January 19, 2004
I'm disappointed with MBNA.
I went to pay my bill online, as I have for the past three years, and noticed
that the interface within the bill paying system had significantly changed. Of
course, I wasn't annoyed until I actually clicked "Pay online."
Browser Upgrade
Required
We have detected that your browser is an older
version of Netscape. You must upgrade to Netscape Navigator 6.2 or later.
Horseshit. Firstly, my browser is Mozilla Firebird 0.7, which isn't Netscape.
Second, it's definitely not outdated as it's far newer than Netscape
6.2.
MBNA's online payment system has worked perfectly with browsers other than IE
for the past three years, and seems to have started being broken as of today. I
immediately called them up and complained, because this is completely
unacceptable. Apparently I'm not the only one who has called with this issue,
because the representative with whom I spoke immediately had a workaround ready
for Firebird. She asked that I change the vendor string in about:config to
"MSIE", so I changed it to "MSIE (I'm actually using Firebird. FIX YOUR SITE,
MBNA!)"
I'm sick of these ignorant web developers trying to impose the use of software
they deem to be necessary on their users. This is the internet. Wake up
and smell the goddamned platform independence. Stop with the idiotic,
frustrating, and completely unnecessary platform lock-out!
(15:58)
Search :: Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Comment #1 by karmaflux
HAHAHAAHAHAH
you lie about your user agent because you're ashamed of firebird.
(20-JAN-04 - 09:26 EST)
Comment #2 by Accipiter
Actually, no. You didn't read it right. The vendor string actually reads:
MSIE (I'm actually using Firebird. FIX YOUR SITE, MBNA!)
I've since changed it back to "Firebird." So there.
(20-JAN-04 - 09:32 EST)
Comment #3 by Accipiter
I just checked with my iBook, and sure enough, the exact same thing happens when I access the payment system using Safari.
So I called them back. According to the representative, they've received a bunch of calls about this problem, and she told me that users of Firebird, Mozilla and Safari have called with this problem, and that it is a known issue.
I sincerely hope someone gets bitchslapped badly over this. In the interim, since all calls to that support department are documented, I plan to call them up every day until it's fixed.
(20-JAN-04 - 10:24 EST)
Comment #4 by karmaflux
"known issue" == "we're not going to fix it."
I hate bad web designers.
Meanwhile, you're going to have to install Windows and pay your bills with Internet Explorer. Pay for XP with an MBNA card and write it off on your taxes.
(20-JAN-04 - 10:56 EST)
Comment #5 by daverau
This would never be an issue if devs detected for features rather than browsers.
(21-JAN-04 - 09:16 EST)
Comment #6 by Accipiter
They'd better fix it, or I'll issue another press release totally exposing what they're doing. Heh. And I'm not going to install Windows/IE solely to bow to the whims of stupid developers. I'll take my business elsewhere first, even if it means losing my awesome Star Trek card.
Dave: not even that. If everything was made server-side, even features wouldn't be an issue. I can't think of anything an online credit card payment system needs that is client-side. Their last incarnation of the payment system was entirely server-side, and worked perfectly.
(21-JAN-04 - 09:24 EST)
Comment #7 by karmaflux
WHERE IS THE PRESS RELEASE?
(23-JAN-04 - 11:14 EST)
Add a comment
You are not currently logged in, and this entry has been archived and
locked. Adding comments to archived posts is restricted to registered
users of this site.
Please log in if you'd
like to add a comment. If you do not currently have an Accipiter.org account, you
may register.