A while back, a correspondent asked for views on the Land Registry. I am finally prompted to ask if any users have experienced a more ridiculous online service. The site is suitably represented by the bizarre choice of security questions inflicted on its users.

My favourite fictional character? Unlike the Land Registry folk, I actually change my mind on matters like this. Sometimes I am prone even to read a decent new book, and suddenly I’m left trying to tell Land Registry what my favourite character was at the time I set up the account. My favourite place to which I have never been? Isn’t that likely to be my next holiday location? Therefore my answer is only going to be valid until my next annual leave.

State where your favourite memory took place? Presumably, by the time you have an online Land Registry account, the time for new favourite memories is past.

Favourite teacher? Teachers with names of three characters are excluded because those are too short. So my science teacher, Mr Pit, loses out. This four-letter minimum goes for all answers, so I hope nobody likes visiting the USA or has ever had a good time in Rio.

It baffles me that it must have been harder to fail so singularly than to have successfully copied what online banks, forums and email hosts had already put in place. The result of the awful questions is that one is compelled to write the answers down somewhere. It’s funny because the intention seems so clearly to have been to make it even more secure than those other online services. All I can think is that it was a prank, and that makes me smile.

I’d be grateful if anyone can confirm this is the case.

Samuel Walker, head of legal, Trinity Estates, Hemel Hempstead

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