Online banking was great when it came out; you could access your bank account from any computer in the world and transfer your money, pay your bills and take control of your banking and never need to stand in an hour long queue on your dinner hour because all the bank staff have gone on their dinner (why do they do that?). 

“Everyones now a bank manager” said Robbie Coltrane on the old Barclays adverts! 

However in an attempt to reduce the amount of fraud the banks and credit card companies have implemented various security systems, some good and some not so good. 

Some banks such as Barclays for example implemented a system called Pin Sentry which is basically a device which looks like a calculator which you put your debit card into, enter your pin number and it generates a number such as 2345 2356. 

You then enter this number into the online banking system to gain access to your account. It’s secure! I can say with confidence it’s secure… so much so that unless you remember to pack your pin sentry device and related debit cards with you on every single journey you cannot access your online banking. 

Every time I use the device while someone from another bank is with me they laugh and cant understand why something which used to be simple... 

1. Enter your username
2. Enter your password
3. Click Login 

… is now so complicated… 

1. Enter your username
2. Try and find your pin sentry device (usually takes 10 mins)
3. Get your debit card out and insert it into the device
4. Enter your pin number
5. Copy the generated number onto the website
6. Click Login 

I know, I know… security, security, security! But come on, surely usability has to take a part? I would also question the security of the system as a quick search on the internet brings up loads about people who have reverse engineered the devices and one guy who built his own that text’s him the login number when he needs to access his banking. 

The internet is meant to be global, accessible from everywhere and anywhere… but if the trend continues with you needing this device for this website, that device for that website etc… it just get over complicated and people simply don’t use the service anymore. 

I know I don’t use online banking with Barclays anywhere as much as I used to just because it’s a right pain in the arse. 

My favourite bit though is that if you have forgotten your Pin Sentry device and you desperately need to make a transfer you can still go to the login page where there is a helpful link which says “Business Customers - Forgotten your Pin Sentry device?” and when you click on it you get the very helpful message “If you've forgotten your card reader, don't worry. You can still Borrow a card reader from someone else”.

Perfect!

On a recent episode of Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson commented on something I have said a million times before to unlucky passengers who happen to be sat next to me whilst I drive and that is…

If you have a crappy car it generally means you are a crappy driver. 

Let me explain: Generally (and this is obviously a big generalisation) people who choose to drive a crappy car will be crappy drivers because they obviously have no interest in cars thus they will have no interest in driving. 

This works at every level regardless to how much money you have to spend on a car. At every money level there are certain classes of cars and in each class there are good cars and crappy cars. Even if you only have a few hundred pounds to spend you can pick between good cars and crap cars… just like you can with anything else in the world.

A lot of people treat cars as simply an A to B transport device, something to get you from here to there. I know quite a few people who treat their cars in this way and that is fine. It's also no coincidence that the people who treat their cars in this way also have some of the dirtiest and mucky cars I have ever seen, usually covered in dents, scratches and the remains of some poor old woman they backed into several years ago.

Don’t believe me? Think it's just me being daft? Well next time your stuck behind someone going really slow holding up the traffic or you see someone who has managed to flip their car over in car park or something equally as astonishing look at type of car… its probably a Rover or a Micra. 

Oh and don’t get my started on those poor individuals who choose not to drive… why anyone would choose to make their life hard work and not try and improve the quality of their life beats me. Perhaps they like public transport?

I found an interesting statistic on the internet the other day: "85% of all drivers think they are above average, and young drivers, especially males, consistently over-estimate their own ability."

Needless to say I'm a good above average driver. :)