If you play your cards right, this is how it is.

From today's Times newspaper

Andrew Neil's homily on BBC's This Week

IBM Trusteer Rapport

I replied to NatWest's response to my complaint as follows:

I refer to your email of the 16th November in which you address my concerns over the lack of security software support during the first three weeks of October. I see that you have decided that as NatWest did not publish the software itself, it bears no responsibility for any shortcomings. However, under the doctrine of “duty of care” I would have thought for you to completely abdicate responsibility is quite foolhardy. After all, this software was paid for by NatWest, and was made available to its customers through its website. So I don’t understand how you can take this attitude. If you absolutely intend to hold onto this principle, then I will, of course, take it up with the Financial Ombudsman Service. However, please be aware that I will also be making this issue very public in the National newspapers too.

The issue is that on the day that Apple released their latest OS, El Capitan, the IBM Trusteer Rapport software was incompatible with the new OS. No notification was given to the NatWest users of this desperate situation. Furthermore, on the 21st October IBM released a new version that was finally compatible. However, this was not made available to the users as the new OS had nullified the previous version. I only became aware of this when, on the same day, the 21st October (by coincidence), I realised that the IBM Trusteer Rapport icon was missing from the toolbar of Safari. I downloaded a new version of the software, and contacted IBM to find out how this had occurred. I have attached a transcript of my conversation with IBM below.

My concern is that all those parties who use Macs, and who have upgraded to El Capitan since the 30th September, are now unprotected by IBM Trusteer Rapport software, and unless they become self aware, as I did, they will never find out that they need a brand new software installation. NatWest and IBM have not seen fit to make contact with them to reveal this information, and I think this is despicable. 

You cannot abdicate responsibility by merely stating the software was provided by a third party. It was downloaded directly from your own website. Does’t that make you responsible?

I have approached IBM on this issue too, but their response was only this: 

"As mentioned in the chat session, Rapport started to support OS X El Capitan since the 21st of October.
We would like to thank you once more for your feedback, we have forwarded it to the relevant departments.”

If you think that this reaction to such a serious matter is acceptable, then you are very mistaken. Please address these points with the seriousness it deserves. We are dealing with a matter of banking security, and for NatWest and IBM to abdicate responsibility is monstrous, and the National newspapers will be all over you unless you deal with it with the respect and urgency it deserves.

Sebastian Coe - Inept or what?

This fellow has today been denounced by Jonathan Calvert, Insight Editor of The Sunday Times. SC holds so many directorships and employed positions that conflict with his Presidency of the IAAF that he is totally unfit to hold that position. Furthermore, to demonstrate the degree of ineptitude of SC, he used to be the Head of the Ethics committee of FIFA - yes, the very organisation whose Executives are currently the subject of police investigation for corruption. Also, during his electioneering to be the President of the IAAF, he offered each federation $100,000 extra if he won. He is a disgrace, and should face the fact that his position is untenable. 

ISIS Attack in Paris

Now that this dastardly attack has taken place in Paris, killing over 120 people, the time has come for all nations to unite, through the United Nations, to counteract these terrorists. They should act in conjunction with Syria in dealing with the ISIS threat once and for all.

IBM's Trusteer Rapport

I posted the following comment on a NatWest Forum on this topic.

"I don't understand why IBM had to wait for three weeks before releasing a version that was compatible with El Capitan. Furthermore, on the 21st October, when it was released, no automatic update was pushed to Macs. Why didn't IBM or NatWest at the least communicate with Users to explain what was happening, and point out the risks of online banking without the protection of Trusteer during this time? For a security product to provide zero protection to millions of Users, through the auspices of IBM and NatWest, is staggering. I suspect that most Mac users who have upgraded to El Capitan are still unaware that they have abandoned protection by upgrading to El Capitan.

I have raised this as a complaint with NatWest already, and have been told that IBM Trusteer is owned by a third party supplier to NatWest, and they are unable to investigate further. So this means that NatWest is taking no proactive lead in this matter and is content to leave IBM to take all the blame. Well, I believe NatWest's lack of concern is diabolical, and I wouldn't be surprised if it attracts a lot of negative publicity.

Of course, if I have my facts wrong, I will be very pleased to stand corrected."

IBM's Trusteer Rapport

I wrote to NatWest bank to complain about the security product they were promoting, and the fact that for 3 weeks the software provided no protection to Mac users who had upgraded to El Capitan. Yesterday I received this reply:

Dear Mr Sefton 

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention and for being so patient while I have been investigating your complaint.

My Investigation

My understanding of your complaint is that you have discovered that IBM Trusteer Rapport software, was not installed on your Mac anymore. You contacted IBM and was told the Rapport Software did not comply with the latest version of the MAC OS, El Capitan, and the newest version of Safari. 

I have looked into this issue and found out the following information: I am unfortunately unable to investigate this matter further, as the Rapport Software is provided by Trusteer IBM as a third party supplier to NatWest. 

My Response

I have contacted Trusteer IBM and been advised if you wish to take this matter forward either to receive technical support or to make a complaint regarding this. You are able to contact –

https://www.trusteer.com/support/submit-ticket

I have been advised by contacting this department at Trusteer IBM they will be able to address this matter for you. 

If you are unhappy with my decision you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), free of charge, but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.  If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances.  For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.  

I have enclosed a leaflet providing further details of the FOS.  You can also find further information at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

If there is anything further that you would like to bring to my attention that has not already been considered or if anything mentioned is incorrect, you can speak to me or a member of my team on 07432791184, or on the numbers quoted above between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Calls may be recorded.

If you have a hearing or speech impairment you can call us on Minicom 0800 917 0527. You must have Minicom facilities to use this service.

Yours sincerely

Justine Dalton
Customer Service Team


I am now considering my position before responding to NatWest. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please feel fee to comment.

The Perils of car buying, Part 2

I received the £172 refund from the AA, but they are still adamant that they will not pay the extra £68 to compensate for the extra cost of rectifying the door lock. I then write to the previous owner to ask whether the door locked correctly prior to its sale. Unfortunately for me, it did. So, rather than taking this issue further through the Small Claims Court, I will just let the matter ride.

RAC 01 Dashcam

How about this for an anomaly. I received a marketing email from Staples advertising a RAC 01 Dashcam at £99.99. I then go to the RAC website to see a full description of the product, and am surprised to see that the RAC sell it for £59.99. I complain to Staples, and they tell me that they cannot get a better price from the RAC.

The perils of car buying

I found a 2003 Mercedes A Class and had an AA inspection for £172. They gave it a clean bill of health, so I bought it the next day. When we arrived home we found the NSR door couldn’t lock, even though the AA report said they were all satisfactory. I am now battling to have the cost of the lock replacement of £240 repaid by the AA. They have insisted the lock worked on Monday when they checked, and have offered the cost of the inspection to be reimbursed as a goodwill gesture. I am insisting there is absolutely no goodwill involved and want the £240. So there is a stand-off. They have even said that they will not enter into further correspondence. The AA Report actually described the "Door locks/operation" as satisfactory 

I should explain that the doors close with automatic central door locking. The door in question had its knob permanently down, so it was only obvious when we tested the door handles after locking with the key. So I am quite sure the Trader I bought it from had never noticed there was a problem - as he asserts, of course. The garage that replaced the lock discovered that the wire attached to the knob had severed at the junction with the vacuum unit that activates the mechanism. So it could not have occurred whilst it was not in use.

The issue is still unresolved, and I will report later developments.

NatWest Online banking

I bought a car this week, and paid online, and NatWest chose to block the payment, but kept it quiet. The next day the car Trader informed me he hadn’t been paid, so I contacted the Bank that told me it had been blocked as it was for an amount higher than my account normally spent and they gave themselves up to 72 hours in which to notify me. I expressed outrage, and insisted they write me a letter of apology and pay me £50 in compensation. They agreed.

IBM's Trusteer Rapport

A gripe I have concerns the NatWest bank’s security software that they offer to install on the browsers of Macs and Windows PCs. I noticed that the icon that used to be displayed in Safari that signified the presence of the software protection was not evident. So I contacted the publishers who happen to be IBM. The software is called Trusteer Rapport. They told me that the version of the software that was compatible with the latest version of OSX (El Capitan) had been released on the 21st October. This means that the millions of customers that use it have been unprotected for three weeks. So I told them that the Update released on the 21st October had not automatically downloaded to my Mac. So, it seems, they would not have known the Mac users were unprotected until I told them.  I have also complained to NatWest about this, as I’m sure they were unaware of this too. If you are a Mac user, please check this out before you engage in Online Banking via Safari.