Modern Life Is Rubbish

[Kidorry 189]

11 hours ago, St Petre said:

 

 

I thought it was, until about 1957,  unless you volunteered

I certainly did not volunteer.

[Chekhov 488]

16 hours ago, Chekhov said:

Am I the only one who is getting increasingly annoyed at all these extra layers of "online security" ?

I paid for a day at a kids sports camp for £17 and had to get a "One Time Passcode" from my bank (which is even more annoying because my mobile phone doesn't work well at my work).

For £17 ! ? ! And I'd used that company before so one would think the bank would have known that.

It's also TOTALLY INCONSISTENT because they want one time passcodes for relatively small amounts (which can be traced through bank accounts anyway) yet give people contactless debit cards which you (or someone who nicks your card) can spend up to £100 per transaction with.....

 

IT'S COBBLERS !

I just booked another day at the same sports camp, i.e. the same payee, the day after, and for a poxy £17, and the soddin' RBS insisted on sending me another One Time Passcode ! What kind of ballcox is this when they're quite happy to give me a contactless card where anyone can tap out with £100 of my money (or the bank's money) at Gawd knows how many shops, "no questions asked", or indeed not even a pin code ? ! ?

Edited August 9, 2022 by Chekhov

[RJRB 688]

But on the other hand,in the good old days you would need to visit the bank to withdraw cash to pay or perhaps post a cheque a few days in advance.

A OTP doesn’t seem too much of an imposition and perhaps illustrates that you have few issues at the moment.

[Dromedary 166]

14 hours ago, Anna B said:

The bank are quite happy to keep people jumping through hoops to access their own money, which is why I keep reminding people that cash is one of our last freedoms in case 'Computer says No.'

Surprisingly the PO announced that they have been dealing with record cash withdrawals as more people are watching what they spend and find it easier to do so with cash.

[Carl 31]

3 hours ago, Chekhov said:

I just booked another day at the same sports camp, i.e. the same payee, the day after, and for a poxy £17, and the soddin' RBS insisted on sending me another One Time Passcode ! What kind of ballcox is this when they're quite happy to give me a contactless card where anyone can tap out with £100 of my money (or the bank's money) at Gawd knows how many shops, "no questions asked", or indeed not even a pin code ? ! ?

The banks aren't doing One Time Passcodes (OTPs) for online transactions by choice, they're doing it because it's been mandated by a European Directive that has, in turn, become UK legislation (google "Strong Customer Authentication" if you want to read more about it).

 

Whether or not OTPs are required for low value payments is a bit of a minefield. It works in a similar fashion to contactless payments in as much as they CAN be exempt from OTPs unless and until your low value payments reaches a certain threshold (either in volume or in value). But, as I understand it, an individual bank's ability to grant OTP exemptions is controlled (in part at least) by that bank's current fraud profile - so if the bank has had a lot of fraudulent online transactions then they won't be allowed to provide OTP exemptions.

 

I believe (but I'm not certain about this) that the merchant can also ask (at the point that the payment is processed) for an individual low value transaction to be exempt from OTPs, but this would place a lot more responsibility and complexity on that merchant and is also much more complex at the bank's end. I'd assume that small to medium sized businesses would be unlikely to implement this and, in any case, your bank might not support it.

 

You said in an earlier post that mobile reception was dodgy at your shop so one thing that might interest you is that banks should (where possible) provide an alternative means of authenticating the payment that doesn't rely on the customer having a mobile phone. Typically this would involve giving you the option for something like an automated phonecall to your landline or perhaps even an email - but of course these rely on the bank holding a landline number or email address for you. It might be worth a phonecall to your bank to ask about this.

 

A final thought (and I stress that this bit is pure speculation on my part) - given that you have told your bank that you don't want the ability to make contactless payments, it's (theoretically) possible that your bank's systems have extended this to mean that all your online transactions will require OTPs.

[trastrick 866]

Just now, Dromedary said:

Surprisingly the PO announced that they have been dealing with record cash withdrawals as more people are watching what they spend and find it easier to do so with cash.

The government needs to control the free flow of cash through the economy. Your banking and credit purchases provide a profile of your personal income and expenditures.

 

Let's hope the U.K. does not opt for the mass audits of the U.S. IRS. In an unprecedented move,they've just doubled the number of tax auditors.

 

86,852 NEW IRS EMPLOYEES

 

" You've probably heard Republicans say the Inflation Reduction Act, the massive spending bill just passed by Senate Democrats, includes provisions to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. The number seems too big to believe. The IRS has just 93,654 employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Why would Congress, in one bill, increase the IRS workforce by something like 92%? It doesn't seem possible. It certainly doesn't seem wise".

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/86-852-new-irs-employees

[Tyke02 111]

4 hours ago, Chekhov said:

I just booked another day at the same sports camp, i.e. the same payee, the day after, and for a poxy £17, and the soddin' RBS insisted on sending me another One Time Passcode ! What kind of ballcox is this when they're quite happy to give me a contactless card where anyone can tap out with £100 of my money (or the bank's money) at Gawd knows how many shops, "no questions asked", or indeed not even a pin code ? ! ?

Could you pay by credit card?  Mine allows me to designate specific suppliers as "trusted" so that repeat authentication is not required.

 

I think you said you don't want a smartphone, however having one would allow you to:

- receive SMS over wifi for one time codes in poor reception areas

- have the capability to switch contactless card payments on and off if you might use them occasionally, to maintain your desired security

- alternatively make contactless payments from your account using your phone which can be secured by PIN code or fingerprint scanner if you wish

[St Petre 85]

6 hours ago, Kidorry said:

I certainly did not volunteer.

Kidorry, I didn't mean you personally.

[Kidorry 189]

51 minutes ago, St Petre said:

Kidorry, I didn't mean you personally.

No problem.

[altus 540]

2 hours ago, trastrick said:

The government needs to control the free flow of cash through the economy. Your banking and credit purchases provide a profile of your personal income and expenditures.

 

Let's hope the U.K. does not opt for the mass audits of the U.S. IRS. In an unprecedented move,they've just doubled the number of tax auditors.

 

86,852 NEW IRS EMPLOYEES

 

" You've probably heard Republicans say the Inflation Reduction Act, the massive spending bill just passed by Senate Democrats, includes provisions to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. The number seems too big to believe. The IRS has just 93,654 employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Why would Congress, in one bill, increase the IRS workforce by something like 92%? It doesn't seem possible. It certainly doesn't seem wise".

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/86-852-new-irs-employees

It's not surprising that a conservative publication disagrees with checking that people pay the tax they owe it but why to you seem to think it is a bad thing?

[Magilla 510]

1 hour ago, altus said:

It's not surprising that a conservative publication disagrees with checking that people pay the tax they owe it but why to you seem to think it is a bad thing?

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3594128-what-an-80b-funding-boost-to-the-irs-could-mean-for-taxpayers/

 

It isn't, if you have a basic understanding of the issues.

 

Underfunded for years, while being given more duties, leading to a massive backlog in processing returns and a huge skew to the investigations for budgetary reasons.

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Magilla

[nikki-red 308]

Have you ever stopped to think that for some people life is GENUINELY rubbish? People who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, who have serious illnesses, families living through wars,  people who have nothing and no one.

Instead of moaning about not being able to watch your kid have a swimming lesson, you should be thankful that he’s having them.

Instead of being so self entitled about absolutely everything, try thinking yourself lucky that you live in the country that you do, where we have so many freedoms and privileges.

Things could be an awful lot worse, believe me. Lighten up. Try to enjoy the short life you have, make the most of it, instead of picking fault and complaining about every single thing.

Edited August 9, 2022 by nikki-red