Missing Personal data..

I dont disagree( especially as someone who will never benefit from it) ..but if you were the party trying to remove it..well it might lose more votes than it gains..!

Let's look at the sums.
If a family has two kids, let's guess they get £30 a week or £1500 per year. If both of them work, call it an extra £750 per person per year.

That's equivalent to a lot of tax. (that's short hand for 'it's too late and my brains too tired to do the sums).

I'm guessing even those who get it might prefer a tax-cut instead.

For info, does anyone know if Child Benefit is taxable income? I'm guessing it ought to be. If so, those in the higher tax bracket would get 40% less.

I guess it keeps the revenue and customs busy - so busy they can't keep track of discs.

no it isn't taxable income

I think it is £3409 income in terms of equivalent at 22% tax rate but then my windows calculator might be tired

Problem is no one who recieves it would prefer a tax cut as the reality is they would never see the tax cut anyway. It is like work ing tax credit... no one in their right mind will give that up if they benefit from it!


In fact the most discriminated against members of society appear to be the double income no kids bracket....!!!you work your ass off, pay income tax, council tax to the hilt and get absolutely nothing back..!

It's exempt from tax.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nm/index/life/tax/tax-exempt_and_taxable_income.htm

koshkha wrote:

Thank you for the donations offered. Do I need to send all my personal data? You can share it with that Nigerian princess who wants to pass her daddies millions through a UK account and pay well for the privilege.

Not all your data. However your bank account details, postcode and house number, mother maiden name, security digits and safe code access to bank vault should suffice in return for a large bag of IAMS kittenfood methinks.
Then again, that would be in the public domain by now if you had kids..

Just recieved a letter telling me my details were on those disks and they are very sorry Oh and they think the disks are on government property.

spoilt_little_brat wrote:

Ibut if you can't afford kids then dont have them.

.

What about couples who are on a low income and are very likely always going to be on a low income. Are you saying they should refrain from having children ? Thats discriminatory and unfair. Everyone has a right to have a child.

Also what about familes who have fallen on hard times ?

Child benefit should be given to familes who need it. I agree that there should be an income cut off because a lot of people just dont need it but saying you should earn a certain amount of money before you have a child is unfair.

WormThatTurned wrote:

Everyone has a right to have a child.

Everyone?

WormThatTurned wrote:

Everyone has a right to have a child.

Even paedophiles?

How could you police it even if you wanted to ?

Sure its better if you could support a child on your own without Government help but low income couples should be allowed to have a child if they want to and not feel guilty whilst claiming benefits IMHO.

Paul99ine wrote:

WormThatTurned wrote:

Everyone has a right to have a child.

Even paedophiles?

In that case (on the sex offenders list) I guess the child would be taken into care at birth ?

WormThatTurned wrote:

What about couples who are on a low income and are very likely always going to be on a low income. Are you saying they should refrain from having children ?
Also what about familes who have fallen on hard times ?

Two different situations there. Why should tax payers support financially someone to have children that makes no sense at all economically? No one would be priced out of having a child it is all down to the degree of sacrifice you are prepared to accept. These days people seem to think they have a right to raise a child and that the state should bear some of the cost.

Providing a safety net for people who fall on hard times is a different matter and should be there however a universal flat rate benefit is not the way to do that.

drewboy wrote:

I resent paying for a nestegg for kids turning 18 to use it for their first holiday away from home.

Sorry, but I know that is what the vast majority of my mates did with it (well, those who's parents did the same thing and put it aside for them).

I agree Drew and I have several kids as you know. Do not really get the point of the Child Trust Fund in particular. Just make University fees free again for christ's sake! My daughter will hit eighteen and buy her first car, go to Ibiza whatever and no mistkae.

I am of the opinion that all benefits should be means tested.

I thought this thread was about missing data? Any how, there's all these people cacking themselves that they'll get defrauded if they buy online and disclose 2 digits of their credit card number and, meanwhile, the Inland Revenue loses the personal data relating to 25 million people. [Last seen in a lorry headed for the roadside cafe "The Healthy Biker's Paradise"]

Does anyone else see the irony in this? Oh..we've had one of those apology letters too. My kids are gonna sue their sorry asses when they hit eighteen (just 6 years away for my son)

I think those letters are so funny. We would like to give you a personal apology hehe.

Oh and as pointed out on TV this morning, what will most people do with the letters, throw them in the bin, and what does the letter have on it? Name, Address, NI number, Child benefit number, made me laugh anyway :p

Just got this through a friend of a friend, thought seeing as though we are on about personal data would post it:

This one is pretty slick since they provide Y O U with all the information, except the one piece they want.
Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was called on Thursday from "MasterCard".

The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank) did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for £497.99 from a Marketing company based in London?" When you say "No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from £297 to £497, just under the £500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 0800 number listed on the back of your card (0800-VISA) and ask for Security.

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works the caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card." He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers." There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say, "No," the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do", and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of £497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or MasterCard directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening .

atticusuk wrote:

These days people seem to think they have a right to raise a child and that the state should bear some of the cost.

....while they still have all the adult frills they want. Plasma TV, mini MPV's (how my mum survived without one of those I have no idea) etc etc.

Just spoke to a friend, she just got her letter- with someone elses details on it

drewboy wrote:

atticusuk wrote:

These days people seem to think they have a right to raise a child and that the state should bear some of the cost.

....while they still have all the adult frills they want. Plasma TV, mini MPV's (how my mum survived without one of those I have no idea) etc etc.

We didnt even have a car..! Four kids too.

spoilt_little_brat wrote:

Just spoke to a friend, she just got her letter- with someone elses details on it

What a waste of money, writing to lord knows how many people....I don't know what is worse, losing them in the first place, or wasting yet more money with a pointless apology!

drewboy wrote:

atticusuk wrote:

These days people seem to think they have a right to raise a child and that the state should bear some of the cost.

....while they still have all the adult frills they want. Plasma TV, mini MPV's (how my mum survived without one of those I have no idea) etc etc.

Your so scathing of parents Drew...not all of them are like the picture you are painting...infact a huge majority are not.

No, I would say I am cynical of them.

WormThatTurned wrote:

Everyone has a right to have a child.

Having a child is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT.

The 'I have a right' thinking is what leads us as a country to spend a fortune on IVF for couples when (in my opinion) the money should go for treating those who are sick.

If someone wants kids THAT much they should stop taking holidays, sell their home and move somewhere smaller, do without a car and make other cut-backs BEFORE we as a nation cough up the money for IVF.

OK, you can all be nasty to me now but I don't think it's an appropriate use of public finances when sick people can't get the drugs they need because they are too expensive. My priorities are to the living and not to the as-yet-unborn.

I was shocked when I heard you can get IVF on the NHS.

My sister is an IVF baby and my step-mum and dad paid for the treatment, I am sure at the time you couldnt get it ont he NHS?

I can only imagine how heart breaking it must be to want a child but cant have one yourself, but I would much rather see people encouraged into adoption then IVF.

I know just after I had Caleb someone came to my house to check how we were doing and gave me loads of info on adoption and asking if I would do it