Security questions

[lejt]

Hi,

I've had a hell of a week trying to get my NTL services (broadband and two phone lines) transferred following my house move and among the many issues I am complaining to NTL about, I wanted to pick your brains about the one that concerns me the most.

I had cause to speak to the very unhelpful asian broadband call centre and they refused to help me because I could not give them correct answers to security questions such as place of birth, first school, attended etc. I have never given NTL these details in the first place, so it's not surprising my answers didn't match what was on their screens. After going round in circles they finally decided I wasn't trying to fraudulantly access the account after I read them the MAC numbers from the bottom of my old and new cable modems.

After that I phoned customer services to check and correct the security information on my account, only to be told, and I quote 'oh sometimes they put random words in for the answers if they don't have your real details'. I am gobsmacked at this, but don't actually know the best route to take with regards complaints. Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance,

Lois

[MovedGoalPosts]

to Cable Forum

" they put random words in if they don't have real ones"

That's the silliest thing I've heard of for a long long while. Especially if there is no flag on the database to warn the entry is false. If a Database can't be created without an entry (soem have fields set so there must be something) then ther needs to be a standard default word used by operators.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/article.php?a=28

if you can't get anywhere with any other complaints procedure.

[Chris W]

To be honest, i have never seen random words inserted- although i have just seen

"-" or "..." in the appropriated fields, in this case, other details on the account can be used to conform with the Data Protection Act.

If i was you my first step would be to call ntl and ask for the address of the Data Controller, and write requesting access to all of the information that they hold about you so you can see what the "random words" that were used were- they may perhaps be not as random as you think. Some companies do charge for this data (IIRC they are allowed to charge "a reasonable fee" - normally £10) but i don't know whether ntl do.

When you have this information you are much better armed to make a complaint.

[humphreys barmy]

At last, I thought this had only happened to me !! Another sufferer, and that's made my day. Thank you.
On one of the numerous phone calls for various different complaints, I was asked for a password, which apparantley was on the account. I couldn't answer, I didn't know what they were talking about. Next came another security question... husbands date of birth. I gave it. But apparantley I gave them the wrong one. According to ntls info, he's quite a young man, and I'm a cradle snatcher !!!! I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Should I be pleased or annoyed ! Oh, well.

[Gareth]

I think MB's advice is spot-on and should be followed. for monkeybreath