AIBU to think everyday life admin has become far too complicated?

[Samben2014]

I just can’t believe how difficult it is to just the most basic of things these days. I forgot my password for my savings account online and I have just been on the phone for over an hour being passed between so many different bots and AI generated response systems before I could even speak with a human. I find doing these things that used to be so straight forward have become overly complicated in the last 12 months. I have no idea how the older generation cope. The NHS trust I work for are pushing everything down the APP route and if you’re not tech savvy you’re going to get left sitting on the waiting list. We are just not prepared for this new way of doing things, I miss talking to humans! I’m only late 30’s and find this is becoming unbearable. Am I being unreasonable?

Yes, this sort of thing really irritates me. And even though I’m a genuine HSBC customer who knows all her online banking passwords, it’s so damn hard to set up a standing order these days. Branch staff can no longer help with this sort of thing

I disagree only because recent tech changes have made everything easy again. I don't need to know the password of any of my accounts because it's either saved in a password manager, or for many apps including banking I can use my fingerprint as identifier.

Many apps now will use this and it's made life easy again.

Genuinely I can't agree MORE

Even putting the TV on is beyond me now. We are beyond peak access for technology as security needs to be so tightly managed with the number of bad actors and sheer volume of cyber attacks

Last week I tried to park my car but couldn't get the app to work - I gave up and came home to order the things I wanted from Amazon instead of buying local. It is needlessly complicated at times

Sat in my garden watching a wood pigeon have a bath in the water I have just replenished. Don't need an app for that (yet)

Glad it’s not just me. I am an executor for an elderly relative who passed away at the end of last year. I have had dealings with 43 different organisations and 41 of them have been appalling.
I have been left a small inheritance, but I reckon for the number of hours I have spent it will be the equivalent of £1.20ph for my work.

My 82 year old dad is trying to apply for sheltered housing. He can't even fill the registration in as its online only. Which he can't do. Years ago when we applied for my grandad we went into the council office and got the paperwork. So my dad is stuck in a house which he struggles to do the upkeep for....sigh. I've tried to do the application for him as I have power of attorney but the application is in his name. He can't find the registration email so we are in limbo

I think it can be much more efficient when it works, but so often it doesn't. I spent ages yesterday faffing about with the Ringo parking app , still couldn't park and still not resolved. I have a new phone, went to pay parking and needed to login. Couldn't remember password (I now keep a written little book at home with passwords as I think it's safer than storing them digitally). Tried to reset it. SMS access code failed to arrive, tried three times. Called the phone number on the parking sign, lines are down, "we can't take your call". No other way to pay.

I just didn't pay, what a farce. Still no access today.....

I don't think it is universally becoming more difficult, but for certain things it is. Parking should be able to be paid by a debit card at a machine, no need for an app, and this could be enforced by a law saying no fines can be made unless you provide that option.

Yanbu. I've just tried to apply for student finance for my son and accidentally applied for me instead. Absolute nightmare.

To be fair I think things are now getting a bit simpler with biometrics and texting a code so pw doesn't matter but I do know what you mean..I have to help my parebts a fair bit

Something just work and are easy. Something - anything to do with I-capita hr and nope nothing works, even site admin cannot make it work. All I want is my payslips!!
as for the are you a human click on all traffic lights crap. Nope just nope. My record so far is 10 attempts, I then decided to just leave whatever I’d been trying to do alone and shop for insurance elsewhere.

The consumer council in Norway have made an excellent video - and I understand they have also written to several tech companies talking about this.

I'm posting it again as I think there might be some posters who would like to see it

It is utterly ridiculous - the situation I mean not the video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Upf_B9RLQ&ra=m

I think that if you need to do something really basic and there are no complicating factors (such as a change of details etc or tech issues), then it can be good. But there needs to be more human backup.

Yanbu. I've been trying to transfer my teens premium bonds and saving certificates into their name. It has been a nightmare with log ins, what email address was used, what password, nope reset it..... and round we go again.
I decided that I may as well tie in that life admin to a national savings office and go armed with proof of address, passports etc and we can do it in person. They don't have a bloody office do they.

Same. In fact I’ve got twins and the only reason I know that I did it is because it wouldn’t let me do it again for the second twin. It is so completely counter intuitive.

Parking apps are the work of the devil. When I’m the queen of the world, I’m banning all of them. By law they have to have an old fella in a little hut to take your money and then you go about your business.

I went into a favourite food place yesterday that sells really nice freshly prepared sandwiches. Where you used to have a person taking the order there are now three screens you have to order at. It took about 3 times longer to order and I didn’t speak to a soul. It’s a tiny place too so you wouldn’t even fit three people abreast trying to order. Really put me off going back.

The NHS app is a joke

I was interested to see my medical records. Apart from the fact there was nothing before 1999 it doesn’t include any mention of operations, pregnancies and any allergy testing let alone basic things like blood type

All things that happened after 1999

I do this all the time within my job responsibilities. Companies set themselves up for their benefit. Chat bots who cannot answer any queries other than basic ones. Generic emails because god forbid someone is allocated to handle the query from start to finish and you find out their phone number. They hide behind these. Telephone numbers that are difficult to find on the website.

Another example is GP appointments. Surgeries love telephone appointments.

They will give you one for 1400 and call you at 1600. Very busy and all that. What about people who have breaks but need to get back to a classroom or shop floor. It’s all done for THEIR convenience.

I heard someone the other day at the surgery be given a phone appointment for noon. She put it in her diary .

As she was leaving they said please allocate between 1130 and 1430 because the Doctor might be delayed with an emergency. She quite rightly said her job wouldn’t allow her to take a call within such a long timescale and what about a face to face. She was offered one 6 weeks later.

NS and I are a complete shit show. I got £500 as compensation when some twit gave me incorrect information. I got them to listen to the phone call where I had been given the wrong advice.

Yanbu. As a fully fledged adult before the internet, I remember life admin being remembering to pay your quarterly gas, electricity and phone bills. They would come in the post and you sent back a cheque with the remittance slip.

What other life admin was there? seriously!

How do you let them know, through their... erm... complicated tech systems

That sounds a lot like my experience trying to get my elderly dad appointments. I should have had some too but I can't face the hassle.

I used to be able to log into things via the forgotten password link now I have to click forgotten password
Get code from email address
Get code from other email address because my phone and home WiFi address ive had for years is allegedly "new" log into email address Get code Get code sent to phone input code Get another link sent to email to reset my password....password insufficient password insufficient password cannot be the same as previously used password would you like google to create password? Would you like Google to remember your password? Please sign into Google again to confirm this action...but I was trying to sign into Google in the first place so I cant complete that step try creating a password again...password insufficient

And THIS is why a lot of my passwords contain a LOT of swearwords

All I can say is don't try changing your council tax direct debit once it's set up. I'm in circles of non-human interaction hell trying to sort it out.

My dad was sent home from hospital two years ago after a major operation and I mean major he'd had a stent in his leg go wrong he'd had sepsis and had the leg removed below the knee. He was sent home from hospital at the age of 84 with his 83 year old wife supposed to look after him who was housebound frail and very unsteady on her feet. I went to stay and when they sent him home he had an intravenous antibiotic drip in his neck and the first thing the nurses who accompanied with him said is what's the Wi-Fi password? He turned to me and said what's that and I said they don't have the internet. They've never had it and have no real need of it. The nurse replied but we need to monitor him we need the internet to send all the readings and data back he's lost his leg he's had a very serious operation. I replied I know but surely you should have checked this before you sent him home. I will say BT were absolutely incredible got them connected to the internet within days which actually included having to shut the road down and dig a trench across it! We are 3 years on now my dad still can't really use the internet but he loves having sky TV. He's missed two appointments gave up on the physiotherapy for the missing leg because he couldn't coordinate it with the App he has very bad arthritis and a frozen shoulder can't really use his thumbs so struggles to text and to be honest can't even open them let alone read them and answer them.

I remember going with DM to the post office to buy a dog licence.

It appeared to involve her handing over 37.5 pence IIRC and the post office person stamping a slip of paper and handing it to her.

As far as I recall, no-one ever asked to see said dog licence.