Co-op Bank and Verified by Visa

[Brian L Johnson]

Richard Jones <rich at annexia.org> wrote:

> On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 11:45:55AM +0100, Richard Brooksby wrote:
>> I'm getting into a battle with the Co-operative Bank over their
>> implementation of the Verified by Visa scheme.  I thought I'd let you
>> know about it, and also see if you agree with my position or have any
>> suggestions.
>
> I had a roughly similar discussion with Egg, after which they
> unilaterally cancelled my card.
>
> As a result, I am unable to purchase very much through the web,
> usually ending up on the phone to retailers or not buying at all.
> This saves me money, but I can't quite see how this benefits the
> companies involved.

Ah, the power of complaint, eh? <g>

I signed up for VbV ages ago, but suspected quite quickly that it might  
not be intended to protect *me* at all.

So, I made a phone call and a protest to the phonenumber on the VbV  
website. About 30 seconds into the call, I realised that I wasn't going to  
get anywhere with them because they were not interested in the slightest  
in protecting *me*.  So, I apologised for wasting their time and put the  
phone down.

Now, every time I come across a site which uses VbV, I cancel the order at  
that point and wander off to a site which doesn't use VbV.  Having made my  
purchase elsewhere, I then email the original company and tell them why  
another company got my money and not them.  No one has ever replied.

But, I still have my card. :)

-- 
-blj-