header-logo header-logo

Is your number up?

12 September 2013 / Stephen Mason
Issue: 7575 / Categories: Opinion , Commercial
printer mail-detail

Stephen Mason & Nicholas Bohm take issue with the PIN requirements of Santander

Santander UK plc has recently imposed on its UK banking customers the requirement that the personal identity number (PIN) for their accounts must be unique. This is coupled with a prohibition against the recording of the PIN: a combination which we believe places customers in such difficulty that the terms are unfair.

A unique PIN

Clause 9.7(k) of Santander’s General Terms and Conditions Current Accounts and Savings Accounts (effective from 1 January 2013) provides that the customer must “take reasonable steps to keep your PIN or Personal Security Details unique to the accounts that you hold with us”. Although it is not clear what “reasonable steps” the customer must take, the PIN must be unique to the accounts that the customer holds with Santander.

Memory

There is a considerable amount of published research on the topic of memory, and the human need to write down complex passwords (for a general introduction, see Wendy Moncur and Dr Grégory Leplâtre, “PINs, passwords

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll