Pension service doubly stuffed
It’s February 14th again. Don’t worry this isn’t a Valentine’s thought. No. February 14th 2007 is the first anniversary of ‘I heart Chip and Pin’. It is one year exactly since keying in your PIN became (almost) compulsory when you used your plastic card to buy things in shops, restaurants and hotels. Adding another level of security around our identity when we go shopping.
But that was not much help to 26,000 customers of the Department for Work and Pensions. Over the weekend it ’fessed up to sending out their pension entitlement notices for 2007/08 to 26,000 other people, revealing to total strangers their name, address, bank account number, sort code, National Insurance number and the amount of their state pension. A good start if anyone wanted to steal an identity and take out a mobile phone contract or run up credit in their name.
It happened like this. The machine that puts the letters into the envelopes was, I am told, “on the wrong setting” and put two letters in each envelope instead of one. So each recipient got their own letter – and that of the next person on the list. No-one spotted the mistake until bewildered customers started calling up about the extra letter. By then 26,000 doubly stuffed envelopes had already gone out beyond recall. Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of Pension Service went on radio and television over the weekend to apologise and assure the 52,000 customers that the DWP knew the identity of everyone whose letter had been piggy backed into someone else’s home – and the identity of those who had received them. It is now sending out letters of apology – and 26,000 post-paid envelopes in the hope of getting the letters returned. If the recipients have not already put this ID theft crib in the paper recycling box out on the pavement overnight. The DWP is also telling the banks about the 26,000 customers whose identity may have been compromised. Not much fun if any of them really do want a new mobile phone contract or to open a line of credit!
It all makes me wonder if civil servant Jamie Jamieson did have a good idea three years ago when he announced that he was carrying round an inkpad and informing the banks that his signature was not valid unless accompanied by his thumbprint. The credit reference agency Equifax agreed last week to let him put a notice to this effect on his credit record. So now anyone can join in. Of course, it will slow things down when you want to borrow money or pay with plastic. But at least you will know your ID won’t be stolen. Or if it is the thief will have to leave their own thumbprint behind.
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