Halifax alert as simple device error ‘block’ customers from shopping online

Halifax has issued a warning about a device setting issue that can prevent a customer from making payments.

The daughter of a customer contacted the bank over X as they were having issues with their online shopping.

She queried: "When my dad pays for items online he has to verify by his mobile number.

"It always says they can't get through to him even though it is the correct mobile number but he still gets texts from you. Any ideas on why this happens?"

The bank responded: "We won't be able to check why this is from here, but it can be a number of reasons.

"As it needs a quick response, if there's any sort of network or signal issue then it'll likely time out. Does he use our app?"

The woman replied to assure the bank that his phone was working fine.

She said: "There is no signal issue and we do it straight away but it just says he's not answering his phone. He doesn't have the app but does online banking."

The Halifax representative asked further questions to try and diagnose the problem. They asked: "So is this when he selects a phone call? If he selects a text does that work?

"As these calls are an automated response some network privacy protections can block automated calls from connecting. Do you know if he has anything like that in place?"

The woman said her dad was receiving texts as normal but there was no option to select texts among his Halifax options as he could only choose his mobile number.

She pondered: "Maybe as you say it is his mobile provider which isn't letting this happen."

Halifax suggested this may be the case, explaining: "Some networks can block certain numbers or the number may have been accidentally blocked in the past.

"It is worth checking with the network provider. I hope your dad gets this sorted out."

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