PO Instant Saver

It sounds like you're criticising them for both lack of security and having too much security at the same time.

Chris

ISTM that it's in the same complaint, not at the same time (the only connection between the two mistakes is that the customer is the same)

tim

PINs - a maximum of 9999 permutations. Probably reduced by no 0xxx numbers.

How many credit/debit cards are there?

An awful lot of people are going to get the same PIN twice.

Checking that you do not have the same PIN would only reduce security.

Flop

Rubbish - what aspect of what I have said concerns too much security? I have criticised them for incompetence and appalling customer service.

The new card arrived today. The machine declined it.

He went in to the PO and they said there was nothing they could do - he had to phone the PO Instant Saver department.(ie Bank of Ireland)

We are doing that later today.

-------------------------- update -------------------------- The card has been blocked - as for some reason another new card was issued yesterday, It will arrive in 3 to 5 working days. No doubt this show will run and run. They could not say why a new card was issued yesterday. Unfortunately at 16:00 the person who answered the phone and dealt with the matter was the most senior person available. No supervisors - no managers.

He is opening a new account with Barclays tomorrow. He will then ask to close the PO account and to get a cheque which can then be paid in to the new account.

Of all companies/organisations etc etc: I have ever dealt with - I have found the PO/Bank of Ireland to be the worst of the lot : appalling.

I bet the Subject Access Request will cost them more than ten quid to process, in preparation for formal complaints to the FOS and FCO.

Have you *ever* heard of someone getting the same pin twice?

Not the sort of thing we discuss.

But, to be fair, no.

However, if there are 140million cards issued [88m debit, 63m credit*] then 14000 cards will share the same PIN.

Flop

• formatting link

"They said that they had no emergency procedure to let him access his money - he had to wait until the card turned up!! He could not even go in to a PO with his damaged card and proof of ID to get some money."

This is a bit like when we hear politicians discuss banking regulation. It is not necessarily more or less that is required, it is *appropriate* regulation that is required.

In this case it is inappropriate security to send a re-advisement of a known pin. It is also inappropriate to not have emergency security measures to allow customers timely access to their money if a card replacement takes 6 weeks.

For what it is worth my bank have resent my pin with a card replacement so it is not just the PO who have bad systems.

That is nothing to do with security whatsoever. It is their stupid rules. Why on earth should they *not* have an emergency access method of some sort?

Every aspect of dealing with the PO (Bank of Ireland) has been absolutely pathetic.

I have dealt with many financial institutions in my life - I have *never* come across so much incompetence and intransigence. If you phone up and are not happy with the service - you cannot escalate the problem there and then. You must write in!!

If a card does not work - all they will do is send out a new one - in the end he received three brand new cards- none of which worked!! The only thing they would do on the phone was send out yet another card.

Have you ever, ever heard of that with any other Bank. If so - please share with us, so that people can decide whether it is a reasonable bank to deal with.

(PS See new thread on Bank Transfers)

I've just made the mistake of taking out fixed term savings with the Britannia Building Society. Their problem is they still seem to be operating in the 1800s with staff still filling out correspondence with quill pens. Unfortunately not copper plate writing but some barely legible spiders scrawl.

They apparently don't have knowledge of paperless modern money transfer and their use of the Internet, email etc. is bordering on amateur. They don't even know where their branches are in my part of the country.

I suppose that I should have known better as they are owned by an organisation that overnight realised that the £billion or so they had hidden under the mattress had gone missing.