I've just received the renewal form for my Conservative Party membership and I have to admit I'm somewhat shocked. I'm not shocked at having received the form you understand, rather shocked at one of the payment methods made available to me on the back of the form.It offers the facility to pay by card and asks for: Card Type, Card No, Start Date, Expiry Date, Card Security code, name as it appears on the card, and a signature! However, unlike a website with ssl (which is unable to ask for a signature), those who choose this method are expected to send the form back in a FreePost envelope clearly marked "Membership" heading for Victoria Street.
Clearly I won't be using this method, I shall be telephoning my details in for renewal. Of course there's still an element of risk involved there, but it's a significantly lesser risk than using the Royal Mail to send the necessary details required for someone to spend all my money.
At a time when identity theft and credit card fraud is so rife, perhaps the party ought not be asking it's members to send such details through the open mail network? I do acknowledge I may just be a paranoid sysadmin. Unfortunately it comes with the territory.
4 comments:
I recieved the same form in the post a few days ago - and come to think of it you're right.
Asking for the Card Security Code and the start/expiry dates is unforgivable. Surely they should only ask for the card number, bank and sort code?
My guess is that for a card transaction where "card holder not present" is the condition they need the info to authorise it. That's not quite such a prob over the phone, but via mail it's horribly insecure.
You do realise that by paying centrally your local association get nothing in return except a small notional credit towards their quota?
My advice would be to join with your local association - you can pay securely over the web using the link on the front page of their website. That way they get all of your membership fee to use for local campaigning rather than to cover central costs. This is especially pertinent if you were active locally.
Associations like mine www.greenwichconservatives.com with a relatively large "national" membership have suffered from the decrease in local income.
Sunday morning guilt trip? That's outrageous! I wasn't actually aware that it worked that way.
Post a Comment