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.

Margate - we’ve arrived

We’ve upped sticks, and left Lavausseau for Margate in England. We’d been living there for 9 years, and decided that we missed England too much. We started just looking around the County of Kent, with no particular place in mind. We found a house we liked in Margate, a coastal town. This photo below is taken from the Turner Gallery there, and the picturesque view shows the area is a superb place for us to land up. I’ll be putting more pictures of the area in this blog in the future.

We sold our house to a French family, and hope they will enjoy living there as much as we did.

We are moving

We're selling the house, and moving back to England. We are leaving on the 29th April. It has been 9 years in this delightful house. I'll be continuing this blog from our new home in Margate, Kent.

Daily visits

These splendid ducks live with our neighbours, and visit on a daily basis. they are a delight to see, and are quite unconcerned by our proximity when we greet them.

Mielle at rest

A typical posture, spent every morning, alongside her little friend.

Autumn has arrived

Before the rains come with a vengeance, the river is still low. The grass has a brilliant greenness, as the sun has been absent for most of the last few weeks. The fish are there if you look hard for them. They are not as abundant as in past years.

Isn't life grand!

This is Keiko enjoying his morning nap.

It had to happen

 

Without any warning this branch, that had been hanging over our river, finally collapsed and fell off. Fortunately there was no-one around at the time.

Tangled web

A very typical spot in our garden. Not manicured, but luscious.

Blooming flowers

 

 

 

 

These flowers follow a colour theme.

Poitiers street view

I rather like the decor of this restaurant. I've not eaten there, but it certainly looks inviting.

Spring is finally with us in Lavausseau

Bad news turns into good when the weather develops to this level. Well, it certainly lifts my spirits. I've even opened the swimming pool from its Winter slumber. Of course, it will now require daily attention to keep it clean and topped up.

Tony's birthday celebration

An 86th birthday celebration. And with a cake to match.

Ducks visit Bas Etang

These ducks live in our neighbours' garden, and they make regular daily forays around our land. They are very welcome, and add rurality to the land that we adore.

Daily visitors

These white ducks are our neighbours, living with the people who have put up a Yurt on the property next door. They come most days, and spend a couple of hours preening themselves at either end of the bridge. It was thought that they might disappear over Xmas, but they have survived. Hopefully, they are well regarded pets, and will be local residents for some time to come.