Co-op Bank and Verified by Visa

[Nicholas Bohm]

Peter Fairbrother wrote:
> I wrote:
> 
>> Or perhaps it protects the customer because it's so insecure for the
>> customer that no real liability is placed on the customer?
> 
> 
> On customer liability, LLoyds Clicksafe T&C's say:
> 
> ["
> As long as we have been given your Security Codes, we are entitled to
> assume we are dealing with you and will:
> 
>     * act on (and you will be bound by) all instructions;
>     * allow access to confidential information we hold about you and
> your accounts,
> 
> without getting further confirmation from you.
> 
> However, you/the Business will not be liable for any instructions you do
> not give yourself, unless we can prove you were fraudulent or acted
> without reasonable care (for example if you do not tell us as soon as
> you think someone knows your Security Codes or is accessing your account
> without your authority or you broke your obligations in condition 4).
> "]
> 
> clause 4, https://www.securesuite.co.uk/lloyds/docs/terms.jsp
> 
> 
> Either this is self-contradictory: if they have been given the Security
> Codes you are bound in the first paragraph, but you liable aren't in the
> second (afaict "bound" and "liable" are not distinct, but IANAL - Nick?)
> 
> Or the second paragraph refers to a situation where they haven't been
> given the Security Codes, and is probably meaningless in the circumstances.
> 
> In any case, customer liability when phished Security Codes have been
> provided by a third party crook is most certainly not clear.

It's a clumsy piece of drafting, but the "however" seems to me to make
it clear that the second rule ("not liable for others' actions unless
proved fraudulent or careless") overrides the first ("bound by all
instructions").

I don't think the bank would get anywhere arguing the contrary.

Nicholas
-- 
Salkyns, Great Canfield, Takeley,
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