By Conor Sharkey
A Strabane mother of three whose details were lost when two confidential computer discs went missing has described as 'insulting', the government's response to the blunder.
The discs, which contained Child Benefit information along with the name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million people went missing last month.
Since the mistake came to light, those affected have been contacted by letter by the government's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department. In the unsigned letter, HMRC Acting Chairman Dave Hartnett offers a 'personal apology' for the fiasco, before advising the recipient to be extra-vigilant to their finances and where suspicious, contact their bank or building society.
Strabane woman Anne Barr was informed last week that her details, along with those of her 13 year-old and seven year-old twins had been lost.
Speaking to the Strabane Chronicle earlier this week, Anne described the situation as 'unacceptable', adding that she had altered her financial details to protect herself and her family.
"The worst thing is not knowing who now has access to your personal details and what they intend to do with them. With the information contained on these discs, whoever has them could take out credit cards or loans in my name, so as soon as I received the letter I contacted my bank. I've since closed my account and opened a new one, more for peace of mind than anything," she said.
Since receiving her letter, Anne said she has spoken to a few people in the same situation.
"I spoke to several people who had also received letters and they advised me to go and speak to my bank. When I did, the bank got me an appointment straight away and said they would sort out any Direct Debits for me. I am grateful for the help they have given me and they do tell you not to worry, but it's hard not be concerned, particularly for the children," she said.
With regards to the letter itself, Anne said she would not accept Mr Harnett's so-called 'personal apology'.
"I don't accept it at all. This is a standard letter that was sent to every home affected. How can this man make a personal apology when he didn't even bother to sign the letter? It's nothing more than an insult as far as I'm concerned," she added.
Strabane District Council member Eugene McMenamin said that while people did need to be cautious with regards to their finances, he saw no great need for alarm over the loss of the government discs.
"These days, almost all banking is done by computer, so I would urge people to be extra vigilant with their finances at all times, but with regards to this scare, I would be fairly confident that both the banks and the government are well on top of the situation. I would also be confident that if someone did lose money because of the government mistake, they would be recompensed.
"The biggest problem I would have is the fact that they sent out 25 million letters with a postage stamp on everyone. It must have cost a fortune to do so and I'm sure the money could have been put to better use.
"I don't think there is need for any panic but if anyone is concerned, by all means, contact your bank and I'm sure they would be happy to sort any problems out," he said.
