Has anyone heard? Inland revenue just admitted they have lost a disk with 15 million children's names, addresses, bank account detail, etc. for kids who are receiving child benefit! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! How on earth they can do that? Am i (along millions of others) to spend my days checking my credit file for potential identity fraud?!?!?! It's a disgrace!

i just heard this on news. its dreadful. you are giving these people details in ggod faith expecting them to be safe. how worrying is it when you cant give the ir details without them losing them. these people are helping to run our country.

Its disgusting that they have lost all those details, i notice that the person in charge has now resigned! Thats not a lot of comfort when you have to check your bank account every month incase someone has stolen you identity.

OMG! What a bunch of idiots! thats really bad isn't it? Glad i read this or i wouldn't have known (hadnt seen the news)

Cant believe how much this contry is going down the pan... i really do worry what i've brought my child into these days. I suspect alot of u feel the same, im actually really wanting to move every day (thats one reason why i dont watch the news)

Im in a bad mood anyway coz last night i went food shopping online since my OH car is broken so im stuck in a villiage with one poxy post office to go into for groceries.. anyway for any of u who have done this- u must know how long it takes the first time u do it... well, i was frustrated enough trying to find products then i went to change address at the end and it had taken all my shopping away and was telling me to start again! I could have killed somebody! I went to bed seething... i really was angry! The only leisure time i have in the evenings and i wasted 2 hours of it on that bloody website with no outcome.
Anway- i had to get the rant off my chest
sorry ladies... :-(

Hannah xx

Don't get me started on Inland Revenue. I had been getting child benefit paid into my bank account since they started to do it that way and 2 weeks ago I noticed online that I hadn't got my money.

Six pounds worth of calls to them later I am told that my file had been opened but they didn't know why and a payment would be in my account in 2-3 days. I was also assured that my payments would go back to normal for this weeks payment.

Checked again Monday and no payment once again- they now owe me two weeks. I called again on Tuesday and told that whoever had promised to sort it out obviously hadn't bothered (although differently phrased that lot accept blame for nothing). Promised a payment will be in my account by end of week. I will not hold my breath.

I am also currently having problems with tax credits (who isn't I hear you say!!!) they wrote to my father in laws house- how they ever got his address I will NEVER know- they say I called them and gave them his address as where I was living but that is complete nonsense- I wouldn't know his address off the top of my head and why on earth would I say I lived there ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Anyway my delightful fil decided to takwe it upon himself to open the letter, read it, keep it for two weeks and it arrives in the post this morning to say I have been overpaid by £1133 and despite previous warning I have not paid- well when they pick an address form the blue how do they expect me to get there letters.

I know I am rambling on but I am absolutely livid with that lot. 7 weeks from having a baby and 5 weeks till christmas they are demanding I pay NOW or go to court it is absolutely ridiculous.

Oh i agree!!! sounds like u have been o hell and back with the bastards! excuse me but it makes me so angry. I didnt even bother with Tax credits because although im on such a low wage- my OH is self employed so his wages go up and down and i knew thats the last thing i needed being told i owed them money and god knows how much.

Sorry to hear u've had the hassle- i cant believe they can do that to people- if they have overpaid then its their problem i think maybe they should check it more reguraly than once a bloody year!

25 million. its just been on the news at first there didnt know how many but it just been said its now 25 million ppls details x

Its a nitemare - u put your faith in these people and give them all yr details - I heard that the kids are more likely to be targeted for identity theft rather than us- but even thats bad enough.

xx

Its shocking! but am i surprised?? NO! It made me laugh when they said they don't think its got in to criminal hands,Yeah right it might not be yet but i bet it won't be long!!!
My dad rang me & said if it did get into criminal hands & they got my account details they'd be gutted if they try & get money out cos i spend it as soon as its in lol xo

Fantastic...we now get told that the details were lost about three to four weeks ago....and we only get told about it now!!! Bloody great...I'm so glad to be a citizen of this country...NOT!! The fraud experts tell us we need to be vigilant over our bank accounts...well, what happens if we notice irregularities in our accounts?? will the banks, or even better, the government, reimburse us for any withdrawals that are made fraudlently?? Will the government "repair" any bad credit histories that are fraudulently created?? Doubt it! They tell us not to panic...my name, my address, my NI number, my bank details, could be in the hands of god only knows what kinds of people, and I shouldn't panic...hmmmm, yeah, i'll just sit back and chill about it, that's ok, I don't mind if my identity gets stolen, and someone is able to open bank accounts, get credit cards, get mortgages, under my name!!!!. This country is run by muppets!!!!

"This country is run by muppets!!!! "

quote of the day

I agree with all the above comments, I was reading the statement on the bbc news website last night & there was a big blurb about what it meant & what you should do & why you shouldn't worry but no actual mention of what the IR will do if we do get money mossing or our id's stolen & bad credit raised ont he back of it. Funny that isn't it. AFAIAC I will be writing to the pm for a reimbursement of any missing funds or issues with my credit or id should it happen with a copy of the letter sent to all the major new centres too.

KThom122 - I had same probs with tax credits and have been overpaid by £889 from last year (been overpaid everyyr since it started!). They sent me a threatening letter saying I hadnt replied to any of their letters and that I had to pay full amount immediately or they would send debt collectors!

I called and gave them a peace of my mind. Said I hadnt ahd any letters and that had 2 week old baby plus 2 other kids, on crappy maternity pay and only a couple of weeks before xmas so couldnt pay my bills let alone £889 to them! They have agreed that I can start paying it back in Jan (when everyone is skint!!) at about £75 a month for 12 months. Give them a call and get it sorted out.
xxx

Its not my details I'm worried about, well obviously I am, but I'm more concerned about my daughter's. I got into trouble a few years ago when I ended up out of work so have a crappy history anyway and noone could get any kind of credit in my name. But my LO has obviously got a perfect record, whats to stop whoever finds this disc from keeping the details of the children on it and using them years down the line? Their lives could be ruined before they've even properly begun!

it's funny how they say it's banks who will reimburse us if any money goes missing from our accounts - i work for the bank and it is true, they will pay the money back, but only after weeks of investigation by them, fraud department and police. But why should banks pay out for something that clearly wasn't their fault?! And if I broke the data protection act, my punishment is fine, loss of my job and imprisonement! I want to see the same thing happen to the bloody idiot that caused all this!

Thats shocking that if something happens the banks will have to cough up the money while the incompetant government of this country get away scot free.

It just seems to be one disaster after the other with them lately!!!!

Hilary x

I would like to echoe what Hilary has said, I am very angry and feel the government are being very cagey about the whole thing.

Where will it all end?

Claire

well i'm well annoyed, Brett is now 12 weeks old and i still havent received a single penny in child benefit, they keep telling me allsorts of excuses and that it will be in there this week and then its not, and now i know why!! thay probably deleted my info or something knowing them!!! not only am i struggling on maternity pay, and had no child benefit, i now run the risk of someone having my bank details so when i finally do get the money some one else will probably spend it !!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAArrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh

8081hen i wouldnt get ur hopes up of recieveing it anytime soon my lo is 16 weeks and i still havent got anything aswell as kmaking 3 phonecalls to them!!!

I have phoned the 8 times, first i got told i would get it on5th November, i didnt then i got told i would get it by th next friday, then i got told there is a 2000 people babck log! its a joke!!!!Oh and then they asked me if i had lived in britain all my life!!bloody cheek, i've always worked and always paid tax, its not fair, i only want what i'm entitled to!! i told them if i dont hear by tomorrow, i'm going to citizens advice as they origanally told me it would take 6 weeks and its gone past that now and apparently they can only back date it 3 months!! why should we miss out!!!

I have had probs with tax credits too, a couple of months ago they sent one letter saying I had been overpaid by more than £900 in 2003/2004 (and they've only just realised???!!!) then a couple of days later I got TWO letters saying I had been UNDER paid by over £1,000!!!!! I have since had letters demanding that I repay the £900 before the end of this month or face court proceedings. Bring it on I say!!

Their excuse for the "overpayment" was that I hadn't sent a form back to them. I know damn well that every form I received has been filled in and sent straight back, but obviously it works in their favour 'cos how the hell can I prove it? Especially after so long. I am SOOOO careful about keeping them informed of any little change in circumstances just to avoid a situation like this, so for them to accuse me of not returning a bloody form to them is making me livid!!

The tax credit and CSA systems are a bloody joke. They should all be sacked and get in people who actually know what they are doing to handle the cases!! If this is an example of the quality of the people we have got running our country then no wonder Britain is going down the pan!!

Have you seen the news now?
Half the details that were sent out weren't even required they were only meant to send the childs name and child benefit number and amount but they couldn't be bothered to sort it out so sent it all.