Impersonal banking

SIR – I am not surprised at the difficulties faced by Colin Thompson (Letters, October 3) in trying to satisfy the online security requirements of Barclaycard, but I am amazed that he was able to speak to someone in authority about the matter.

HSBC is impossible – both in its security demands and its communication. My wife has been asked to provide documents and was advised that “one of the quickest and most convenient ways to do this is to use the new Jumio tool which will require a computer equipped with a webcam and scanner”.

Some weeks ago, I returned a security questionnaire that HSBC claims was never received, despite being posted in a reply-paid envelope. A further one, submitted two weeks ago with a letter of complaint asking for a telephone acknowledgement of receipt, has been ignored.

HSBC, formerly the Midland Bank, is clearly no longer “the listening bank”.

Ponteland, Northumberland