The problem with banks: the user is always the one who’s wrong.

The problem with banks: the user is always the one who’s wrong.

…?  Yes, that’s all banks philosophies.

Not going to mention the specific bank with which it took me over 2 or 2 and a ½ hours configuring a bank’s app that belong to them for me to use it again after been using that things for years.  I refused to downgrade my security in the app.

This went like this: hello bank.

“please give me your name.

I am “blah, blah, blah.

Mr. Blah blah, would you please tell me your account number?

Excuse me bank, which one: my debit/credit card number or my checking account number?

Your debit card number, the last four digits.

…they are: 4567.

Your address Mr. Blah blah.

…this and that in this zone and this city and this borough.

Are you the sole owner of this account?

…well, it is my wife.  I am the account manager.

Could you Mr. Blah blah put the account owner in the phone?

…why?

We can talk to her only.

K.  ¡Linda!  ¡Linda!  Liiindaaa! ¡Come to the phone!

…yes honey. What is the matter?

…am talking with our bank to restore the option to use their application in the cellphone to make a deposit and the app keeps asking again and again for the bank account code to open the application.

…hello Mr. bank, am Linda.  How may I help.

Mr. Bank goes thru the same process: name address, account number if she is the owner of the account, how many users are in the account and all the heck and blahs of that.

She answers each and every question, including telling the phone number she’s talking or using at the moment.  It took more or less 10 or 15 minutes interrogating my wife -the poor woman had difficulties answering ‘cause didn’t have her glasses at hands (misplace them), had to turn on a low level bulb with high intensity light (75 watts) and put the debit card on the opposite site of the bulb in order to see the numbers, couldn’t read well the last two digits of the card, so I read it for her and Mr. Bank on the other side said: Mrs. Blah blah, only you answer, I am talking to you, not him.

Sorry Mr. Bank, it is that I am unable to read the last two digits, the bulb light blinds me.

…after those 10-15 minutes passed, Mr. Bank asked my wife: how may I help you madam?

…please, talk to my husband he is the one responsible to discuss the situation with you.

Mr. Bank: gives me his name.

…it is Blah blah my husband.

Mr. Bank: do you accept that your husband discusses the situation with me?

…my wife looks at me, frustrated and say: yes Mr. Bank.  Then gives me the phone to me.

Mr. Bank: what’s your name?

…I wanted to tell Mr. Bank: fuck you! And hang up, but didn’t, just remained calm.

My name is Blah blah.

How may I help you?

…I wanted to tell Mr. Bank, fuck you.  But remain calm: Mr. Bank, I am trying to use your bank application in order to e-deposit a check, and the app asks me again and again for the security code number, I inserted but it goes again and ask for it.  I think that the bank is no longer recognizing this code or might be I am writing the code wrong in some way or the other.  Would you help me?

Mr. Bank: would be a pleasure in helping you.

…the world f…ck you stayed constantly in my mind, not in my mouth.

After 20 minutes trying, the app didn’t open.  That’s when the f…ck Mr. Bank decided to tell me.  Let’s get a different code.

…but Mr. Bank, my code I been using it for long.  Anyway, let’s do that.

…after spending about 7 or 10 minutes do working with the said, I decided to let go of Mr. Bank and suggested that I’ll continue alone and thanked for the help.  Mr. Bank ask me the f…ng question, is there same thing else I could help you?

No thanks a lot Mr. Bank -but I meant: get the f…king out of here!

I continued with the app, placed a 20 digits alphanumeric code.  Then the situation turned ugly, the app said, sorry, we encounter a problem, try later.  But first it accepted the 20 alphanumeric code and told which specific codes could be used.  I followed its instructions but kept a total of 20 alphanumeric codes.  It was when it indicated to me, they had an error, to return later.

When I closed the app, it asked my how much I like it and evaluated.

…what you think I did?

…here more or less the answer:  (wanted to advice that the IT people who created the app, they all should be fire! But didn’t)

I marked: minus-minus or negative-negative (double negative) the evaluation (it was from a double negative to upmost to a plus 10).

It asked me my opinion and I did say something like this: this app is a fiasco, it is one of the worst I ever seen.  It asks me to choose only _, . @! and small and capital letters and numbers.  I followed instructions and still it doesn’t work.

…you Mr. Bank wants users (clients) to use a strong password and still this app doesn’t accept a strong pass even the user follows instructions.  I think that the security of the bank is the same security of the user, it either of them don’t built a strong sec, the account is at risk.  First make sure that your IT persons know how to build the Bank app in order not to expose the client with the risk of loosing money and then you, the Bank, use the scapegoat that someone enters the account ‘cause the user didn’t place a good enough strong sec, so as to step aside on your responsibility with the user.  I told that bank very heavy educated words, I was tired of trying to open the app with a new code.  Couldn’t cause the IT managers expected users to code the app with simple passwords …simple passwords could be easily cracked today’s day with these advances in tech as of now.

Banks should create or improve their system, how? I have a lot of ideas, but they don’t pay for ideas.  Just one idea of mine would solve this problem above enumerated.

I wrote the above here just for you onlookers to see how difficult it is to do work with a bank via a phone due to impostors that wise to rob other people money.