The discs debacle has left parents across Wales reeling. Here they tell the Western Mail why...

Nov 22 2007 by Tim Lewis, Western Mail

Bethan Jones is a married mother-of-two from Cardigan.

She said, “My main concern is that personal details and the details of my children have been allowed to get out into the public domain without my permission. The Government has said sorry but they can’t say, ‘OK, let’s change the system’ because it won’t make any difference now that the information is already out there.

“I am so careful about giving out personal details that I don’t ever accept cold calls on the phone and I don’t even give personal details over the phone when I get a call from my own bank.

“I will only respond to a request from them that comes in writing and even then I will ring them or call in, not the other way around.

“Most child benefit forms have National Insurance numbers, children’s names and bank details included on them if paid in through direct debit, like mine is.

“Many people use their children’s names as passwords not only for banking but online, to access Facebook and to pay for items, so this information could give anyone seeking to steal your identity ‘a leg up’.”

Patricia Carswell, from Monmouth, is a mother of two and works as a life coach to mothers. She said, “Now that I know the actual risk of being affected is low I feel a bit better but it is not a comfortable experience.

“Probably the most shocking thing about it all is that the Government is not taking the most basic steps to make sure the data is safe – to send the data without encrypting it first is just absurd. We are all encouraged to be extremely careful but it seems the Government is not taking its own advice.

“It really brought home the fact that so many of our personal details are already available in the public domain.”

Emily John, a mother of three from Swansea, said mothers who rely on child benefit cannot afford to lose money from their accounts.

She said, “It is all well and good the Government saying people would be able to claim the money back but how long will that take?

“You need the child benefit when it is due and from my experience with the family tax credit problems it can take a long time to sort things out.

“If your children need food or new clothes you can’t afford to wait the weeks or months it could take to get something like this resolved.”