but hey, all good for the bank, they can whack on a big charge next time the person who went a quid overdrawn tries to extend their overdraft, so money for nothing, all good! GGGRrrrr!!!

I appear to be in the minority but I don't find it such a big deal - I'm also with HSBC and just keep it in my (large) purse so I don't lose it.

If it's costing them £3 for each keypad then I'm sure they're saving money by reducing fraud!

I'm in scotland too duckdodgers but the account was opened in England when I stayed there for a few years. Glad its with the English branch as it wont be sold off like the Scottish Natwest accounts

I hate it with the burning heat of a thousand suns. And I have one overdrawn because I can't check my balance - with a baby, I used to check my account with one hand while I was holding him, now I have to rummage around in piles of muslins and teething rings to find the bastard keypad, and it's black so instantly disappears in whatever drawer/basket/pot you put it into...ARGH!

And I can't shut my purse with the keypad in it.

Well presumably you're one of these poised, organised people who can keep track of things little panda . I'm not. Good god I'd probably never see it again if I put it in my bag!

I just doubt it'll affect fraud much. Give it a year and the fraudsters will have come up with a work round. Meanwhile we would still be stuck with crappy code pads!

''I hate it with the burning heat of a thousand suns.''

Now I just love this statement! A bugger about going overdrawn though. I TOTALLY agree re. the blackness- the time I've put it in my handbag I've had to empty it, then sift through the contents- it just doesn't stand out!

Ah, I've just twigged how the thing would be safer - keystrokes innit? Even so I still think it's a ruse to a) get me to go overdrawn more, or b) keep people visiting branches as they have to go in to request a new bloody gadget every month when they've lost the last one.

They're all the same, you know. It doesn't matter which bank's logo is on it, you can use any one with any bank. Useful to know if you need to make a transaction at work, there's always someone with one in a drawer.

I bank with smile. You don't need it to log in, you only use their pin machine thing to set up new transactions and bill payments.

My main account is with Barclays - I don't have a card reader, just surname, membership no. and 2 digits from a passcode, I think you need the reader to set up new payments tho. Our joint a/c and DP's main a/c are with HSBC - he hates it and checks his account far less often than before. I find it quite fiddly to use and I don't agree that it makes things more secure - they ask you to answer a memorable question which I'm sure people could find out the answer to if they wanted.

I wish I was more organised - I may be able to check my bank account but it doesn't mean I like what I see have spent too much in the Jan sales...

Harriet- I rang for a replacement when I lost mine, and they posted it.

Nancerama- you can't use any. Mine has a code on the back I had to enter to register the bloody thing, and wouldn't work till I did. So no good if a friend has one.

Littlebear- haha, but you must be more organised than me as I'm forever misplacing the thing and scratting about in my bag, laptop case and anywhere else it might be to find the thing. Invariably I find it 2 days later, hidden in a dark corner of my bag!