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´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 In Touch |
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Listen to this programmeFactsheet of this programmeTranscript of this programme Print this page FactsheetPASSPORT SERVICEThe programme follow up on a recent item highlighting the poor service a visually impaired family received when applying for a passport. CONTACT THE UNITED KINGDOM IDENTITY AND PASSPORT SERVICE 24-hour Passport Adviceline: 0870 521 0410(ALSO SEE FREEPHONE NUMBER BELOW) Copies of guidance notes to help in completing application forms and other information leaflets are available in:
Information for the blind or visually impaired APPLYING BY PHONE Form-filling service for visually impaired customers: Tel. 0800 138 8808. A member of staff will fill in the form using information you provide and post it to you to check, sign and return with the relevent documents, payment and photographs. APPLYING ONLINE An online application form is also available. The information you provide will be prepopulated on a paper form. The completed form will be posted to you to check, sign and return with the relevant documents, payment and photographs. BRAILLE PASSPORT STICKERS The Passport Service can supply a Braille identifying sticker for your new passport – there is space to request this in section 1 of the passport application form. If you would like a sticker for your current passport, please call the 24-hour Passport Adviceline 0870 521 0410. CHIP AND PIN The banking industry is starting to issue customers with personal card readers for use with online banking. Some banks are giving card readers to customers which they will have to use when transferring money online. Geoff Adams-Spink, reported on the accessibility of the card readers for blind and visually impaired people. CONTACTS THE FOUNDATION FOR INFORMATION POLICY RESEARCH (FIPR) The leading think tank for Internet policy in Britain. It studies the interaction between IT, Government, business and civil society. It researches policy implications and alternatives, and promotes better understanding and dialogue between business, Government and NGOs across Europe. GENERAL IDENTITY THEFT INFORMATION A copy of the the booklet ‘Protecting your Identity: A Practical Guide’ can be downloaded from the webpage: Website: CARD WATCH c/o APACS Mercury House Triton Court 14 Finsbury Square London EC2A 1LQ. Card Watch aims to raise awareness about all types of plastic card fraud in the UK, and provides information to prevent fraudulent use of credit cards, debit card, cheque guarantee cards and charge cards CIFAS PO Box 1141 Bradford BD1 5UR A not for profit organisation run by major lenders to counter financial fraud. For information on the CIFAS protective registration system contact the credit reference agency Equifax (see below). CIFAS Protective Registration CIFAS is a not for profit organisation run by UK major lenders to counter financial fraud. If you have been the victim of a mugging or burglary and personal identification documents have been stolen, there is a risk they could be used by the thief to obtain credit or other products and services fraudulently in your name. For an administration fee of £11.75 (£10 plus £1.75 VAT) CIFAS offers a service, provided on their behalf by Equifax, to protect your name and address from being misused in this way. You may contact Equifax, and request 'Protective Registration'. A CIFAS warning will then be placed against your address marked Category '0' which indicates the individual has been recorded on the CIFAS database at their own request for their protection. CIFAS members when undertaking a search against your address will see "CIFAS-DO NOT REJECT-REFER FOR VALIDATION", whatever name they search for. They will then contact Equifax to establish the reason for the entry. As a result of the entry CIFAS members will verify further the identity of applicants, and in some cases request further proof of identification, and this may mean you personally experience delays while your credentials are fully checked out. If you believe the identity of a deceased person may be used by a fraudster to obtain credit or other products and services, a CIFAS Protective Registration may be placed by a relative or executor against the deceased person’s address. GET SAFE ONLINE GetSafe Online will help you protect yourself against internet threats. The site is sponsored by government and leading businesses working together to provide a free, public service. Has information on how to protect your PC ANTI-PHISHING WORKING GROUP The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG)is an industry association focused on eliminating the identity theft and fraud that result from the growing problem of phishing and email spoofing. The organization provides a forum to discuss phishing issues, define the scope of the phishing problem in terms of hard and soft costs, and share information and best practices for eliminating the problem. Where appropriate, the APWG will also look to share this information with law enforcement.For more information, please contact us at the following addresses: Report a phishing attack reportphishing@antiphishing.org CONSUMER DIRECT Tel. 0845 404 0506 Can advise on ID theft and other consumer issues. CRIMESTOPPERS Tel: 0800 555 111 (24 hours) Website: Crimestoppers is an independent UK-wide charity working to stop crime. If you have any information about anyone involved in criminal activity and you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crimestoppers. Telephone calls are not recorded, nor can they be traced, so you are not at risk from having your identity revealed. You may also be entitled to a reward HOME OFFICE IDENTITY FRAUD STEERING COMMITTEE Home Office 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF Website: General advice on identity theft and how to avoid it. FRAUD ADVISORY PANEL Chartered Accountants' Hall PO Box 433 Moorgate Place London EC2P 2BJ Email: info@fraudadvisorypanel.org The Fraud Advisory Panel is an independent body of volunteers drawn from the public and private sectors. They aim to raise awareness of fraud and carry out research with a view to advising policy makers. Have general advice on fraud for individuals and businesses. ENVOCARE For information on recycling computers and the information on them. The "Envocare" ® site was conceived, and will continue to be developed, as a central source of data on environmental issues. Envocare Ltd was founded by a small group of individuals, with backgrounds in the electronics and IT disciplines, who wish to encourage the preservation and improvement of the environment. We think that many people share this ideal, but often lack easy access to relevant information INFORMATION COMMISSIONER (ICO) Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF Tel: 01625 545745 Fax: 01625 524510 The Information Commissioner's Office is the UK's independent public body set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information. The ICO regulate and enforce the Data Protection Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and the Environmental Information Regulations. The ICO provides guidance to organisations and individuals. TANVIR BUSH Tanvir Bush provided a further report on life for the visually impaired in Zambia. GENERAL CONTACTS RNIB 105 Judd Street London WC1H 9NE Helpline: 0845 766 9999 Tel: 0207 388 1266 (switchboard/overseas callers) Web: The RNIB provides information, support and advice for anyone with a serious sight problem. They not only provide Braille, Talking Books and computer training, but imaginative and practical solutions to everyday challenges. The RNIB campaigns to change society's attitudes, actions and assumptions, so that people with sight problems can enjoy the same rights, freedoms and responsibilities as fully sighted people. They also fund pioneering research into preventing and treating eye disease and promote eye health by running public health awareness campaigns. HENSHAWS SOCIETY FOR BLIND PEOPLE (HSBP) John Derby House 88-92 Talbot Road Old Trafford Manchester M16 0GS Tel: 0161 872 1234 Email: info@hsbp.co.uk Web: Henshaws provides a wide range of services for people who have sight difficulties. They aim to enable visually impaired people of all ages to maximise their independence and enjoy a high quality of life. They have centres in: Harrogate, Knaresborough, Liverpool, Llandudno, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Salford, Southport and Trafford. THE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND ASSOCIATION (GDBA) Burghfield Common Reading RG7 3YG Tel: 0118 983 5555 Email: guidedogs@guidedogs.org.uk Web: The GDBA’s mission is to provide guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people. ACTION FOR BLIND PEOPLE 14-16 Verney Road London SE16 3DZ Tel: 0800 915 4666 (info & advice) Web: Registered charity with national cover that provides practical support in the areas of housing, holidays, information, employment and training, cash grants and welfare rights for blind and partially-sighted people. Leaflets and booklets are available. NATIONAL LEAGUE OF THE BLIND AND DISABLED Central Office Swinton House 324 Grays Inn Road London WC1X 8DD Tel: 020 7837 6103 Textphone: 020 7837 6103 National League of the Blind and Disabled is a registered trade union and is involved in all issues regarding the employment of blind and disabled people in the UK. NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND (NLB) RNIB Customer Services on 0845 762 6843 Email: cservices@rnib.org.uk Web: The NLB is a registered charity which helps visually impaired people throughout the country continue to enjoy the same access to the world of reading as people who are fully sighted. Trustees from the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and the National Library for the Blind (NLB) have agreed to merge the library services of both charities as of 1 January 2007, creating the new RNIB National Library Service. EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION DISABILITY HELPLINE (England) FREEPOST MID02164 Stratford upon Avon CV37 9BR Tel: 08457 622 633 Textphone: 08457 622 644 Fax: 08457 778 878 Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm; Wed 8:00 am-8:00 pm. Enquiry: englandhelpline2@equalityhumanrights.com Equality and Human Rights Commission Helpline Wales Freepost RRLR-UEYB-UYZL 1st Floor 3 Callaghan Square Cardiff CF10 5BT 0845 604 8810 - Wales main number 0845 604 8820 - Wales textphone 0845 604 8830 - Wales fax 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Monday to Friday (an out-of-hours service will start running soon) Enquiry: waleshelpline@equalityhumanrights.com Equality and Human Rights Commission Helpline Scotland Freepost RRLL-GYLB-UJTA The Optima Building 58 Robertson Street Glasgow G2 8DU 0845 604 5510 - Scotland Main 0845 604 5520 - Scotland Textphone 0845 604 5530 - Scotland – Fax 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Monday to Friday (an out-of-hours service will start running soon) Enquiry: scotlandhelpline@equalityhumanrights.com DISABLED LIVING FOUNDATION 380-384 Harrow Road London W9 2HU Tel: 0845 130 9177 Web: The Disabled Living Foundation provide information and advice on disability equipment. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for external websites General contacts Back to top TranscriptWHITEGood evening. More new tonight about poor service to visual impaired people applying for a passport. This time it comes from right inside the organization. We hear about the banks latest attempts to thwart online fraudsters, but is an unforeseen consequence that it’s making it harder for visually impaired people to do their banking online. And we’ll also be returning to Zambia for our second report on what life is like for blind and partially sighted people in a country with many other priorities on its mind. Now a couple of weeks ago, we heard about the huge struggle Dawn Hartgen had to renew the passports of her family, all of whom have a visual impairment, in an accessible form. This, despite assurances that the Passport Office could provide accessible application forms. In the end, Dawn had had to postpone her holiday after numerous delays and contradictory information about what was and what was not available. During the programme, the Passport Office’s Executive Director acknowledged that mistakes had been made, and promised improvements. But after that edition of In Touch, we heard from Andi Wilshire who works at the Passport Office, and who both as an employee and as a client, says she has evidence that the problems are still deep rooted and on going. When she came into the studio, she told us why she’d had to apply for another passport after she lost her sight. WILSHIRE My facial features changed dramatically, especially around my eyes ‘cos I had a number of eye operations. And also my passport was up for renewal at the time, so that’s why I had to go through the process of getting it sorted out. We tried to do it over the phone using the 0800 number. The guy I got through to told me he couldn’t do it. So I went back into work the next day and said to my Team Leader, look I can’t do it over the phone, and she said, ‘Well, you can’t do it in here you’re gonna have to do it yourself’. They advised me to try it online myself. Well if you could have seen the costs of the application software that is extremely expensive, yes, the question is I could have asked my husband to do it, but it’s my own independence for doing it. WHITE So when you couldn’t actually do it online, and didn’t want to get someone else to do it for you, what happened then? WILSHIRE We managed to ring through to the line that I work on to, and after I requested a large print from which I was told was available, with guidance notes. That came out, but we only got the guidance notes in large print. The form was in normal size. I then called back again, and in the end one of the operators was able to take the details over the phone for me, eventually, after her Team Leader told her she had to do it. And my son, my eldest son, actually read my passport number out for me so I could relay that information over the phone. WHITE So really you had exactly the same problem that Dawn Hartgen described on this programme a couple of weeks ago? WILSHIRE Yes. I mean even when the forms come out, you can’t read them. Even if they are typed up for you because it’s so small the print, there’s no Braille on them. And then you’ve got to sign your name in a box at the end, which is…. Well, if you touch the border it’s declined. WHITE I gather you also wanted the Braille sticker that was on it, you didn’t have that either? WILSHIRE No, that wasn’t sent either, and I clearly marked on the form that we did require the Braille sticker. WHITE You work for the helpline so obviously you give people advice, how typical to you think your experience and Dawn Hartgen’s experience is? WILSHIRE It is very typical. Over the last week I spoke to two people, one whose husband couldn’t sign the form, because he couldn’t see it, let alone fill it in. And another lady who was getting very frustrated that she was only getting the guidance notes in large print. And that’s on the 0870 number. This freephone number is not being given out. WHITE Now we were told on the In Touch programme when this first came up, that people were not now being told that the large print forms were available. The information was available in large print, but not the forms. Is that the case as far as you’re concerned? WILSHIRE No it’s not. On our briefings we have to advise them what’s available. On the system it actually offers us to ask if they require large print form. Which we then click ‘yes’, and it says that the large print form is available. WHITE And it isn’t? WILSHIRE It isn’t. The only information available is the guidance notes. And that is printed up on a sheet of A3 paper. And you try reading a sheet of A3 if you’ve got minimum sight. WHITE It was also suggested that people were going to get training. Are you aware of any body actually getting training in this kind of issue, what visually impaired people need, the kind of help that they need? WILSHIRE No, not at all. WHITE Do you know if that’s ever been offered? WILSHIRE It hasn’t. It wasn’t until I actually lost my sight and started asking questions at work, that I found out how difficult it is to get any information or help with the passport service if you’re visually impaired. And when you’re trying to use a magnifier, it’s impossible. WHITE You are in some ways taking a bit of a risk talking to us about this, because you’re criticising your employers. Why do you feel so strongly about it? WILSHIRE I just felt so very angry with the chap who came on from the Passport Office about what he said about the forms, and all they were doing for us. And then doing absolutely nothing. When you try and bring it up in work you’re just told basically ‘leave it alone’. And I do think it’s unfair, not just for myself, but for other people who may have the same problems. You deserve the help you require and to be able to keep your own independence. WHITE Andy Wilshire. Well we invited the Passport Office back onto the programme to answer Andi’s claims. On this occasion, they declined our offer, but this is what they told us in a statement: “IPS would apologies unreservedly for any inconvenience caused. We have investigated this with our passport advice line staff, and are working to ensure that all Team Leaders are rebriefed, and that the relevance staff help screens are refreshed with the latest policy information. “ Well clearly we’d like to know if things do improve, let us know your experiences of dealing with the Passport Office. Now we’ve had chip and pin for a while now. Some people love it, others aren’t so sure. But now the banking industry is starting to issue customers with personal card readers for online banking. Chip and pin has massively reduced the amount of card fraud in shops, but it seems that the criminals have turned their attention now to cyber fraud. Some banks, although certainly not all, are giving card readers to customers which they’ll have to use when transferring money online. But is the technology accessible to blind and partially sighted people? Well our regular contributor on technology matters, Geoff Adams-Spink has been looking at it for us, and he joins me in the studio. So how did you come across it in the first place? ADAMS-SPINK Well I’m a Nationwide customer, and I just got one of these in the post one day. And was told from now on I would have to use it when I was doing all my online banking transactions. And I didn’t actually realize how inaccessible the device was until I tried to use it in anger for the first time. I’ll just pass you the initial device that they sent me Peter, and as you can see, it’s quite a small device. WHITE It’s quite small, flat. ADAMS-SPINK The keys are very close together and crucially for me, ‘cos I’ve got low vision, the display is tiny. And I had a particular problem with the decimal point. And you know, if you think about it, when you’re entering the amount that you need to transfer, there’s a huge difference between £30 and £3000 and you don’t really want to get it wrong do you? WHITE No, there would be rather horrendous consequences. So what’s the answer? ADAMS-SPINK Well I immediately rang my bank, and they said to me, well, you need to go into a local branch and prove that you’re blind. Right. And I said, well you know, don’t be so silly. And when I got onto somebody a bit more senior, I said look, I’m not going to go into my branch and prove that I’m blind, what’s the work around here? And they said, we can send you our alternative device. It’s much more accessible, and the person who spoke to you shouldn’t have told you that in the first place. WHITE Seems a rather bizarre response. You’re hardly gonna want one of these unless you actually need it. ADAMS-SPINK Exactly. So what they sent me was the other device, and as you can probably see, it’s much bigger. It’s got a huge big display. WHITE It’s three times the size. ADAMS-SPINK It is about three times the size but it’s still quite light. But for people who can’t read the large display, you can plug in headphones and get text to speech output, so you know what the machine’s saying to you and you know what numbers you’ve entered. WHITE So how does it work? ADAMS-SPINK When you want to transfer money online, you enter your PIN. You then enter a reference number that’s on the website, and you enter in the amount that you’re transferring to the third party, whether it’s the electricity company or however it is, and then the card reader generates and eight digit code which you have to put into the website as well. And this is to stop people who haven’t got the actual card, doing transactions on your behalf, shall we say. Without your bank card, you can’t actually do the transaction. So, what you do is you then have to put your card into the machine, and then the machine feeds back to you. And this is what it sounds like. (COMPUTER VOICE) Insert card. Select function. Sign. Enter PIN. Then press OK. PIN correct. Enter reference. Then press OK. 3,2 1. WHITE Hope we haven’t given away any key numbers there Geoff! ADAMS-SPINK Well what you did notice actually is when it asks me to enter my PIN and I did, that came out as a series of beeps rather than coming out as plain text, in case, I suppose, somebody else is overhearing what I’m doing. WHITE So who does this affect? ADAMS-SPINK Well all of the banks, with the notable exception of HSBC, say they’re going to be using some additional measures to prevent online fraud. HSBC say ‘our systems are so robust and so secure that we don’t need it’ Lloyds TSB are going to be using some kind of keyring dongle device, and I have asked them what the work around for blind and partially sighted people is. And they haven’t yet come back to me. But other banks like Nationwide, Barclays, and NatWest are all using this type of device, a bit like chip and PIN, it’s about how the banks are going to communicate the right information so that when their staff are asked by a blind or partially sighted person, ‘I can’t use the deice, what else can you give me?’, that they give them the right information rather than telling them to go to their local branch and get an eye test. WHITE Quite! So is this system, given that you’re reasonably literate online, is it reasonably easy to use? ADAMS-SPINK Well I find it a bit of a faff to use, to be honest. There’s an awful lot of gates to get through, it’s putting more gates in the way I would say. WHITE But on the other hand I suppose you can see the point, why they’re trying to improve the security and at least this is making it possible for you to do it. ADAMS-SPINK You can indeed, and of course, I’d be the first person to complain if I suddenly found my bank account empty. I think the other thing that people need to watch out for, is that people in the industry tell me that these card readers will eventually be used for online shopping, so that when you do your weekly shopping at the supermarket or when you order books from online retailers, you’re likely to have to go through this same authentication process. WHITE Geoff Adams-Spink, thank you very much indeed. Now a few weeks ago, we heard from Tanvir Bush, a partially sighted film maker who’s recently been back to Zambia, the country where she grew up, to look at some of the very different kinds of problems which face blind and partially sighted people there. We heard for instance, about some visually impaired youngsters who virtually lived on the streets providing their own network of help in the absence of adequate social services. Well this is Tanvir’s second report, in which she looks at physical access and employment. BUSH In Zambia generally the work situation is quite grim, and about 80% of people do live under a dollar a day. I did find out that for newly disabled people, there is a national registration scheme which you can sign on and get yourself a job. The jobs are very limited, initially they were all telephone systems operators. But even registration is no guarantee of work as Mark Tsabala told me when I met him. He is actually a telephonist at the Ministry of Labour. And his experience is quite common to that of many disabled people in Zambia. TSABALA I heard that there is a registration, which is now called PSMD, public service management division. That is where, if you are handicapped you can go and register for your job as a telephone operator. But it is not come immediately when you register, you need to wait for several months, or maybe even years and years. Indeed, I would really love the Zambian government to work so hard on broadening the job opportunities for the visually impaired and for the handicapped persons in general. WHITE So Tanvir what do people do when they’re waiting for work. BUSH Well there’s not a lot they can do. They have to rely very heavily on their family and their friends or of course they can resort to begging and unfortunately this is very common for people with disabilities. WHITE Because presumably there is no benefits? BUSH No, there is no benefit system. So you actually get people begging who have quite a high level of education. WHITE And what about access and getting around the city, or perhaps rural areas as well? BUSH Well the problem of access became immediately apparent to me when I was trying to traverse my own way across the city with my cane to talk to Rogers and Mark who are both blind, about how easy it was for them to get around. Right well here I am. This is down town Masaka. Now there was an almighty storm last night, absolutely mind bending storm. Thunder, lightning, and gallons and gallons of rain. And everywhere downtown is slightly flooded, all the potholes are full of water. Everyone’s struggling to get in and out to work. And not get too muddy. ROGERS It’s not easy to find good people, it’s not easy to find people who would be able to assist you. So there’s a lot of challenges. And like ??????? maybe you’d go into a shop to go and buy something. But people wouldn’t treat you maybe as ???? (NOT AUDIBLE) BUSH So now tell me a bit about your everyday life. How do you get around, do you use a cane or do you have someone who helps you with guiding? ROGERS It is a pity that I’m not used to a cane. But I’ve just come to realize that I was foolish by then, because there was a teacher who used to come and teach us how to use a cane, but we are trying to run away. We are running away. So, I just use my friend, I move with my friend wherever I go. And sometimes on weekends I use my family members to walk around with. I am a twig (??) I am used in each and every position that I can touch. Same at home. I know each and every place that I can touch on my own without any guidance. BUSH I turned back to my friend Paul Chalale who was the city councilor who was showing me around. Paul knows how hard it is to break free from discrimination in the job market. Several years ago he actually petitioned Dr Kaunda’s government for better job opportunities for the disabled. And he was beaten by the police. But, with a group of visually impaired and blind people, he persisted, and eventually an internal ministry committee was formed, which investigated a bit more around employment for the disabled. And they have actually added basic teaching and a few other jobs as well to that of telephone switchboard operating. Paul, as I said, now a city Councilor, has faced discrimination at every level, from even some of his own colleagues. And I asked him specifically if he had come across any other forms of abuse, of the visually impaired, in his ward? CHALALE We identified two social workers who abused the clients particularly the visually impaired persons. They are begging, so they are giving them some biscuits and some other things to eat. Then they get this lady or girl to a place of their interest and they happened to abuse them. WHITE So abuse is obviously a hazard for people in Zambia. What do people do to protect themselves? BUSH People rely, again, it goes back to friends and family, but the visually impaired specifically they form very very strong communities. And Paul took me actually to his home in Lemma compound, which is part of the township which is on the outskirts of Lusaka City. And he introduced me to some of his visually impaired and blind neighbours who have moved into the area together for support and for safety. And while is was there I met Gladys, who’s a blind woman who runs her own market stalls. Getting around in the compound as a blind lady, how do you manage to you have someone who guides you, do you use a stick? GLADYS I have different children who take me everywhere. BUSH And have you found life in the compound safe? GLADYS It is very difficult. They are very squeezed ??. and the houses we are living in, they are near the toilet. So the scent is very bad. BUSH Is there anything that can be done about that? GLADYS I’m appealing to any person who’s kind, but I don’t think the government can do it. Any person who can be kind to me, maybe he can help me to move from this compound and go somewhere else. BUSH So it seems that it’s friends and family and the local community. And that’s what is the strength, the backbone of the visually impaired and blind community in Zambia. And of course family, being really important, I thought I’d just like to leave the last word to Mark, who was talking with such great affection about his two sighted children. MARK Sometimes when I’m not keen for work, ??? every time when I’m knocking off, and then they see me, they just come running and then they touch me and then they guide me, they lead me up to my home. Just with ?????? WHITE Tanvir Bush reporting for us from Zambia. That’s it for today, do let us have your comments and queries on the usual number, 0800 044044 or you can email us via the website. There’s also a podcast of today’s programme which you can download as from tomorrow. From me, peter White, my producer Cheryl Gabriel and the rest of the team, goodbye. Back to top |
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