Background: I recently applied for the state pension, for which I have been paying for so many decades. Ideally, I don't want to have any contact with the state at all. But how else can I get back even a tiny sliver of what it has stolen from me? I was encouraged to apply on-line, but had a problem with "identity checking." I was recommended to a company called "Digidentity," based in the Netherlands. It didn't go well. Here's the correspondence so far.
I raised a support call with Digidentity on 15th April. I don't have a copy of the text (sigh - why didn't the reply include a copy of my original report?). But I pointed out that I had tried to verify my identity using their service, and it failed due to needing a Microsoft account to download their app.
This is a perfect example of the kind of crap that political governments - and their supposedly "private" partners - like to unload on us, the people they are supposed to be serving.
From: Support <supportuk@digidentity.com>
Sent: 18 April 2020 14:08
To: Neil Lock
Subject: Your Digidentity GOV.UK Verify Registration
##- Please type your reply above this line -##
Hello and thank you for contacting Digidentity GOV.UK Verify.
Currently our verification service is in extremely high demand. We are working hard to make sure that the process runs as quickly and smoothly as possible.
For this reason, sadly we have not been able to get back to you with a personal response to your query.
We understand that there are many people in need of governmental assistance at this time and therefore would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Should you need help with your online verification, you can find detailed steps and information on our frequently asked questions page that may be of assistance. You can find our FAQ's here: https://helpdesk.digidentity.com/hc/en-us
If you are still in need of personal assistance however, we ask that you reply to this email. We will then do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.
Sat 18/04/2020 17:46
From: Neil Lock
RE: Your Digidentity GOV.UK Verify Registration
I have managed to do what I was trying to do (apply for state pension) by post.
But you have a serious problem, that you do not seem to be able to verify the identity of those who don’t have mobile phones. Moreover, downloading your app requires a third party (Microsoft). That in itself compromises the integrity of your system, does it not?
More than two weeks later, I received out of the blue the following:
Graham (Digidentity UK)
May 5, 15:31 CEST
Dear Neil
Thanks for your email.
The way verification works is such that we attempt to verify the highest number of people possible in the most efficient manner. As the vast majority of our customers have either a mobile phone, or a smart device they can download apps onto, that is the system we choose.
For those who don't, there is always an alternative process to access the service they need. Happily, you have found yours.
Digidentity Customer Support
Well, a chatty support e-mail like that deserves a chatty reply, so this is what I sent back:
Tue 05/05/2020 18:25
From: Neil Lock
RE: Digidentity: Verification Requirements
Dear Graham,
Thanks for your e-mail, and thanks for your concern. But you don’t seem to have understood the problem I had (and still have).
A couple of years ago, if I understand right, the EU mandated two-stage authentication for all on-line financial transactions within the EU. The banks started to implement it, and found it wasn’t easy. They had to pull back. The main reason being that it would disqualify those of us without mobile phones, and those who have no mobile phone reception at home, from all Internet commerce. 17% of the UK population, so I heard. There are alternative technical solutions, like sending codes to landlines (which the UK government already does for VAT, and it’s a real pain). But they don’t seem to fit into the EU’s scheme of things. That’s exactly the kind of crap that helped to push a lot of people like me into supporting Brexit.
Now, you mentioned downloading your app, and that’s exactly what I tried to do. But downloading your app requires a Microsoft account, and I don’t have a Microsoft account. Nor can I get one without… yes, you’ve guessed it… verifying my identity first.
Please don’t think that I’m not computer savvy. In fact, I started my career in software development very nearly 50 years ago. I explicitly chose not to take a mobile phone around 25 years ago, on the grounds that I didn’t want to be interrupted. Only a very few times have I been adversely impacted by that decision. And now, I’m extra glad that I don’t have a device that can be used to track me even when I’m on foot.
So, in this particular case, I (sort of) managed to find a way round the immediate problem, by sending my state pension application by post. Unfortunately, after 3 weeks I haven’t yet received any reply or even acknowledgement, so I will soon need to chase it up. And now I find myself in a quandary. I can’t chase them by phone until the COVID virus is gone and their lines are back open. I can’t chase them on-line because I can’t get through the identity labyrinth, and that’s your fault. (Digidentity’s fault I mean, not yours personally). And sending a follow-up letter seems unlikely to have any effect. I suppose I could try writing to my MP, but he’s a useless prat, for whom I have only contempt; and I suspect his view of me is comparable.
I didn’t mean to write this much, but it’s probably all for the best. For everyone like me who is in a situation like this and who is articulate enough to express themselves, there are probably a hundred or more people in similar situations, who don’t have the knowledge or the confidence to put their case.
I do hope you will take the trouble to understand what I say, and put my case to your superiors. BTW, I plan to re-publish this e-mail on my small blog as “An Open Letter to Digidentity Support.”
Best regards,
Neil Lock