Online accounts - any point?

[Dave2002]

Is there any point in most offers of online accounts? OK - I have some online accounts - Amazon, Tesco and a few other sites which I use a lot, but when ordering what might be one of only one or two things in a year I am often presented with an option to create an online account. I can't see much point in that - and there may be risks involved - though risks are not one sided.

Some sites are a bit more of a pain, and either insist on an account, or else ask for details of a previously created account. Almost invariably this leads to a load of hassle trying to find a missing password, or eventually trying to create a new account. In the last situation this usually leads after further form filling to an error message - "There is already an account with that email address" or similar. This leads to further pulling of hair.

Ah well - in the spirit of goodwill I'll leave it there for the moment, but I am somewhat doubtful of the "benefits" to the customers of many online accounts.

[gradus]

Is prime online a/c? If so it delivered foc for a trial period, thus perhaps a point to it(?)

[Old Grumpy]

Is there any point in most offers of online accounts? OK - I have some online accounts - Amazon, Tesco and a few other sites which I use a lot, but when ordering what might be one of only one or two things in a year I am often presented with an option to create an online account. I can't see much point in that - and there may be risks involved - though risks are not one sided.

Some sites are a bit more of a pain, and either insist on an account, or else ask for details of a previously created account. Almost invariably this leads to a load of hassle trying to find a missing password, or eventually trying to create a new account. In the last situation this usually leads after further form filling to an error message - "There is already an account with that email address" or similar. This leads to further pulling of hair.

Ah well - in the spirit of goodwill I'll leave it there for the moment, but I am somewhat doubtful of the "benefits" to the customers of many online accounts.

Couldn't agree more! A right pain. I think the reason is they want your details to send endless spam (though they dress it up as making it easier for you, the customer). What also irks me is the insistence of some (e.g. ticketing) websites on a mobile phone number. I do not wish to give out my mobile phone number to all and sundry (and thereby add SMS spam to all the other spam!), so I just make one up.

OG

[Dave2002]

I do not wish to give out my mobile phone number to all and sundry (and thereby add SMS spam to all the other spam!), so I just make one up.

OG

I sometimes just make up a number too - and also my age is sometimes over 100! However with some sites that backfires, and access to services is by a message sent to the phone..

Another area where the use of phone numbers is a pain is if you sit in a foreign airport and want to get on to "free" wifi, and "have" to put in a telephone number to get on to the network. Personally I'd try to avoid this, but not everyone does. We have several phone numbers, and some are known by hardly anyone other than close friends. Sometimes we get cold callers even on a number which is not in a directory, and which we have not given out. Possibly this could be because "punters" try random numbers, but it could also be because the telephone numbers are sold on by organisations offering "free" services. This can apply to mobile numbers as well as landline numbers.

[oddoneout]

I am somewhat doubtful of the "benefits" to the customers of many online accounts.

The benefits are mostly to the company involved, thanks to all the data you supply them with free of charge, and the opportunities to target advertising at you. The payment systems may be useful for customers but I think they are probably of even more use to the businesses in enabling them to get the money quickly, easily and cheaply.
Something I have encountered a couple of times recently is the situation where, in order to find out enough to make a decision about whether to use the service offered, one is expected to sign up in order to access the important information on which one would make the decision in the first place..... A recent example was a cashback scheme offered on one of my bank accounts where I couldn't find out what companies were in the scheme nor any idea of what form the offers took. My shopping activities are limited both in quantity, and in use of big name retailers, so there could well have been none that I would use, but I would nevertheless have given over valuable marketing data to those companies(the opt-out and privacy info I found was not reassuring, another reason not to go ahead).

[oddoneout]

I do not wish to give out my mobile phone number to all and sundry

I'm quite happy to do so as I hardly use my mobile and so it's switched off most of the time! Where a telephone contact is demanded, especially when it's for no good reason for no good reason, I'm happy to give that one to further protect my landline number.

[cloughie]

No problem with online accounts, except that most times I have to contact to reset a password. The real pain for me is the two stage thing with Amazon where I get a code over the phone.

[Anastasius]

No problem with online accounts, except that most times I have to contact to reset a password. The real pain for me is the two stage thing with Amazon where I get a code over the phone.

But that is a more secure system. It's based on something you have (your phone) and something you know...your password, say.

I like online accounts especially of the likes of companies such as Screwfix as they keep my order history.

[LHC]

Reminds me of the joke about setting new passwords for these accounts:

Today I opened a new online account, I always use the same password: "cabbage". It's easy to remember. But it seems the computer had other plans...

Please enter your new password:

"cabbage"

Sorry, the password must be more than 8 characters.

"boiled cabbage"

Sorry, the password must contain 1 numerical character.

"1 boiled cabbage"

Sorry, the password cannot have blank spaces.

"50bloodyboiledcabbages"

Sorry, the password must contain at least one upper case character.

"50BLOODYboiledcabbages"

Sorry, the password cannot use more than one upper case character consecutively.

"50BloodyBoiledCabbagesShovedUpYourArse,IfYouDon't GiveMeAccessnow”

Sorry, the password cannot contain punctuation.

“ReallyPissedOff50BloodyBoiledCabbagesShovedUpYour ArseIfYouDontGiveMeAccessnow”

Sorry, that password is already in use.

[french frank]

Reminds me of the joke about setting new passwords for these accounts:

I do remember being in a similar situation where the word 'bloody' was eventually introduced into the proposed password, and all dialogue with whoever or whatever was thereat abruptly terminated.

[cloughie]

But that is a more secure system. It's based on something you have (your phone) and something you know...your password, say.

I like online accounts especially of the likes of companies such as Screwfix as they keep my order history.

It may be a more secure system but when I want to order from amazon.it I have translate the numbers from Italian to English which with my Italian usually requires me to wait until its on my answer phone then listen back a few times to get it right. The other annoyances with online accounts are proving I am not a robot, counting lamposts and deciphering whether some wavy letters are CapITalS or lower case.

[Dave2002]

But that is a more secure system. It's based on something you have (your phone) and something you know...your password, say.

I like online accounts especially of the likes of companies such as Screwfix as they keep my order history.

For some organisations this seems OK -through there are risks that the company will take it upon itself to charge for items you may not have had, or may be careless with your CC or other bank details. You have to have a degree of trust, and also hope that carelessness or criminal activity by other 3rd parties does not occur. I have accounts for a few companies, but I don’t want a “relationshp” with firms I may never use again.

[Dave2002]

Just discovered another "gotcha". I normally keep todo lists in a text file. It occurred to me that if I could check things off it might be simple, so I looked around for the "best" lists, and found a number of recommended apps - for iOS and Android. One of the top ones is Wunderlist. I tried another search looking for Mac programs - and Wunderlist came up a gain - so I downloaded and installed it. Then I tried to use it - and it looks as though I "have" to create yet another account - presumably with Microsoft or a subsidiary, and I really don't want to do that. There are a couple of reasons.

1. Why is it assumed that I want all my activities linked to an account elsewhere, so that someone else can see what I might be doing during each day?
- thrillls a. have breakfast b. put on shoes c. go to shops d. pick up mail ...... etc.
2. As usual I would have to have yet another account password to remember to "protect me".

OK - I'm obviously completely out of step with 99.9% of the rest of the world, but I really don't see why my activity "has" to be linked to online accounts and services.

OTOH - clearly I frequent the for3 pages, so I'm not totally against an online presence - but I am against every piece of software "forcing" me and others to set up online links, which may go to servers and databases which can be hacked, or over which I have no control.

I also don't want to have software which only works when I have connectivity - as that's not always the case.

[french frank]

Had to happen Just fallen for an online scam. Thought I was connected to a legitimate UK trader (I checked PO address, telephone no. in BT Phone Book, Companies House Director info). Unfortunately, the last named was not up to date. The company ceased trading a couple of months ago and say they closed their website. So it was either immediately hacked into or another one was set up with the identical .co.uk address which was configured so that it automatically linked to all the cached and currently still accessible information on the genuine UK company. Look up the UK company, click on their website and you're on the fraudulent one.

I was quite confident that I was dealing with an identifiable trader and was less vigilant than I might have been. It seems this was an organisation that specialises in this kind of fraud, based in China. Somewhat surprised to find that my credit card (Post Office) is unable to block a still 'Pending' payment, on the grounds that I authorised it, even though by a deception.

[Old Grumpy]

Sorry to hear that, FF.

I don't know a lot about credit cards (I have one, but don't use it), but was under the impression they will reimburse you if goods are not delivered.

OG