Virgin One Account - Website Down

prowla

ChapelGirl wrote: »

That is probably because the pages were originally developed for IE when that was effectively the ONLY browser, and they have not spent any money on keeping their software current.
It looks as though the recent upgrades to security protocols on the major browsers have caught One Account unawares because they are doing the minimum of maintenance consistent with keeping an old and creaking system working, and they aren't employing anyone to keep an eye on what is happening in the world at large, outside their own domain.

Which is a bit of a nuisance, as IE is almost unusable these days...

southerndave

Thanks ChapelGirl, at least someone is in the same boat, I was wondering if it was just me!

I have written to Virgin as I think they are in breach of the own terms on this one as the account was sold as a 24/7 telephone and internet access with no clauses specifying types of software required, I will add more as I get a reply, which I don't expect for some weeks yet.

I have had an email from my initial email to their 'tech team' (which I suspect is a bloke in a shed in Cleethorpes) who re-iterated that nothing is likely to be done well into the new year.

I think your summation is correct in that the bare minimum is being invested in the Account's website and they have been caught napping here. I appreciate we are dead customers to them and the Virgin One Account is a dead product, etc, but we are still paying our interest and are still customers and still deserve a reliable service. Both us as customers and the company entered into a long term relationship when they accepted our mortgage application, so they should stick to their side of it, for better or worse IMO.

postmanc

Like the original poster - I've been with VirginOne since almost the beginning and don't have any Windows machines any more, except at work.

VirginOne's reply to my question of whether they intend to fix the issue or whether I should start looking for a new mortgage provider was
"Thank you for your message. I can confirm that our technical team are aware of this issue & are currently working to resolve this as a matter of urgency. Unfortunately we have not been given a timeframe for when this will be completed. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. Boost your defences against online fraud by downloading the free security Rapport software"

Luckily I found that the Opera browser still works for me on virginone.com (on Ubuntu).

I'm not qualified to comment on security but from Opera's blog it looks like they are aware of the security issue and have taken measures to address - I would post the link but MSE won't let me ..

southerndave

Hi Postmanc and thanks for that. Even here I am stuck as Opera (current version) is in development and only available for 64-bit Ubuntu, I am running 32bit on a old machine! Ah well, worth a try!

I have had the same email to the letter from Virgin One and a holding letter for my official complaint, but practically, no change and waiting now on the old fashioned paper statement......very frustrating.:mad:

southerndave

Update: Just tried a different version download of Opera and after some fiddling managed to install and run it on 32-bit Ubuntu 14. And yes, it works with the Virgin One site! Yay!

Thanks for the heads up Postmanc, appreciated. Not the most ideal situation, but good work-around while it lasts.

londonman42

davidmcn wrote: »

Probably not odd in not using IE as your browser of choice, but possibly odd in refusing to install it. Surely that would be less hassle than remortgaging? Or just use somebody else's machine?

Some of us have Linux. Or would you have me pop down to PC World and buy another computer just to access my account?

londonman42

southerndave wrote: »

There's the rub, no-one I know uses IE or windows anymore. Of the few I do know that use windows, apart from the inconvenience, It is not really appropriate for me to call round their homes to do my banking, let alone secure not matter how much I trust them....and again does not resolve the issue.

My point of posting was to ask if other Virgin One Account customers have had the same difficulty and it seems at least one has....

You can add another frustrated Virgin One Account user. Virgin One is supposed to be an online bank. {hollow-laugh emoticon}

postmanc

londonman42 wrote: »

Some of us have Linux. Or would you have me pop down to PC World and buy another computer just to access my account?

it's not just those of us on Linux; the last release of Internet Explorer for Macs was in 2003.

postmanc

kingstreet wrote: »

FWIW there are a number of lender and insurer intermediary sites which don't work with Chrome, which is my chosen browser.

We have to use IE to be able to transact business with those firms.

I've learned to avoid doing business with any companies that insist on a particular browser - it hints at further deficiencies.

Ironically one of the reasons I chose VirginOne in the first place was that their online service worked on any browser - which makes the current situation particularly disappointing.

londonman42

postmanc wrote: »

it's not just those of us on Linux; the last release of Internet Explorer for Macs was in 2003.

Interestingly popped round to a friend's house and I discovered that Safari works fine with Virgin One's online account. Perhaps they will buy me a Mac ? Chrome and Firefox do not work on a Mac. Which begs the question....is Safari behind the curve? What happens if Safari gets updated to the same level as Chrome and Firefox?

I really wish we could invoice these finance companies (or indeed any company) for the amount of time we waste sorting out their faux-pas.