Gov Access to Bank Accounts for those in receipt of SP

zagfles

Qyburn said:

zagfles said:

So take two people, a poor pensioner claiming pension credit, and rich pensioner claiming the state pension, other pensions, maybe foreign income, rental income etc.

So if the first person can have their bank account snooped at to check if they're committing benefit fraud, should the second person have their bank account snooped at to check if they're comitting tax fraud?

You're advocating snooping on both those people. But you don't advocate snooping on people with overseas income, rental, other pensions - unless they also receive the SP.

None of your vigorous support for these powers actually explains why you think receipt of the State Pension should be the specific differentiator.

You do seem to be reading stuff that's not there. I'm not "advocating" anything. I don't "support" these powers. I'm just not particularly bothered about them. The above was just responding to the point about profiling and asking questions.

My real concern is the implication that these powers are preparation for means testing the state pension, which I think is political propaganda and scaremongering. As I said the SP could be means tested without these powers anyway.

Mystic_CT

zagfles said:

Qyburn said:

zagfles said:

So take two people, a poor pensioner claiming pension credit, and rich pensioner claiming the state pension, other pensions, maybe foreign income, rental income etc.

So if the first person can have their bank account snooped at to check if they're committing benefit fraud, should the second person have their bank account snooped at to check if they're comitting tax fraud?

You're advocating snooping on both those people. But you don't advocate snooping on people with overseas income, rental, other pensions - unless they also receive the SP.

None of your vigorous support for these powers actually explains why you think receipt of the State Pension should be the specific differentiator.

You do seem to be reading stuff that's not there. I'm not "advocating" anything. I don't "support" these powers. I'm just not particularly bothered about them. The above was just responding to the point about profiling and asking questions.

My real concern is the implication that these powers are preparation for means testing the state pension, which I think is political propaganda and scaremongering. As I said the SP could be means tested without these powers anyway.

To Zagfles: We're all entitled to our opinions. However, I do take issue with your comments throughout this thread where you seem to dismiss peoples' genuine concerns about yet further erosion of our rights as citizens by this corrupt, self-serving abomination of government as merely a sheep-like response to "political propaganda and scaremongering". At the risk of you dismissing me as a "conspiracy theorist", I am actually an individual who is angry at the level of conceit and deceit perpetrated on us all by self-serving elitists who are supposed to serve us.

westv

Apart from the original Tweet quoted in the original post, has this actually been reported anywhere else?

zagfles

Mystic_CT said:

zagfles said:

Qyburn said:

zagfles said:

So take two people, a poor pensioner claiming pension credit, and rich pensioner claiming the state pension, other pensions, maybe foreign income, rental income etc.

So if the first person can have their bank account snooped at to check if they're committing benefit fraud, should the second person have their bank account snooped at to check if they're comitting tax fraud?

You're advocating snooping on both those people. But you don't advocate snooping on people with overseas income, rental, other pensions - unless they also receive the SP.

None of your vigorous support for these powers actually explains why you think receipt of the State Pension should be the specific differentiator.

You do seem to be reading stuff that's not there. I'm not "advocating" anything. I don't "support" these powers. I'm just not particularly bothered about them. The above was just responding to the point about profiling and asking questions.

My real concern is the implication that these powers are preparation for means testing the state pension, which I think is political propaganda and scaremongering. As I said the SP could be means tested without these powers anyway.

To Zagfles: We're all entitled to our opinions. However, I do take issue with your comments throughout this thread where you seem to dismiss peoples' genuine concerns about yet further erosion of our rights as citizens by this corrupt, self-serving abomination of government as merely a sheep-like response to "political propaganda and scaremongering". At the risk of you dismissing me as a "conspiracy theorist", I am actually an individual who is angry at the level of conceit and deceit perpetrated on us all by self-serving elitists who are supposed to serve us.

Again, at the risk of repeating myself for the n'th time. The "political propaganda and scaremongering" refers purely to the implication that all this may be preparation for means testing the state pension. Not concerns about monitoring bank accounts.

Mind you, I won't be lectured on using those terms by someone who refers to the "this corrupt, self-serving abomination of government"

zagfles

westv said:

Apart from the original Tweet quoted in the original post, has this actually been reported anywhere else?

Even the Guardian don't seems to have reported it. But ironically, the only place other than the Daily Mail (link above) I can find a news report on this is on GB news. Good job the "right wing media" are keeping us informed about this  

https://www.gbnews.com/money/state-pension-check-bank-account-dwp

badmemory

There are several "issues" with this.  The only way they could be checking Uk accounts for someone they assumed were living in another country was if they just mined all the accounts & made sure no tranfers abroad were happening.  They already know if they are making payments into foreign accounts, after all they have the payment details.  So the only other question can be "are we making payments into accounts that are tranferring that money abroad".  That means ALL pensioners accounts are being questioned regardless.  With no legal proof or requirements.

The next issue is likely to be the banks.  They are going to have to give the DWP info for all accounts which receive "benefits" & there are a lot of them as in millions.  How many are going to say enough.  If you receive benefits we are going to close your accounts because you are costing us too much.  They are not charities & one year of having to send a stream of info that their customer are going to complain about is going to cost them.

pinnks

I think people need to read the draft legislation before making assumptions or assertions. 

The new power does not require all banks to report all accounts all of the time.  It allows DWP to "give an account information notice to a person of a prescribed description requiring the person to provide information..."

Thumbs_Up

I have heard it said many times that if people discuss these theory's on social media sites it does gives MP's ideas. Dip the toe in the water so to speak.