Thousands of pensioners all over Telford are being told to hand back their free bus passes if they do not agree to their personal details being passed on as part of a national fraud-busting scheme.The news has sparked an angry response from older people in the borough, who are worried about their details being spread around and losing free transport. The borough council says anyone who hands in their pass will not be issued with another one.
Local authorities across England are being asked to provide details of concessionary travel pass holders to the Government’s Audit Commission as part of an anti-fraud initiative.
Details will be compared to information provided by other public bodies.
The aim is to stop situations arising such as pensions or benefits being paid to people who have died or who are not entitled to them.
But pensioner Harry Taylor, of Muxton, who is Telford and Wrekin chairman for British Pensioners and Trade Union Action Association, said he had been bombarded with calls from worried bus pass users.
“We’ve got this free bus pass but if we don’t abide by their rules we will lose our bus pass,” he said.
“You can’t trust the Government to look after your details properly. It feels like we’re being penalised. People are really worried.”
Councillor Steve Bentley, cabinet member for transport at Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “The letter will advise people that if they do not want their information to be forwarded to the Audit Commission they will need to return their bus card as soon as possible.
“This would be regrettable and I expect inconvenient for some people.
“However, I hope that people will understand the need for the council to comply with this instruction, as it makes sure only people who are entitled to benefits or a bus card receive them.”
Bus pass holders who do want their data removed are urged to return their pass in person to Telford Travelink in the Telford Town Centre bus station by September 19.
By Lizzie Yates
26 Comments
I see no problem with that at all.
Only the people who are guilty have something to fear
I do its big brother tactics, and lets face what is wrong with being a private individual?? who does not want to hand over there private details to some one ie the guv lets face it they do lose a lot dont they ,
it seems to me now, if you are a private person you are deemed as some one with something to hide usually by the nosey oik down the road.
Give us your details or we put you under virtual house arrest!
Our government in ‘action’.
oh yeah Y Mab Darogan,
Tell that to the 25 million people whose data was lost by HMRC, or the thousands of bank customes whose details were on a stolen laptop sold on ebay. I could go on.
Until people feel their personal data is safe then no one should expect people to freely hand over this data.
Merkio the data may have been lost but how much of that data was used in criminal activities?
the answer is zero
So the system is perfectly safe
i think that’s fair enough, the oap is just complaining, if he doesnt want my taxes to pay for his travel, good, take his pass away, next
Andrew - there is nothing wrong with being a private individual, but if you dont want to conform to rules that are put in place to prevent fraud then you dont get to use the free buses. Where is the problem with that ??
I agree with all the comments.
If you want to use free transport you need to register
No one is making people register.
IOf you don’t want to register that is your choice
You will just not get to use the free public transport
This sounds a bit heavy handed and authoritarian - especially with all the losses of data and personal information that this Government are responsible for. The thought of personal details being divulged to private firms would fill me with horror because this is what ultimately happens when official departments contract out to private processing firms.
silly old man making a mountain over a mole hill, just dont let him have his pass then
“So the system is perfectly safe”
So far. As luck would have it.
In a pig’s ear.
All of the data should not be required it serves no purpose. This is BLACKMAIL or BRIBERY and being used on the most Vunerable Members of Society. With the current track record of Government Data I wouldnt even provide them with my Shoe Size for fear they would lose it.
To Quote Y Mab Darogan:
“I see no problem with that at all.
Only the people who are guilty have something to fear”
On the contrary, we have EVERYTHING to fear, as the state, and those in authority, can NEVER be absolutely trusted with information about the individuals they are supposed to protect and represent.
History has taught us that over the years.
You don’t have to look very hard over recent times to see that.
And lets not forget that pensioners, certainly those in their 70’s and 80’s will remember the second world war, and how the use of “personal” information was used against millions of people in Europe cc 1930’s - 1945.
With that in mind, they (pensioners) have EVERY damned right to keep their personal details just that: PERSONAL, and it’s about time this information greedy nanny state was brought to heel.
AND
Those demanding this infomation should listen to these pensioners, which by definiton, are their “elders”
The statements often trotted out:
” Only the guilty have anything to fear”, or conversly ” if you are innocent, or aren’t doing anthing wrong you have nothing to fear”
displays a “dangerous and naive understanding” of political affairs and motives, which, if allowed to become “common place” thinking, will, in the end, be the downfall of us all.
Again History should have taught us that.
Good on you pensioners, it’s about time someone started to fight back, and you are the guys with age and experience on your side to do it!
How many times do they want our details ? Presumably everyone entitled to one of these passes is old enough to have a National Insurance card and number, so they already have the details they want.
Y Mab Darogan. (#5)
The FACT is the data was lost through incompetence.
The FACT that it wasn’t used for criminal purposes was sheer LUCK!
So HOW do those two statements describe a “SYSTEM”, and more pointedly, a SAFE system ?
Your conclusion here defies all reasoned and logical thought!
And …
Just as well the guy that bought the computer server” on ebay only a few days ago was honest! - otherwise it could have been YOUR bank account / credit card detail etc at risk.
AND - that’s just a financial risk ! … bad enough, but what if “it” (that is missing data of other types) mistakenly identifed you as a criminal, and you lost your liberty as result
(it couldn’t happen ? …….. or could it?)
The mind boggleth !
Luddite - the chances are that the OAP has paid a lifetime of taxes himself, and indeed may still be contributing towards
other people’s kid’s education and family tax credit. Both the State and private pensions are taxed, so your pensioner owes you nothing, in fact it may be the other way round!
askeric dotcom - I don’t recall a single point in history where personal infomation has been used against the populance!!
Unless your refering to the Doomsday book which in my view was a excellent bit of organisation carried out by Good king William.
As I said before only people abusing the system have something to fear ie people claiming free transport when they are not entitled to it.
Or would you prefer to pay greater taxes to subsidise people abusing the benefits system?
EXACTLY ,unlike a lot lot of people under 50 this pensioner has more than likely paid plenty in taxes and worked all his life ,and dame right oap should get free busses etc no matter how much they have in the bank either,THEY SAVED IT and they should get a lot more there are plenty out there now getting the guv hand outs in tax credits and the like well according to reports any family on under 55k gets a tax credit hand out .
Y Mab darogan …
your comment in #17 …
I really can’t believe you said this!:
“askeric dotcom - I don’t recall a single point in history where personal infomation has been used against the populance!!”
So …..
How is it the Germans knew exactly who the jewish / (and even those of “dubious jewish descent) population were ?
Do you know that IBM (IBM = international business machines / American Technology) leased their punched card indexing system to the germans to enable them to accurately record personal details?
just do a search on google or your favourite search engine… you’ll be spoilt for choice
You really need to study recent 20th century history !!
silly old man - i hate these civil liberties lot, just do as your told
get over it, its only your name and address!!
askeric dotcom In regards to the Jews in the 2nd World War - most of the Jews picked out (the majority) happened due to Germans who lived in the same towns/villages picking them out.
Not by any form of registration.
PC’s were largely unhgeard of in the 1940’s so to suggest that all german information was being kept on IBM systems is a bit strange
In fact the early spectrum, apple computers in the early 1980’s were even unable to achieve this
Y Mab Daragon. What planet are you from? Not this one that’s for sure!
Y Mab darogan.
I suggest you read your history books!
AND …. WHO said anything about PC’s (I’m assuming you mean personal computers ?)
THERE were NO computers about in the 1940’s except colussus, which used thermionic valves:
see extract below ** to decode German enigma enctpted messages
And YES it WAS IBM, and it was an IBM “Hollerith punched card system” NOT a computer, although the system was based upon a similar “logical approach.
And the system WAS a VERY powerful and effective “registration system” in its day.
Most accounts of this era “marvel” at the speed with which the population of central European occupied countries was “registered” and accounted for!
And Y mab darogan, you miss the point entirely,..
Whatever process or means by which the data was gathered, whether it was neighbours “snitching” on each other or whatever, is irrelevant.
The FACT is the data WAS collected, it WAS personal, it WAS USED by the state against the populace, and it COULD happen again.
As I said no one in goverment or authority can ever be TOTALLY trusted with data of this kind
Go back and read your history books again !
Colussus:
The Colossus machines were electronic computing devices used by British codebreakers to read encrypted German messages during World War II. These were the world’s first programmable, digital, electronic, computing devices. They used vacuum tubes (thermionic valves) to perform the calculations ….
Mark 6 …. (#21)
IF it’s ONLY your name and address …..
THEN ……
WHY do they need it again? - as it can easily be found from anumber of existing sources?
(surely AGE would be more relevant .. ie being a pensioner ” …. and surely that is easily “proved” anyhow?
We have national insurance numbers, bank accounts, … any number of ways of “proving” who “you are” if asked to “prove your entitlement to a bus pass” ….
so….
This is just plain uneccessary!!
And so there must be other more “sinister” reasons for yet ANOTHER group asking for infomation….
Poor old Y Mab… been caught out again spouting your usual rubbish. Im not sure why any one tries to discuss things with you, you have more u turns than my Wife using a map !!
Then when you get challanged you use the old “sarcastic” exscuse!! Sarcaism is very difficult to put across in a forum, but a very easy exscuse to use when made look stupid !!