Business Discounts
Posted by: hillingdonfirst on: June 17, 2009
With the cards coming in the post this week, its a good time to discuss the discount scheme for shoppers (a way of softening up the residents). The scheme is voluntary and isn’t actually just a discount, but any additional benefit (for example, giving something away), it just sounds better when they call things a discount (as we have seen with parking).
The list of 335 businesses is up on the web now (click here). With businesses having so much trouble at the moment, it makes sense that they would want as much promotion and extra income as possible.
Unfortunately, judging by the responses we got from a survey of Bracknells e+ Business members (on which Hillingdon’s is based on) it just won’t work. Here are three responses (all responses were negative about the scheme).
Sorry I don’t think this is working for us. We did have a sticker in the window prior to it peeling off.
> 5. Do you think the e+ card is 'working' for you? (Please give details). IT HELPS US IN THE WAY THAT IT GIVES US FREE ADVERTISING BUT APPART FROM THAT NOT MUCH AT ALL> 6. Any other comments? HOW MANY DO ACTUALLY USE THE CARD IN THE TOWN CENTRE WITH THE TRADERS TO GET A DISCOUNT AND IS IT COST EFFECTIVE OVERALL?
I'm sorry to say that the e+ card has had no effect on us whatsoever, no-one has used it,no-one has mentioned it. Its not working for us.
If you find a business which you plan on using, do them a favour and don’t use your card – free advertising is great for business but giving discounts and benefits in a recession isn’t.
Firefighting
Posted by: hillingdonfirst on: June 12, 2009
Hillingdon are doing a bit of fire fighting. They have made it so that drivers under 18 can now apply for the card (one of our big annoyances) which wasn’t in any of the information issued before this blog started, or in any of the FOI requests (even Cllr. Mills says Over 18 – see below).
With the bad press and building anger against the scheme (we are getting over 100 hits a day now – not bad for a website being up only 1 month), they have put up the ‘consultation’ that kick started this – although the scheme was first discussed in 2006 but this consultation is from 2008. They also mention that the scheme was discussed at the Question Time meetings that are held in Hillingdon.
Firstly, it appears that the consultation was with about 340 people, so thats 0.13% of the residents of Hillingdon. The consultation isn’t particulary enlightening or that suprising, who wouldnt want discounted shopping?!
Well, actually, it shows that 120 of the respondents (thats 35%) agreed with the statement “I don’t like the idea of a Hillingdon Card, as I am concerned about Data Protection issues“. More than one third of the public were concerned about their data protection, how many more didn’t realise they could be tracked around the borough?
Far from quashing any rumours about the scheme, I think the consultation makes an even stronger case that the scheme is flawed and undemocratic.
As for the meetings – there are no transcripts from the meetings so I took the liberty of listening to the mp3s and transcribing them for you myself. I found no questions or answers and no one discussing it, just Cllr. Mills talking about it.
cllr_mills_nov2008.mp3
Cllr Mills @ 10.00
We are introducing next year a Residents Entitlement card called HillingdonFirst and I have an example, most of you probably can’t see from that far, but its like a little credit card. Plastic. HillingdonFirst will give preferential rates on parking, on use of hillingdon leisure facilities, on even discounts in some of our local shops. It will enable residents to be recognised as exactly that, a resident of hillingdon. So when visitors to hillingdon come and use our car parks they will pay a much higher fee, you wont, they will and we think thats important because that is about a practical example of putting residents at the heart of what we wish to do.
douglas_mills.mp3
Cllr Mills @ 10:20
We’re doing something no other London borough has tried before. We’re going to give you one of these, coming soon in June. All of you over 18, I think you all qualify, will be receiving your own hillingdon residents entitlement card, this means that when you use our car parks you will be paying the hillingdon rate as opposed to those people from outside hillingdon who will be paying more, reason? – you pay council tax, they don’t. Why should they get the benefit of lower car parking when they don’t pay for the council tax, you do – you’ll get a discount on our parking. When you use our amenity facilities and our leisure facilities when they come fully on stream and they’re going to be so good people will come from outside hillingdon to use them, you will get them at a lower rate, they will pay more because you have already paid through your hillingdon council tax. This is also aimed at businesses and I am pleased to say across the whole borough over 300 businesses have signed up to this scheme saying that if you go into one of those businesses and show you this, they will give you a discount because you’re a hillingon resident. Now that is unique. Now, the health warning, there’s about 180,000 of you altogether and to get that out to all of you during june, first time without any problems will be a miracle so things won’t necessarily go smoothly, but you will get one eventually and it will be very beneficial to all of us.
One thing that I do agree with is the “Do you think a Hillingdon Card is a good idea?”. Most of the respondents agreed, yes. The thing is, it is a great idea for discounted shopping (see another post about this later), for using the swimming pool or leisure centre. But why on earth touch parking? Do people really want to carry a card to park? Of course not. We don’t mind (and are used to) using a card to go to the library or swimming pool, but why parking? Its maddening that they mess it up like this.
As for privacy, they can still fix this – change the system so it only stores data for one month before being deleted. I have seen that they store this for ‘financial’ reasons, but do they need to know the exact meter and car park being used? Of course not – a simple note saying parking has been used would be enough to satisfy the financial director.
I, for one, would feel a lot better about a system which guaranteed deletion of our personal ‘histories’ within one month of use (thats the dump, the parking, the leisure facilities, the school meals, the whatever comes next). Wouldn’t you?
Uxbridge Gazette 09/06
Posted by: hillingdonfirst on: June 10, 2009
The Uxbridge Gazette has run a story about the HillingdonFirst card scheme. It is not very detailed despite this being a very intrusive and undemocratic scheme.
In the piece, Cllr. Mills says that our data can be stored up to 6 years, but won’t be kept any longer than necessary. This is interesting as the FOI request here explicitly states it will be kept for 6 years, not up to 6 years. How will the council define what is necessary?
“If people honestly believe that this will change people’s shopping habits it just doesn’t stack up. It’s a non-argument.
Oh! Well that’s ok then. This seems to be the style of leadership that Hillingdon take on these sorts of issues, especially Cllr. Mills. You can see his view he takes again and again that his decisions are right, no matter what others may think (including his own constituents). Where is the research to back up your claims Councilor? What reports were done to show how many ‘outsiders’ are now going to clog up our residential roads even more, rather than pay to use the car parks (or is that so you can add more residential permits zones)? What research has been done, at all?
This does not include the cost of installing new solar powered parking machines, but the council has said the machines needed replacing anyway.
This argument was used in an earlier response from Cllr. SSD. Again, the question is why were the meters to be replaced? They were less than 5 years old. They (Hillingdon Council*) are either lying now, or someone made a mistake buying them – which is it?
Under 18s who drive can register for a card.
This is the first time this has been mentioned – why is that? It is not in any of the FOI requests and Under-18 use was not mentioned until the Terms & Conditions of the card were issued – is it because the scheme is ill thought out and they are scrabbling to try and appease as many people as possible?
Unfortunately, I think the Gazette had an opportunity to really investigate the scheme and look into the workings for us residents to make our own mind up, instead what we have ended up with is a Hillingdon Council statement and a opening few lines about ‘concerns’ which are just brushed aside by Cllr. Mills.
I have a feeling that once the cards have been issued and people start looking around for more information on what it is and how it works, the Gazette may have to do another piece, which will hopefully be more aggressive.
* Update: Just making it clearer that I am talking about the Council in general.
Tracking Your Every Move
Posted by: hillingdonfirst on: June 9, 2009
Someone has done an amusing (?) photoshop of the HillingdonFirst card over at b3ta.com (Thanks Matt for link).
Hillingdon ID Card
Whilst it is funny, it highlights the sheer amount of information Hillingdon will have on us all. The T&Cs just released mention that Hillingdon will use this information internally for;
- “administering the Hillingdon Card scheme”
- “will use such information in carrying out its various functions and services”
- “prevention or detection of fraud or other crime”
- “No personal information will be made available to other organisations without your permission unless it is necessary for prevention or detection of crime and allowed by law”
Not particulary restrictive is it (especially the last bit – there are many agencies allowed to request this data without you knowing about it)? So what information is/will be kept?
- Your Name & Address.
- Your Date Of Birth.
- Your Email Address.
- Every time and place you park your car.
- Every time you use the Library.
- Every time you use the Gym or Leisure Centre.
- Every time you visit the Dump.
There is more to come, see Future Uses above.
Terms & Conditions
Posted by: hillingdonfirst on: June 9, 2009
- In: hillingdon | hillingdonfirst | Privacy
- 1 Comment
Hillingdon have finally put up the Terms and Conditions of the HillingdonFirst scheme. We, as we have with the FAQ, will track the changes that happen (like when the Official FAQ silently changed from discounted parking to preferential parking).
There are some interesting points:
However, a later issue may include young people aged 11- 17.
This is a reference to the card usage changing (see our Future Uses page). In other areas where a card like this exists, it is used in schools. No doubt at some point Social will be checking to make sure our kids are fed right.
HillingdonFirst will not be accepted as an identity or proof of age card.
Why is the owner Date Of Birth (and Validated D.O.B) stored on the card then? Wouldn’t this fall under the Data Protection Principles “adequate, relevant & not excessive”?
In addition the Council may from time to time contact you in regards to offers, promotions, or additional services available in relation to the HillingdonFirst Card.
There, apparently, is no option to opt-out.
