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Data Protection and Security Questions

Am I the only one that is getting a bit sick and tired of the big company attitude by Banks, Utilities and other such companies when it comes to so called Data protection? For the last 2 weeks or so, I have been having the same conversation regarding security questions and my phone number (which I never ever give out). The conversation always goes:

Me : "Hello, I would like to [do whatever]." Company : "That's find, just need to run through some security questions" Me "Ok" Company "Can you confirm your address and postcode?" Me "Its [whatever]" Company "And can you please confirm your home phone number?" Me "Erm, Actually I don't think you have it, I don't give it out so I don't get cold-calls offering services." Company "Actually, we do have it listed" Me "Strange, I don't give it out. Ok, tell me the last digit and I will confirm the rest Company "I cant do that because of data protection reasons" Me "But its one digit - what harm can that do" Company "Im sorry but... " and so on

I feel they are trying to updating their databases with more information that they don't have - or an I being paranoid?

Also, with my bank (the abbey) I was recently forced to use their internal on the wall phone within their branch to talk to a manager in their call centre to sort out one of their mistakes. During this conversation, they asked for all the usual details including my bank account and security questions. I was not happy to give these out one after the other as people were standing around not 2 meters from me and would have all my details, but the Abbey they didn't seem to think this was a problem.

Are others in this group as me, or am I over reacting?

Jaffa

Reply to
JaffaB
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I dont get bothered much by banks now but i did get fed up when a bank called for my son and wont even say who they are. lloyds used to try that on till i threatened legal action to stop them calling without saying which bank they were. Even when i told them that my son wasnt there and gave times for them to catch him they had no system for taking notes down. Indian call centre was the problem. The big companies you speak of wouldnt know what customer service was if it jumped up and bit them. They love to hide behind the data protection act. Did you know that the usa government are being given bank account details of millions of customers from all over the world? Not from usa banks but from a belgium company who just hands them over! Supposedly for anti terrorismt fight.

Reply to
linkuk

Maybe you should give them the wrong number, and then see if they tell you that you have given the wrong number. Or say, "I am at home at the moment. In order to confirm that you have the correct number, please phone me back."

Reply to
Graham Murray

I don't take calls from any so-called financial companies.

For some reason, they seem to get upset when I ask for their name and tell them that I'll call them back "Oh, it's not our policy to give our our surnames" "OK, I'll just call back on the number I have for you 'cos *you* witheld your number, and ask to speak to Dave at the call centre, shall I?"

I specifically *do* *not* 'go through security' if handed the phone by a retailer trying to get authorisation for a transaction.

(We do remember the story as to why the

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was invented, don't we? ) rgds, Alan

Reply to
Alan Frame

You you alway try:

Me "I cant do that because of data protection reasons"

Reply to
rob

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