Problems logging in to the members only area

The login system we have implemented is used by many thousands of web sites and has a good reputation, however for some reason logins sometimes fail.  Just trying again sometimes works, it may be related to security settings or software on individual PCs. Please work your way through the notes below before asking for help.

Firstly, you can log in with either your email address or your membership number (a letter then 3 digits like X045).  If one doesn’t work, try the other.

Since this system was set up several members have reported an inability to log in. In almost all cases, persistence and carefully following the instructions below would have resolved the issue.

If you don’t yet have a password or have forgotten it, use the “forgotten password” facility on the login form. Input the email account you provided on the membership form, a password will be sent to that email account. 

New members

It can take a while for new members details to be added to the system. If you Email the webmaster@pdmhs.com with your membership number and email address it will be added (or updated) within a few days (often same day).

We only have current legible and valid email addresses for 60% of members, if yours is not recognised update us by using email.address.change@pdmhs.com including your membership number and email address.

Password didn’t arrive:
The password will get sent immediately and should arrive within a few minutes however there are several reasons why you might not get the notification.

  • All email systems apply spam/junk mail filtering.  Unfortunately many email systems, in their enthusiasm to block junk mail, also discard some messages you’d like to receive.
    Mail originating from computer programs such as our password reset program is particularly susceptible to this. 

    • Ideally the system won’t discard suspected junk but most will put it in a junk-mail folder from where you can recover it.  
    • Your email service should allow you to “whitelist” email addresses to prevent mail from those addresses being treated as junk.  An example is shown at the bottom of this page.  Add webmaster@pdmhs.com to the filters then use the “forgotten password” link to get a password sent.  
    • Poorer email systems neither use a junk folder nor allow whitelisting. The best solution is to get a better email account (e.g. Gmail.com or Outlook.com).  
  • Temporary faults and congestion on the internet can cause delays, rarely more than a couple of hours.  Check that other emails are reaching your account OK. 
  • If you have changed email address since you completed your membership form, try the old address if you still have access to that account.  Otherwise email the current address to email.address.change@pdmhs.com and include your postal address and membership number if possible (this will send the notification to all the relevant PDMHS officers to check/update the details they have on file). 
  • Might you have provided an incorrect email address on your membership application form? or perhaps it was ambiguous (it’s easy to get transcription confusions in respect of things like the letter O and the number zero).  Email email.address.change@pdmhs.com to have the email address checked.

Login credentials don’t work:

Are you sure?  The right hand column on most pages will show whether you are logged in.

If you received an email with the password after using the password reset option you are recognised as a valid user.  If logging in using your email address and the provided password doesn’t work the most likely cause is an error entering them.  It’s also possible you are logged in but it’s not very obvious, there’s no fanfare or “welcome” page.
The password is a possible cause of login problems. As the password is concealed on the login form it’s hard to spot errors.  The easiest fix is to cut and paste the password from your password notification email.

A space before or after the password may cause it to be rejected.

If the email address you enter on the “forgotten password” page does not match the one we have on file the response will be “No user found with that email address.”

You can use either your registered email address or your membership number (a letter followed by 3 digits) as username when logging in.

The system generated password is garbage, how can I be expected to remember it?

Passwords are supposed to be difficult, they protect you but, more importantly to PDMHS, they help keep the bad guys off our web server. The best solution is to use a password vault like

LastPass, KeyPass, Dashlane or BitWarden (my preferred choice) to store all your passwords.  Those products can make all your internet logins lot easier and more secure.
You can change your password once logged in, use the Edit Profile link visible at the bottom right of this page when logged in but please do use a strong password.

I forgot my password, can I get a reminder?

You can only get a fresh new password. The password is only ever known to you, the copy stored on the web server is heavily encrypted, even GCHQ would take a while to break it.  Use the “forgotten password” link to get a new password.

Still got problems?

If all else fails email webmaster@pdmhs.com requesting assistance and quoting:

  • Email address
  • Membership number
  • Any error messages
  • The device you are using (e.g Windows PC)
  • The operating system you are using (e.g. Windows 10 Home Version 1803)
  • The Browser you are using (e.g. Google Chrome Version 70.0.3538.77)
  • Anything else you believe may help clarify the problem you are experiencing
  • Confirmation that you have followed the guidelines on this page. 

Email filter example (Outlook)

If the password reset email hasn’t reached you your email client may be treating it as spam, you should be able to whitelist the relevant email address ( webmaster@pdmhs.com ).  For MS Outlook you to set a filter as below, other email programs should have a similar capability.