Security numbers and passwords

Oh grace! It's because I confused my own issues a bit that made me realise it would be a good idea to change my name! Hence, I'm not as 'green' as I was! Baubles had a quick name change - she's quite new, and only on for a day or so in her original name.
I got myself in a right old tizz once, with my online banking, too. My hands were shaking like anything when I finally managed to get hold of a real person, who helped me sort myself out!

I feel for you, Gracesmum. I had to have half a dozen goes at my bank account last Thursday. I have four different identifiers/passwords/whatever and they are all too long for me to remember. And I was trying to buy a pair of trousers on line and the store excluded me because I had 'exceeded the number of attempts permitted'. I've given up on that one.

I have a bank manager. He shakes hands with me. He is worth his weight in gold saying things like we just have to have a bit of common sense. There have been times when I've wanted to cry with relief.

stansgran where did you find that endangered species?! I long for the days when the bank manager knew us - came in handy when I was paying for something with a cheque that DH had signed and there was an error on it and the retailer phoned and spoke to the bank manager there and then and common sense prevailed. Bring on Bank of Dave.

I hate them. Some financial providers security requirements are worse than other with regard to the complexity they require. It doesn't take much to screw up a login attempt and then its waiting about 2 weeks to get two different letters to change the password. I do keep coded records of each one but as I have tried to make them obscure, I can forget myself what they mean. Then there is Facebook and Email and Family History sites and Ebay and the library. and and and and. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Has anyone used one of the online password managers like LastPass or Dashlane?

I was recommended one of those yogagran but haven't tried it yet - a bit scared to do so if I'm honest. I'm OK with passwords as long as I use them frequently. A week or two of nonuse then I'm in trouble. As for the cash machines I just have to rely on my fingers to do the business because I forget the code just as I'm approaching the hole in the wall.

PS: What's a Bank Manager?
I have a 'Relationship Manager' but s/he never stays around for long so I've given up on the 'I'm your new Relationship Manager. Can we meet up?' approach.

I use the English speaking branch of Credit Agricole and I have a personal banker who is very helpful - I can talk to her on the phone or by e-mail. I never go into the bank, which is about 100 miles away, but I can do everything I want on-line, or she organises it for me.
I was using various grandchildren's dates of birth as passwords, but I kept forgetting which was which, so now I just use one word which means a lot to me but nothing to anybody else.

What about passwords for emails - I was apparently 'hacked' by someone and my Hotmail account was blocked - I did all the things they said but could not get back into the account as they sent the password code to the blocked account. I set up another account but have lost all my contact list - some people were on another account but others disappeared into the ether.
I find the telephone lines of banks so annoying when you only get the choice of numbers to press and no 'advisor' choice. I hate the ones where you have to speak - yes or no or say a number - they always tell me they have not understood.

Bez - I have an account with Santander in England and it is exactly as you describe. I have to have a list of various codes to hand when I ring them, and it takes forever to get through to a human being.

Greatnan You have named and shamed the password culprit I was being coy about! I have had trouble closing an account with them as well. They are the worst I have come across.

nellie they don't seem to have a very good track record do they ? they lost the money I transferred into my account with them when I transferred an isa account to my account from the Halifax,it took them 6 weeks to find the money.

My daughter had arranged to transfer a mortgage to them as the rate was better - she received all the paperwork and signed her part and sent it back and the day a payment was to be made she had a phone call as she got to work to tell that she could no longer have the mortgage - no reason given.
When she spoke to a friend who is the manager of a Building Society she said that several of the banks (incl. this one) had stopped giving mortgages for a while and were not even continuing with mortgages for people who had a rate deal with them and were coming to end of their agreement, so these poor people were running round trying to get a mortgage on a home they had lived in for a few years.