Onetel - online billing

dundeedoll_2

Would be interested in your opinions.
I use onetel to make calls abroad and up until now have received a paper bill in the post which is paid by direct debit. On the bill I received yesterday it states that from now on a 'paper' bill will cost £1.25 a month, but you can sign up for online billing at their website to save paying this charge.
So I thought I would and went to their site. I was asked to enter my full name, postcode and account number. Now, I can see the reason for that, as they need to identify me. The next question was my date of birth and then I needed to create a password. My security question was : What is your mothers maiden name?
Now, I did not fill in anything past my postcode and closed the site. As I see it, they would have my Full name, address, date of birth, mothers maiden name, sort code and account number. Am I being too cautious?
Am I better off paying £15.00 a year in order to try not to comprimise my security? Hope this all makes sense to someone!!

dundeedoll_2

Please can someone help me with this?

Erikin_2

I used to have a Onetel phone account and gave my name and address. Accepted this as standard practice – it would be required by other similar providers for instance.


And to access the account online it required me to provide a password. What I did was give my partners mother maiden name just to strengthen the security. Suppose really you could give any name as a password provided you remember it – the maiden name maybe just so it is easier for you to remember.

Over the years had no problem with the Onetel account and online billing. Personally preferred the online billing and if it also saves money all the better.

utilitybroker

Would www.18185.co.uk not be a better bet now.

dundeedoll_2

Thanks Erikin, I don't think I did manage to make my concern clear enough.

Whilst I realise that it's normal for a company to have your name and address and I have set up passwords for lots of other things, so giving my address (which they know as they send me a bill!) or creating a password was not a problem. It said that 'What is mothers maiden name' would be my security question, so I need to answer that for them to know (iyswim)
The reason I was concerned was: They would have my
Name
Address
Telephone number
Date of Birth
Mothers maiden name
Sort code / account number

Now, when I deal with my bank about anything, for 'security purposes' they ask me :
Name
Address
Date of Birth
Mothers maiden name
Telephone number
Sort code / Account number

My question which as I said, I may not have put very well previously was: Is it being irresponsible to give out details that the bank routinely use to identify people?

dundeedoll_2

Would www.18185.co.uk not be a better bet now.

Thanks for that link, utilitybroker. I have checked it out and it would be about 10pence (plus VAT !!) a month cheaper - not worth the hassle for me!

(Same per minute charge - 4p instead of 6p per call connection charge and I only make about 3 or 4 calls a month)

Erikin_2

Not used Onetel for sometime so not clear how they currently ask these questions and format used.

If I was on a website and they were asking for personal details I would first look for a secure web-page address which start with the letters https, instead of the standard http, and you should see a padlock symbol at the bottom of the page or top on Windows Vista. Double click on the padlock to see the site’s security certificate.

As for providing my mother’s maiden name – as I said previously don’t use it if you’re not happy doing so – use some other name but remember what you use for future reference.

The bottom line is it is your decision whether to give out these details. I have in the past when I have thought it right. Again I never had a problem with Onetel over a few years.

Mark_In_Hampshire

dundeedoll wrote: »

Now, I did not fill in anything past my postcode and closed the site. As I see it, they would have my Full name, address, date of birth, mothers maiden name, sort code and account number. Am I being too cautious?

As far as I can tell, only the DOB and the maiden name are "new" information - is that right?

Maiden name is a common "password reminder" question in case you forget your password. It's better than "My Pets Name" or "My First Car" for instance, because often people who know you, know the latter, but not the former.

I am not sure why they want your date of birth.

We used to have a Talk Talk account with online billing and it worked rather well. It is however worth setting a diary reminder of when the bill is due just in case you don't get your "your bill has arrived" email, not just here, but with all online billing.

Pont

I too received notification of the new Onetel billing - £1.25 a month if you don't subscribe to paperless billing. I telephoned to cancel my account and was told that if I didn't cancel the £1.25 would not be charged. When I asked for how long they wouldn't charge me I was told forever!
Received another letter today informing me of new charges from next month. Minimum charge is rising to 6p per min so looks like I'll be cancelling after all.

nomoneytoday

You don't have to give your real maiden name - as long as the computer has an answer (and you remember it)

My birthday could be 01/02/1934 or 12/3/1945 for example