Might I suggest you take a look into the labyrinthine bureaucracy of National Savings & Investments and its security procedures.
My experience arose from a request to pay any premium bond prizes directly into my bank account. Four attempts to do this were made over several months, all without success. These involved downloading a form from the web and posting the request, receiving a temporary password, and phoning the helpline and answering a series of security questions posed by three separate people.
Questions included my mother’s maiden name, my late father’s birthday, my oldest child’s middle name, my first employer and my favourite football club – and I don’t even like football. There were other questions too, but by then I had lost the will to live.
My wife and the NS&I staff were all patient, and the request may or may not have been finally implemented – we shall see.
On the internet I discovered dozens of similar hair-raising tales; and a friend told me he has been waiting for months for around £400 that NS&I has admitted is due to him, but for which they cannot make a single payment – it can only be made with about 80 cheques. No commercial concern could contemplate this level of incompetence. NC, Nether Alderley, Cheshire
Given the huge amount of online fraud that Guardian Money has been reporting on recently, we suspect NS&I fears becoming a target and has upped its security measures accordingly.
However, there is a balance to be struck. You certainly feel the government agency has crossed the line, and your treatment does sound incredibly bureaucratic and time consuming.
A spokeswoman tells us: “NS&I understands NC’s frustration with the issuing of a security form and a second temporary password; however, we can assure them that the correct security process was followed, and we do so to ensure the safety and security of all of our customers.”
She confirmed that all future premium bond winnings – if you get any – will be paid directly into your bank account. Good luck.
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