World Wide Wait

Johannesburg, 05 Sept 2006

In the world of Virgin Money bling, it`s easy to get carried away and spend, spend, spend. But at the end of the month, it`s time to pay at least a percentage of that money back.

So, I log on to the Web site and attempt to register. The trick here is not to enter your card number and the PIN that was mailed to you in the post. That particular PIN you need in order to register. The PIN on the first screen is the one you create yourself.

So, card number and ATM PIN entered, I click next. This step, two of five, requires you to enter an alphanumeric password. So, I do. And I end up back on the Virgin Money homepage.

I try again, and this time reach step three, which asks to me enter information such as my favourite colour and author. After answering the five questions I need to, I click next and end up back on Virgin`s home page.

Exasperated, I call the call centre and go through the motions while speaking to the call centre person. No luck. And, no, they haven`t seen this problem before.

It`s only me

True to the IT law, once you have the professional on the line or in front of the PC, it works.
Nicola Mawson

The call centre person, unable to solve my problem, says someone from the IT department will call me back in an hour. This is a few Fridays ago, around lunchtime.

On Saturday morning, the IT person calls and says he`s reset my password. He also asks if I`m online, tricky when standing with a bag of potting soil at your feet and a plant in your hand.

It`s Wednesday by the time I have the chance to try to register again. Same problem.

So, I call the IT guy and try to complete the process while he`s on the phone. He also denies that other people have had this problem, saying I am unique in having this odd problem, and somehow implying that I am PC illiterate.

Eventually, success, I`m in. True to the IT law, once you have the professional on the line or in front of the PC, it works. My balance displayed in front of me. Then I do a stupid thing. I try to access transaction details, and I`m logged off.

Which, frankly, is more than ridiculous. Needless to say, I haven`t bothered calling back and I haven`t bothered paying them either. And, I am not the only person with this problem. A close buddy has been trying for three weeks to register, without success.