Friday’s Rant from the Soap Box in MY Living Room!

Welcome to my one day in the week, where I let loose and have a rant. I try to keep my blog a reasonably happy, upbeat place, or at least not rant all the time, but Friday is my day to get things that are bothering me off my chest. It may be about parenting, politics, or something I have seen or have happened to in my week, that I just need to have a little chunter about. I personally think a good rant can be therapeutic. If you have a rant, of your own, please feel free to add a link to it, in the comment section.

Dear well known, and popular high street bank that we have an account with….

This week, I needed to make a transfer, to pay my brother in law some money. It wasn’t a large sum, but I wanted to pay it, and of course, I have online banking, so I thought it would be easy.

Unfortunately it wasn’t. The transaction in question involved setting up a new payment. When I have to do this, I need a widget, thing, that looks like a calculator, to do a chip and pin check before the bank will allow me to proceed further. Of course, our widgets are broken (thanks to a certain small boy who likes to take things apart, and managed to break ours) and apparently, it takes “5 working days” to get a new one. Which means, of course, that unless I can drag myself into the actual branch, to do the payment over the counter (how old fashioned, seriously?) I have to wait, to make a new payment. Of course, my brother in law is not going to hunt us down for this payment (well, at least I hope not!) but if it had been an urgent payment. It would have been a problem. My other bank account, which I rarely use, with a different bank, has a far less complicated system. You plug in the details of the payee, you get an automated call on the telephone number of your choice (which has previously been confirmed as secure when you set the account up, all online, of course) you enter a code, and bish, bash, bosh, payment set up and made…. It took me less than 2 minutes. I thought the whole point of online banking was to make things convenient and easy? Clearly not, in this case.

So, dear bank, I eagerly await the arrival of the “widget” so next time, I can faff about, (because using the widget is a faff too, frankly) instead of a painless, simple transaction, not wasting my time.

Thanks for that

Yours, unhappily online banking, wondering why she bothers.

Anyone else sometimes wonder if these things that are meant to make our lives easier and less hassle, are actually more complicated than doing things the old fashioned way?

PS Bro in law, you have been paid…Next time I will send one of the cats round with a cheque, it will be quicker!

PPS Anyone reading this, having worked out what banks we bank with, and thinking of hacking our accounts, you will be sadly disappointed at the contents therein, so I shouldn’t bother, if I were you 😉