Nationwide BS (UK) doesn't support Linux

[getaboat]

Following on from the recent PorcelFarce lack of support for Linux based browsers - Nationwide BS has emerged as another one.

I've been doing my online banking with them on Linux since 2006 and going back to pre-dating browser based banking. Very recently I noticed that the pages in the online banking section weren't rendering correctly - and I've had a few other funnies on their site. Anyway the trouble shooting section says...



What we don't support

1. Any beta browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer 8, Google Chrome)
2. Any browsers running on any Linux distribution (e.g. Konqueror/KDE, Firefox/Ubuntu)
3. Camino, Omniweb or Shiira on Mac OS X


So if you are a Nationwide customer on Linux - they don't want your business - add them to the list.

I'll post back when and If I get a response from them.

[Sealbhach]

The best thing is to write to them and say you're moving your account. That should make them sit up and take notice.


.

[BuffaloX]

So they support Opera on Linux?

[Muffinabus]

So they support Opera on Linux?

e.g. = example

[BuffaloX]

Ups.

[Giant Speck]

I really don't think this is intentional, though. And by intentional, I mean that I don't believe the bank is refusing to support Linux for the sake of refusing to support Linux.

The reason they aren't supporting Linux, beta browsers, or alternative Mac browsers is probably because they are admitting they wouldn't know how to solve problems resulting from the use of those operating systems/browsers. That isn't a discrimination problem. It's more of a tech support problem.

[red_Marvin]

Giant speck: If they would use standard technology they should be fine...

[Giant Speck]

Giant speck: If they would use standard technology they should be fine...

Perhaps they don't know that?

[kaivalagi]

If you're using Firefox you could try installing the user agent switcher and changing what the server side will think you are.

You can get the addin here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

This worked for me when hotmail stopped supporting linux based browsing :)

[BigSilly]

If you're using Firefox you could try installing the user agent switcher and changing what the server side will think you are.

You can get the addin here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

This worked for me when hotmail stopped supporting linux based browsing :)

Yes you can always do all this, but to me, if a site refuses to support my choice of OS, then off I go and I take my money with me. There's no technical reason for any of this, so I'm at a loss as to why we're suddenly seeing this kind of OS prejudice. Still, never mind, block your customers out at your peril.

Nice to know that some businesses are so big then can afford to turn you away in this fashion.

[getaboat]

By "support" they mean (their "internet banking promise")


We're so confident of our site's security that we take full responsibility for it: if you ever innocently suffer any fraud as a result of our Internet Banking service, we'll refund any money taken from your account. That's a promise.

So if using FF on Linux the above does not apply - and being a bank by any other name they will apply this if spoofing another browser and OS.

Mind you I would not do internet banking on a Windows box!

[kaivalagi]

Yes you can always do all this, but to me, if a site refuses to support my choice of OS, then off I go and I take my money with me. There's no technical reason for any of this, so I'm at a loss as to why we're suddenly seeing this kind of OS prejudice. Still, never mind, block your customers out at your peril.

Nice to know that some businesses are so big then can afford to turn you away in this fashion.

I totally get you....their should be no reason why all up-to-date browsers can't be supported. IMHO the only negative stance companies should be taking is refusal for IE6 support...

Having IE6 support on their website might explain why it doesn't work with W3C conforming browsers!

[jenkinbr]

+1

Never on a windows box. They expect everyone to use Internet Exploder, which is about as secure as giving a hacker your password. Oh, wait - isn't that why hackers target IE?

[Giant Speck]

+1

Never on a windows box. They expect everyone to use Internet Exploder, which is about as secure as giving a hacker your password. Oh, wait - isn't that why hackers target IE?

Actually, from the description in the OP's post, it doesn't say that Firefox on Windows is unsupported.

[kaivalagi]

Actually, from the description in the OP's post, it doesn't say that Firefox on Windows is unsupported.

Firefox is firefox, regardless of OS too right?

Crazy that they have these conditions really...not technically sound

[Giant Speck]

Firefox is firefox, regardless of OS too right?

Crazy that they have these conditions really...not technically sound

I don't know. It just seems to me that they really don't know much about computers to really know how widely their online services can be used, so they get scared and limit it to only what they know.

[geoken]

The assumption that pages will look identical on FF Win and FF Linux is flawed. At the very least, differences in fonts will cause page elements to be moved around to the point where they may be broken.

In the past people have also noted other rendering differences but these may have been resolved in FF3. So if we're basing decisions on historically accurate data, then there were several rendering inconsistencies between the two versions which extended beyond the aforementioned font based issues.

[jenkinbr]

The assumption that pages will look identical on FF Win and FF Linux is flawed. At the very least, differences in fonts will cause page elements to be moved around to the point where they may be broken.

In the past people have also noted other rendering differences but these may have been resolved in FF3. So if we're basing decisions on historically accurate data, then there were several rendering inconsistencies between the two versions which extended beyond the aforementioned font based issues.
True, unless the msttcorefonts package is installed, or the page in question uses a less common, non-free font.

[Vince4Amy]

It wouldn't be as much of a problem if they added a link which said something like:

"That's Okay, I will continue to use the service anyway"

At least that way they will allow the users to continue to use the service but at the same time it will stop people from asking for tech support as they'll be aware of it.

[getaboat]

The 1st response I've had back from them...


If your are using a browser that we do not support unfortunately you will need to change your browser.

Typical of the cut and paste responses from NW I'm afraid.

I had made the point that if they are not prepared to off their "pledge" about safe online usage they have a duty of care to alert you to the fact - no response.

By the way - I had a cursory glance at the main competitors and nothing close (one did suggest using FF2!).

Oh well back we go...

[DMcA]

I've been using a Nationwide account with Linux for over three years and I've never had any issues.

When it comes to the covering any losses thing, that shouldn't be an issue. I believe banks usually cover people for fraud anyway, regardless if it's linked to internet banking.

The thing with internet banking is that all UK banks will currently cover their customers against online fraud even if the user is seriously negligent, like clicks on a link in a spam email and gives away their details or something. The reason for this is that they want everyone to switch to internet banking because it's so much cheaper for them and back in the early days internet banking had a bad (probably unfounded) reputation for fraud.

This additional online protection probably won't last much longer because all the younger generations don't have internet banking phobia. Since you're not going to get any viruses, and since you're not stupid, any losses through fraud will, I believe, probably be covered by the normal mechanisms anyway, so using linux is fine.

Don't quote me on any of that mind

[getaboat]

Yes its worked OK for me (apart from a few oddities recently) since 2006 with never a thought but my concern here is that if something *does* go wrong they have a way out of it - by saying you use Linux - this doesn't seem to be present on other banks that I have looked at. NW seem to have their own weasel clause.

[getaboat]

Whoops I missed this bit from the NW site...


Is your browser supported?

This is the browser and operating system we believe you’re using to access this page:
Check Result Supported
Operating System Ubuntu No
Browser Firefox 3 No

^ This browser/version (Firefox 3) is supported on other operating systems, but not on the operating system you are currently running
Javascript Version 1.5 Yes

I'm sorry but this is not on from a major UK "bank"

[jenkinbr]

Whoops I missed this bit from the NW site...



I'm sorry but this is not on from a major UK "bank"
I stamp that with a big red FAIL!

That's just lame.

[Giant Speck]

I love how both of my banks' websites work perfectly with Linux. They don't even do a check as far as I know. :)

[Dr. C]

Is your browser supported?

This is the browser and operating system we believe you’re using to access this page:
Check Result Supported
Operating System Ubuntu No
Browser Firefox 3 No

^ This browser/version (Firefox 3) is supported on other operating systems, but not on the operating system you are currently running
Javascript Version 1.5 Yes

This is not just lame, it can actually be very reckless for a bank to do this especially in the current economic climate. The message is simple and clear either change your OS to Windows (2000 or later) or Mac or take your deposit business elsewhere.

Lets keep in mind that GNU / Linux accounts for 1% - 3% of desktop usage worldwide, and in Europe the numbers can be higher. Add to this the users of versions of Windows before 2000 and the numbers will still be higher. 3% is not unreasonable for the percentage of depositors of a bank that use an operating system other than Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Mac OS X.

My question to any banker is this: What would happen if say 3% or your depositors show up at the bank's branches on Monday morning and ask to close their accounts and withdraw all funds on deposit with your bank? or What percentage of funds on deposit need to be suddenly withdrawn from a bank in order to start a run on the bank?

No matter what one's preference in computer operating systems is or one's love for Windows Vista or Mac OS X, how many people want their funds on deposit with their bank reduced to dust by a herd of stampeding gnus?

[getaboat]

Sometimes getting an answer out of a big organisation is like banging your head against a brick wall.


I confirm we currently fully support Firefox 3 therefore any internet banking using this browser will be fully functional. I have noticed that you are using Firefox 3 and a Linux operating system that we do not currently fully support. As you are using a browser and operating system that we do not fully support you will not be covered by the internet banking promises.


This means that if you bank with Nationwide on Linux and anything goes awry with any aspect of the online banking be prepared for NW to put the fault squarely in your court.

Still I'll keep plugging away to see if they know why they don't like Linux and why they don't warn users if they don't support the browser OS they are connecting with.

[Giant Speck]

Sometimes getting an answer out of a big organisation is like banging your head against a brick wall.


I confirm we currently fully support Firefox 3 therefore any internet banking using this browser will be fully functional. I have noticed that you are using Firefox 3 and a Linux operating system that we do not currently fully support. As you are using a browser and operating system that we do not fully support you will not be covered by the internet banking promises.This means that if you bank with Nationwide on Linux and anything goes awry with any aspect of the online banking be prepared for NW to put the fault squarely in your court.

Still I'll keep plugging away to see if they know why they don't like Linux and why they don't warn users if they don't support the browser OS they are connecting with.

I think they put it quite well without sounding like they are purposefully and intentionally discriminating against Linux users. I don't see anything in the language of that text that says "we don't like Linux, and therefore don't support it." What it looks like they are saying is "if you can get it to work on Linux, that's all good, but if something goes wrong, we won't be able to help you." I don't see any problem in that.

[simtaalo]

i use online banking with the halifax in the u.k and have never had any problem with them. this is definitely a case of if one bank/BS doesn't have a problem others shouldn't.

surely thats the point of internet banking, being able to access it freely from wherever.

[solitaire]

The only time i have problems with my bank is if I use a Beta Browser.
Normally it does not care if I'm on Windows, Mac or Linux.

[majabl]

True, unless the msttcorefonts package is installed, or the page in question uses a less common, non-free font.

True regardless of whether or not msttcorefonts is installed, for my machine! If you're dual booting with Windows, try comparing screenshots of http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ as an example.

[gn2]

Let's just get one thing straight, internet banking with Nationwide works perfectly well using Ubuntu+Firefox. Fact.

[ugm6hr]

Not directly linked, but I thought I'd just add to the list of UK Banking stupidity.

Abbey Share Dealing https://www.abbeysharedealing.com/welcome.htm does not support Firefox at all.

Can't see any mention of their OS / browser support options on their website. I phoned to find out why when I clicked "Confirm" to complete a trade nothing happened. The operator told me that "Firefox has its own security settings" and that "I should download and use Internet Explorer."

Having said that this was unavailable to me as a Linux user, she suggested I complete the trade by phone, but then said I would be charged the phone trade fee (i.e. have to pay more).

No thanks. Account closed.

Uncertain whether this affects their standard personal banking site (I presume not).

[Giant Speck]

Not directly linked, but I thought I'd just add to the list of UK Banking stupidity.

Abbey Share Dealing https://www.abbeysharedealing.com/welcome.htm does not support Firefox at all.

Can't see any mention of their OS / browser support options on their website. I phoned to find out why when I clicked "Confirm" to complete a trade nothing happened. The operator told me that "Firefox has its own security settings" and that "I should download and use Internet Explorer."

Having said that this was unavailable to me as a Linux user, she suggested I complete the trade by phone, but then said I would be charged the phone trade fee (i.e. have to pay more).

No thanks. Account closed.

Uncertain whether this affects their standard personal banking site (I presume not).

I took a peek at their website and chuckled at a mention to Netscape and Mozilla on their site accessibility page (https://www.abbeysharedealing.com/welcome.htm):


Changing text size



Text can easily be re-sized.

If you're using Internet Explorer (Windows)

Select Internet Options form the Tools (or View in some browsers) menu.
Select the 'Accessibility' button.
Select one or more of the Ignore checkboxes so that it shows a tick.
Choose OK.
Choose OK again to close Internet Options.
Select the View option from the Menu bar.
Select the Text Size option and choose the text size you prefer.

More details can be found at the Microsoft Help and Support site at:
http://support.microsoft.com (http://support.microsoft.com/)

If you're using Netscape or Mozilla (Windows and Mac)

Select Edit from the Menu Bar.
Select Preferences.
Select Appearance.
Select Font. You can alter the Variable and Fixed width to your preferred option.
You can also change the font sizes by choosing the View menu and selecting 'increase font' or 'decrease font' as desired.

More details can be found at the Netscape Help site at:
http://help.netscape.com/default.jsp

[ukripper]

I am glad I am with Natwest! However they use .net and asp.net, pages still render fine on my machines.

[clanky]

Maybe for a commercial company it's just not worth the hassle and cost of supporting the tiny percentage of users who don't use Windows or OSX?

[Gizenshya]

^^^ well, people rarely switch, even if they've been forgotten. They just adapt and continue. Such is the tenacity of the *nix user. Why pay attention to them if they'll just fix the problem on their own?

I've seen an alarming trend for banks to weed out *nix users. I'm really beginning to wonder whether there might be something in common between the Intel anti-trust fiascos as of late, and perhaps Microsoft and Apple sending out propaganda or cash to corner the market.

Go see the thread where someone posted about job openings in Microsoft propaganda department.

Coincidence?

At present, I don't see any other possibility. It worked fine before, and now it is suddenly impossible?

Very, very fishy.

I remember talking with Dell and HP about computers a while back. I wanted an AMD CPU, and the only thing they had were Intel. At the time, AMD CPU's were better in every way, and had been for some time (years). I asked them about AMD CPU's, and they said Intel's were better. They came up with no evidence, and when I informed them about how AMD was leaps and bounds ahead of Intel in every way, they said that Intel had a higher 'quality' product-- again, without anything to back it up. I gave up. It was only a week or two ago when I found out why, Intel had been using scare tactics and cash to bribe them. And Dell, HP, etc., accepted.

All the signs are there for it to be the same exact thing. I think the trend is too strong, and too illogical, to be mere chance. No smoking gun atm, though.

[xuCGC002]

^^^ well, people rarely switch, even if they've been forgotten. They just adapt and continue. Such is the tenacity of the *nix user. Why pay attention to them if they'll just fix the problem on their own?

I've seen an alarming trend for banks to weed out *nix users. I'm really beginning to wonder whether there might be something in common between the Intel anti-trust fiascos as of late, and perhaps Microsoft and Apple sending out propaganda or cash to corner the market.

Go see the thread where someone posted about job openings in Microsoft propaganda department.

Coincidence?

At present, I don't see any other possibility. It worked fine before, and now it is suddenly impossible?

Very, very fishy.

I remember talking with Dell and HP about computers a while back. I wanted an AMD CPU, and the only thing they had were Intel. At the time, AMD CPU's were better in every way, and had been for some time (years). I asked them about AMD CPU's, and they said Intel's were better. They came up with no evidence, and when I informed them about how AMD was leaps and bounds ahead of Intel in every way, they said that Intel had a higher 'quality' product-- again, without anything to back it up. I gave up. It was only a week or two ago when I found out why, Intel had been using scare tactics and cash to bribe them. And Dell, HP, etc., accepted.

All the signs are there for it to be the same exact thing. I think the trend is too strong, and too illogical, to be mere chance. No smoking gun atm, though.

That sounded too Area 53 for me to take you seriously.

Switching banks or switching UA strings are both solutions to this problem.

[scottuss]

That's fine. My response would be "Apologies, but I don't support logging into my Online banking on a Windows machine." Thankfully, Barclays have excellent Linux support. Well.. I say support, I mean that I've always been able to log into the bank and never had any issues.

If I had to call them with a problem I'm not sure they'd be able to help.

[Gizenshya]

That sounded too Area 53 for me to take you seriously.

Switching banks or switching UA strings are both solutions to this problem.

Area 53 as in paranoid?

Well, I didn't say that's what I believe (and I don't), BUT it is absolutely plausible. And with the banking trend, the thread about employment in Microsoft's anti-open/nix propaganda department (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1367934), and a recent history of very similar corporate activities from well-known tech companies, I don't see any reason to doubt that it is plausible. I've also yet to see any reason to think that Microsoft or Apple would not take such embrace such an opportunity if they had resonable expectation to 'get away with it.' The mechanics of growth ad infititum change in a saturated market. After all, it is an impossible goal that is assumed attainable.

I don't think it is prudent to arbitrarily discount such a thing.

Just to be clear, plausibility and correlation are not evidence for causation. They are what they are, and there are many alternate possibilities.

[schauerlich]

I took a peek at their website and chuckled at a mention to Netscape and Mozilla on their site accessibility page (https://www.abbeysharedealing.com/welcome.htm):

Hey, if they need to resize the text and don't know how to do it already, they're probably old enough to still be using Netscape. :)

[Giant Speck]

Hey, if they need to resize the text and don't know how to do it already, they're probably old enough to still be using Netscape. :)

Silly, EDavidBurg. Old people don't use Netscape. They use AOL.

[autora]

they dont support firefox on linux?!

[kevinatkins]

As far as I'm concerned, if a business website doesn't offer cross-platform support, it doesn't get my business. Period.

I'm involved with web development myself, and there's simply NO EXCUSE for any website not to offer cross-platform support across all the major browsers. Any site that states 'Best viewed with..' or lays down conditions just betrays lazy, sloppy site design. Sure, it's a bit of a pain sometimes, but I test all of my web content on Linux, Mac and Windows platforms, using all of the popular browsers (Firefox, Safari / Konqueror / Google Chrome, Opera, IE 6/7/8), and with a representative sample of various screen resolutions for good measure. It isn't rocket science...

[schauerlich]

Silly, EDavidBurg. Old people don't use Netscape. They use AOL.

My mom still uses AOL. :(

[starcannon]

As far as I'm concerned, if a business website doesn't offer cross-platform support, it doesn't get my business. Period.

I'm involved with web development myself, and there's simply NO EXCUSE for any website not to offer cross-platform support across all the major browsers. Any site that states 'Best viewed with..' or lays down conditions just betrays lazy, sloppy site design. Sure, it's a bit of a pain sometimes, but I test all of my web content on Linux, Mac and Windows platforms, using all of the popular browsers (Firefox, Safari / Konqueror / Google Chrome, Opera, IE 6/7/8), and with a representative sample of various screen resolutions for good measure. It isn't rocket science...
+1
I do a site here and there, and if I were ever to discriminate against anything, it would be I.E.
/shrug, too each their own. I have 2 banks, both work fine with FF on GNU/Linux, and I do my taxes on line, and it(browser based tax software) warns me that I have an unsupported browser and OS combo, but gives me the option to proceed if I wish, and it works fine as well.

I'd drop any online financial services that forced me into what I believe to be an insecure browser and OS.

GL and HF

[ukripper]

As far as I'm concerned, if a business website doesn't offer cross-platform support, it doesn't get my business. Period.

I'm involved with web development myself, and there's simply NO EXCUSE for any website not to offer cross-platform support across all the major browsers. Any site that states 'Best viewed with..' or lays down conditions just betrays lazy, sloppy site design. Sure, it's a bit of a pain sometimes, but I test all of my web content on Linux, Mac and Windows platforms, using all of the popular browsers (Firefox, Safari / Konqueror / Google Chrome, Opera, IE 6/7/8), and with a representative sample of various screen resolutions for good measure. It isn't rocket science...

+1

I am also involved in asp.net web-development and there is no excuse for a company/bank to not support cross-platform environment as most of the code runs on a server unless they rely heavily on javascript, AJAX and cookies for client-side code, which for a bank i would say is very slack coding when comes to the security. Javascript is renowned to be exploited throughout the web and should be used minimal on the websites where security is the priority.

I always block javascripts using no-script firefox addon while doing banking. That means if you are putting your credentials then it will straight be routed to the server as a "POST" with ssl encrytion and won't be held in cookies or javascript for any potential sniffer/snooper.

Nationwide developers and management thinks all customers are tw@ts and don't know a thing about technology.

[Rmantingh]

Just wanted to add my experiences to this list.
I've accessed Nationwide for years with Ubuntu + FF v3 without any problems. Then for a few months back (I think after an upgrade to FF 3.5) I started to have problems accessing certain areas of their site. Now since a month or so I can't even log in anymore! It just hangs. And this is not a one off as I've tried it many times. Funny thing is a user-agent switcher makes no difference in this case, even if it's set to Windows XP + IE6. Their troubleshooting site says that that combination is acceptable (it shows OK ticks after each component OS/Browser/JavaScript) but it still won't let me in.
I then tried to run Windows XP + IE7 from a VirtualBox VM but even that hangs. It's very weird.
Finally I went to another computer we have that dual boots Windows XP and Ubuntu and I could get in when running Windows XP + IE6.

I've had a look at the JavaScript that's behind some of the actions on their site and it seems they actively 'filter out' unwanted combinations of OS/Browser.

As many other people have already said the only solution is to switch banks. I've switched to Santander (no affiliation!) and have not looked back since. As far as I can tell they do not check for OS/Browser and accept any combination.
Please people. Let Nationwide know you won't take this by switching banks.

[Old Marcus]

Thing that gets me the most is that their browser guidelines (if any) are about 10 years out of date! :O

[Scotchpie]

I can recommend the Cooperative Bank. I've used then for about 15 years and since they started online banking I've never had a problem in linux no matter what browser I've been using.

[BigSilly]

Just wanted to add my experiences to this list.
I've accessed Nationwide for years with Ubuntu + FF v3 without any problems. Then for a few months back (I think after an upgrade to FF 3.5) I started to have problems accessing certain areas of their site. Now since a month or so I can't even log in anymore! It just hangs. And this is not a one off as I've tried it many times. Funny thing is a user-agent switcher makes no difference in this case, even if it's set to Windows XP + IE6. Their troubleshooting site says that that combination is acceptable (it shows OK ticks after each component OS/Browser/JavaScript) but it still won't let me in.
I then tried to run Windows XP + IE7 from a VirtualBox VM but even that hangs. It's very weird.
Finally I went to another computer we have that dual boots Windows XP and Ubuntu and I could get in when running Windows XP + IE6.

I've had a look at the JavaScript that's behind some of the actions on their site and it seems they actively 'filter out' unwanted combinations of OS/Browser.

As many other people have already said the only solution is to switch banks. I've switched to Santander (no affiliation!) and have not looked back since. As far as I can tell they do not check for OS/Browser and accept any combination.
Please people. Let Nationwide know you won't take this by switching banks.

It's insane that they actively filter out OS's they don't like. I'm not usually one for getting militant about these things, but I do agree with you. The best thing to do here is switch your bank and let them know why. What's more annoying, is they probably use Linux servers. In this day and age, when people are reserving the right to run what they like on their PC's, what business can afford to lock out it's customers? And what is this ideal based on?

I may have mentioned this earlier in the thread, I use Yorkshire Bank (part of Clydesdale Bank I believe) here in the north of England, and it's always been great whichever OS I use. But if they got snooty about how I access the site, off I go.

[Khakilang]

Close your bank account. And if they ask you why. You just say your server doesn't support Linux. That will make them think twice.

[sqrooup]

In a similar vein I had to change my electricity/gas supplier from British gas due to their website not working with Firefox; when calling their technical support, I was told, by a very snotty person, that my computer was rubbish, and I need to have IE! I switched within seconds!

[MickS]

I've just this minute payed my credit card on line at Nationwide and it seems fine to me. Using Kubuntu 10.4.


Mick

[Legendary_Bibo]

I use Wells Fargo and Bank of America and I don't have these issues. :D

Although I did just have to go through the process of getting my username and password back for both because its been a while since I've used the accounts.

[eeBus]

I too can no longer access Nationwide online, so I sent an email to the CEO
gjbeale2@nationwide.co.uk asking why Nationwide's web site discriminates against Linux. I received a response that the matter would be looked into, and true to their word it has been. In summary they said that Linux users were a minority and that if enough people complained they may look into the matter again.

So let's start complaining direct to the CEO.

I like the Nationwide and the services they provide, but cannot understand why they actively discriminate against Linux.

[Ctrl-Alt-F1]

In a similar vein I had to change my electricity/gas supplier from British gas due to their website not working with Firefox; when calling their technical support, I was told, by a very snotty person, that my computer was rubbish, and I need to have IE! I switched within seconds!

That's weird. Whether you like Windows or not, why in the world would you think IE was a decent browser?

[MickS]

I too can no longer access Nationwide online, so I sent an email to the CEO
gjbeale2@nationwide.co.uk asking why Nationwide's web site discriminates against Linux. I received a response that the matter would be looked into, and true to their word it has been. In summary they said that Linux users were a minority and that if enough people complained they may look into the matter again.

So let's start complaining direct to the CEO.

I like the Nationwide and the services they provide, but cannot understand why they actively discriminate against Linux.

Are you sure you aren't missing something? I have just been to my account at Nationwide and paid my credit card no problem. I'm running Kubuntu 10.4 with Firefox 3.6 with all available updates. A thing I sometimes forget is setting permissions in NoScript.


Mick

[eeBus]

Are you sure you aren't missing something? I have just been to my account at Nationwide and paid my credit card no problem. I'm running Kubuntu 10.4 with Firefox 3.6 with all available updates. A thing I sometimes forget is setting permissions in NoScript.


Mick

From Nationwide's site.

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/troubleshooting/browserSupport/default.htm

What we don't support

1. Any beta browsers
2. Any browsers running on any Linux distribution (e.g. Konqueror/KDE, Firefox/Ubuntu)
3. Camino, Omniweb or Shiira on Mac OS X

I'd love to find out what allows you to access their site!

[philinux]

I just signed in to nationwide.com no problems at all.

You need cookies enabled obviously.

Maverick 64 bit and Firefox 3.6.10

[mkarl]

i haven'tused nationwide for a long time but I think they should support browsers, not particular OS's, I use HSBC and they were very helpful back in the early days when I was using Firefox before it hit the big time, they even warned me about a problem I might come across while on the site and told me the workaround! I use MBNA and first direct too and they both behave fine. Only one I have problems with is postoffice credit card which must use something clientside to calculate the account balance cos it always says its nil!!! I rarely use the card though so its not a major problem. Only thing I have had recently is alerts asking me to install that Rapport effort.

Karl :-)

[eeBus]

I just signed in to nationwide.com no problems at all.

You need cookies enabled obviously.

Maverick 64 bit and Firefox 3.6.10

Yes a friend of mine reports that he is using Maverick 64 bit and can perform online banking.
I'm on Lucid 32 bit, with cookies enabled and could not connect.
HOWEVER I have recently had a communication from Nationwide that they do not actively filter non-recommended OS, and YES I can now connect!

[jjpcexpert]

Sometimes getting an answer out of a big organisation is like banging your head against a brick wall.



This means that if you bank with Nationwide on Linux and anything goes awry with any aspect of the online banking be prepared for NW to put the fault squarely in your court.

Still I'll keep plugging away to see if they know why they don't like Linux and why they don't warn users if they don't support the browser OS they are connecting with.

They would never say that the promise doesn't apply - at least the fraud part.
That would be illegal if they did. Breach of laws. Laws state (implicity) that you must be allowed to use Linux to access online banking with all promises.

[jjpcexpert]

As far as I'm concerned, if a business website doesn't offer cross-platform support, it doesn't get my business. Period.

I'm involved with web development myself, and there's simply NO EXCUSE for any website not to offer cross-platform support across all the major browsers. Any site that states 'Best viewed with..' or lays down conditions just betrays lazy, sloppy site design. Sure, it's a bit of a pain sometimes, but I test all of my web content on Linux, Mac and Windows platforms, using all of the popular browsers (Firefox, Safari / Konqueror / Google Chrome, Opera, IE 6/7/8), and with a representative sample of various screen resolutions for good measure. It isn't rocket science...

I don't accept required browser thingies or IE YES! Mozilla NO IE4 NO etc NO things, they are insults. Best viewed with is because the site *has* to use non-standard browser features.

[jjpcexpert]

Yes a friend of mine reports that he is using Maverick 64 bit and can perform online banking.
I'm on Lucid 32 bit, with cookies enabled and could not connect.
HOWEVER I have recently had a communication from Nationwide that they do not actively filter non-recommended OS, and YES I can now connect!

They only don't apply the promise when duh, you can't get in!

[sydbat]

They would never say that the promise doesn't apply - at least the fraud part.
That would be illegal if they did. Breach of laws. Laws state (implicity) that you must be allowed to use Linux to access online banking with all promises.Any sources to back that up?

[jjpcexpert]

Any sources to back that up?

Sanity and some very sane ideals of England, to be obvious. I-Net bank providers that have a promise MUST promise to apply the promise no matter what browser you use, otherwise they are discriminating against Linux users - essentially discriminating against a minority group.

But in England, if you promise - you mean PROMISE! No browser clause, no whatever.

I was exaggerating.

[eeBus]

Nationwide have completely revamped their web site and since then I have not had any problem with access. I suspect this thread could now be closed.

[inearlygaveup]

Agreed