Paul Jakma's Blog

Update: RBS have responded. The security issues apparently were some kind of system failure. I should have already been authenticated, using RBS specific questions, by the automated IVR you go through when you call – and I had gone through this. However, on my call, the system had lost this information somehow (there were computer issues on the day) and it wasn’t available to the  agent. Normally, the credit check based public-data questions should augment the RBS authentication procedures and provide an extra layer of identity verification. They are not normally meant to be the only form of identity verification, as appeared to happen in my call. With regard to the issue of that credit check data being completely incorrect, RBS have offered to pay any costs incurred in dealing with the credit check agencies.

RBS Card Services seem to have brought in some kind of new system to verify your identity when you phone them up. They girl said it’s provided by  3rd party credit checking agencies. They ask you questions that are based on quite public information – which is daft, as RBS hold far more personal, private data on me. Worse, in my case, it seems this information is wrong. None of the questions had any answers that had anything to do with me.

So RBS apparently don’t trust the security of the personal data they hold on me, instead trust external companies to identify me using public information. That doesn’t sound like competent or acceptable security to me.

Below is my letter to them, which will be sent tomorrow hopefully.