Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
Aug 13th 2004, 10:29 pm
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
Forwarded FYI by
- Alan (in Brussels, mind the spamtrap)
Internet buyers find it's cheaper by the dollar on Eurostar
James Sturcke
Saturday August 14, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...283098,00.html
Eurostar customers can make substantial savings when buying tickets online
by pretending to live in America and paying for their purchases in dollars.
Price comparisons on the company's website revealed Americans pay a third
less for some fares between London and Paris.
Some of the biggest savings are made in first-class travel, though
travellers purchasing a standard-class, semi-flexible return can also find
prices around 20% cheaper if paid for in dollars.
The savings arise when a customer opens the Eurostar homepage and selects a
country of residence. From then on timetable and price information is given
in the local currency.
Last night Eurostar admitted the difference in the pricing system but said
British customers were welcome to pose as Americans to secure lower prices
if they wished.
Research last night showed a person living in the UK wanting a London-Paris
standard ticket returning the next day would have to pay £199. A person
living in the US could secure the same tickets for $300 - £162.80, or a
saving of 19.6%, at current exchange rates.
First-class travellers can expect even greater savings. A semi-flexible,
first-class return for the same dates for a UK resident worked out at £349
while Americans would pay $418 - £222 - or a saving of 36.4%.
A Briton paying in US dollars may be charged a transaction fee by their
credit card company but far less than the savings on offer.
The price difference is partly a result of the pound's strength against the
dollar but also shows how Eurostar is setting higher ticket prices in the UK
market.
Railfuture, a consumer pressure group, last night condemned Eurostar. Peter
Lawson, its president, told the Daily Mail: "The pricing imposed on UK
travellers appears to be a serious anomaly. It is very unfair.
"It cannot be right that British travellers should be charged so much more
than other people on the same train who happen to have paid in dollars. We
have been concerned for some time about the high ticket prices on Eurostar."
The train operator said it was within its rights to charge different
amounts. Spokesman Paul Charles said: "You get a difference on prices for
training shoes, clothes and other things around the world. Everyone has
different prices for different markets. A pair of jeans in Gap will be a
different price in New York versus London and we are no different."
Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers registering
to pay in dollars and pointed out the non-flexible, standard fare started at
£29.50 one way. The US fares start at $45, which is under £25.
<SNIP to end>
- Alan (in Brussels, mind the spamtrap)
Internet buyers find it's cheaper by the dollar on Eurostar
James Sturcke
Saturday August 14, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...283098,00.html
Eurostar customers can make substantial savings when buying tickets online
by pretending to live in America and paying for their purchases in dollars.
Price comparisons on the company's website revealed Americans pay a third
less for some fares between London and Paris.
Some of the biggest savings are made in first-class travel, though
travellers purchasing a standard-class, semi-flexible return can also find
prices around 20% cheaper if paid for in dollars.
The savings arise when a customer opens the Eurostar homepage and selects a
country of residence. From then on timetable and price information is given
in the local currency.
Last night Eurostar admitted the difference in the pricing system but said
British customers were welcome to pose as Americans to secure lower prices
if they wished.
Research last night showed a person living in the UK wanting a London-Paris
standard ticket returning the next day would have to pay £199. A person
living in the US could secure the same tickets for $300 - £162.80, or a
saving of 19.6%, at current exchange rates.
First-class travellers can expect even greater savings. A semi-flexible,
first-class return for the same dates for a UK resident worked out at £349
while Americans would pay $418 - £222 - or a saving of 36.4%.
A Briton paying in US dollars may be charged a transaction fee by their
credit card company but far less than the savings on offer.
The price difference is partly a result of the pound's strength against the
dollar but also shows how Eurostar is setting higher ticket prices in the UK
market.
Railfuture, a consumer pressure group, last night condemned Eurostar. Peter
Lawson, its president, told the Daily Mail: "The pricing imposed on UK
travellers appears to be a serious anomaly. It is very unfair.
"It cannot be right that British travellers should be charged so much more
than other people on the same train who happen to have paid in dollars. We
have been concerned for some time about the high ticket prices on Eurostar."
The train operator said it was within its rights to charge different
amounts. Spokesman Paul Charles said: "You get a difference on prices for
training shoes, clothes and other things around the world. Everyone has
different prices for different markets. A pair of jeans in Gap will be a
different price in New York versus London and we are no different."
Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers registering
to pay in dollars and pointed out the non-flexible, standard fare started at
£29.50 one way. The US fares start at $45, which is under £25.
<SNIP to end>
Aug 14th 2004, 3:07 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
"Alan \(in Brussels\)" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Forwarded FYI by
>
> Railfuture, a consumer pressure group, last night condemned Eurostar. Peter
> Lawson, its president, told the Daily Mail: "The pricing imposed on UK
> travellers appears to be a serious anomaly. It is very unfair.
Lawson - Lawrence. Well, it is the Grauniad.
Jerry
> Forwarded FYI by
>
> Railfuture, a consumer pressure group, last night condemned Eurostar. Peter
> Lawson, its president, told the Daily Mail: "The pricing imposed on UK
> travellers appears to be a serious anomaly. It is very unfair.
Lawson - Lawrence. Well, it is the Grauniad.
Jerry
Aug 14th 2004, 8:59 pm
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
>
> Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers registering
> to pay in dollars and pointed out the non-flexible, standard fare started at
> £29.50 one way. The US fares start at $45, which is under £25.
>
So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
from their website.
> Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers registering
> to pay in dollars and pointed out the non-flexible, standard fare started at
> £29.50 one way. The US fares start at $45, which is under £25.
>
So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
from their website.
Aug 14th 2004, 9:47 pm
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
> So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
> that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
> from their website.
Spokesman for Eurostar, Paul Charles (D.M.Saturday) asked if Britons could
circumvent the high charges by pretending to be Americans said yesterday:
"That's fine we want happy customers but few would want to pay in dollars on
their credit cards as this would involve a special transaction charge."
However this is likely to be less than £5.
Ralph
> that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
> from their website.
Spokesman for Eurostar, Paul Charles (D.M.Saturday) asked if Britons could
circumvent the high charges by pretending to be Americans said yesterday:
"That's fine we want happy customers but few would want to pay in dollars on
their credit cards as this would involve a special transaction charge."
However this is likely to be less than £5.
Ralph
Aug 14th 2004, 9:56 pm
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
"Simon Jones" wrote
| > Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers
| > registering to pay in dollars
| So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
| that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
| from their website.
Perhaps you've already visited it before, and it's remembered where you are.
I haven't visited it before, and on my first visit was presented with:
Please select your
country of residence
and language below
Veuillez sélectionner ci-dessous
votre pays de résidence et
votre langue
Gelieve hieronder uw land
waarin u woont en uw taal
te kiezen
Because it uses a javascript form selector rather than a proper form and
submit, and my mouse slipped, forever onwards now it thinks I'm Canadian.
If you're pretending to be in the US, not sure how it accepts British phone
numbers and postal codes.
Owain
| > Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers
| > registering to pay in dollars
| So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
| that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
| from their website.
Perhaps you've already visited it before, and it's remembered where you are.
I haven't visited it before, and on my first visit was presented with:
Please select your
country of residence
and language below
Veuillez sélectionner ci-dessous
votre pays de résidence et
votre langue
Gelieve hieronder uw land
waarin u woont en uw taal
te kiezen
Because it uses a javascript form selector rather than a proper form and
submit, and my mouse slipped, forever onwards now it thinks I'm Canadian.
If you're pretending to be in the US, not sure how it accepts British phone
numbers and postal codes.
Owain
Aug 14th 2004, 10:24 pm
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
> So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
> that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
> from their website.
When you go to their site, on the drop-down menu under Country of
residence/Language you select United States / English.
--
To reply direct, remove NOSPAM and replace with railwaysonline
For railway information, news and photos see http://www.railwaysonline.co.uk
> that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
> from their website.
When you go to their site, on the drop-down menu under Country of
residence/Language you select United States / English.
--
To reply direct, remove NOSPAM and replace with railwaysonline
For railway information, news and photos see http://www.railwaysonline.co.uk
Aug 15th 2004, 8:09 am
#7
Banned
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,613
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
Originally Posted by Alan \
Forwarded FYI by
- Alan (in Brussels, mind the spamtrap)
Internet buyers find it's cheaper by the dollar on Eurostar
James Sturcke
Saturday August 14, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...283098,00.html
Eurostar customers can make substantial savings when buying tickets online
by pretending to live in America and paying for their purchases in dollars.
Price comparisons on the company's website revealed Americans pay a third
less for some fares between London and Paris.
Some of the biggest savings are made in first-class travel, though
travellers purchasing a standard-class, semi-flexible return can also find
prices around 20% cheaper if paid for in dollars.
The savings arise when a customer opens the Eurostar homepage and selects a
country of residence. From then on timetable and price information is given
in the local currency.
Last night Eurostar admitted the difference in the pricing system but said
British customers were welcome to pose as Americans to secure lower prices
if they wished.
Research last night showed a person living in the UK wanting a London-Paris
standard ticket returning the next day would have to pay £199. A person
living in the US could secure the same tickets for $300 - £162.80, or a
saving of 19.6%, at current exchange rates.
First-class travellers can expect even greater savings. A semi-flexible,
first-class return for the same dates for a UK resident worked out at £349
while Americans would pay $418 - £222 - or a saving of 36.4%.
A Briton paying in US dollars may be charged a transaction fee by their
credit card company but far less than the savings on offer.
The price difference is partly a result of the pound's strength against the
dollar but also shows how Eurostar is setting higher ticket prices in the UK
market.
Railfuture, a consumer pressure group, last night condemned Eurostar. Peter
Lawson, its president, told the Daily Mail: "The pricing imposed on UK
travellers appears to be a serious anomaly. It is very unfair.
"It cannot be right that British travellers should be charged so much more
than other people on the same train who happen to have paid in dollars. We
have been concerned for some time about the high ticket prices on Eurostar."
The train operator said it was within its rights to charge different
amounts. Spokesman Paul Charles said: "You get a difference on prices for
training shoes, clothes and other things around the world. Everyone has
different prices for different markets. A pair of jeans in Gap will be a
different price in New York versus London and we are no different."
Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers registering
to pay in dollars and pointed out the non-flexible, standard fare started at
£29.50 one way. The US fares start at $45, which is under £25.
<SNIP to end>
- Alan (in Brussels, mind the spamtrap)
Internet buyers find it's cheaper by the dollar on Eurostar
James Sturcke
Saturday August 14, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...283098,00.html
Eurostar customers can make substantial savings when buying tickets online
by pretending to live in America and paying for their purchases in dollars.
Price comparisons on the company's website revealed Americans pay a third
less for some fares between London and Paris.
Some of the biggest savings are made in first-class travel, though
travellers purchasing a standard-class, semi-flexible return can also find
prices around 20% cheaper if paid for in dollars.
The savings arise when a customer opens the Eurostar homepage and selects a
country of residence. From then on timetable and price information is given
in the local currency.
Last night Eurostar admitted the difference in the pricing system but said
British customers were welcome to pose as Americans to secure lower prices
if they wished.
Research last night showed a person living in the UK wanting a London-Paris
standard ticket returning the next day would have to pay £199. A person
living in the US could secure the same tickets for $300 - £162.80, or a
saving of 19.6%, at current exchange rates.
First-class travellers can expect even greater savings. A semi-flexible,
first-class return for the same dates for a UK resident worked out at £349
while Americans would pay $418 - £222 - or a saving of 36.4%.
A Briton paying in US dollars may be charged a transaction fee by their
credit card company but far less than the savings on offer.
The price difference is partly a result of the pound's strength against the
dollar but also shows how Eurostar is setting higher ticket prices in the UK
market.
Railfuture, a consumer pressure group, last night condemned Eurostar. Peter
Lawson, its president, told the Daily Mail: "The pricing imposed on UK
travellers appears to be a serious anomaly. It is very unfair.
"It cannot be right that British travellers should be charged so much more
than other people on the same train who happen to have paid in dollars. We
have been concerned for some time about the high ticket prices on Eurostar."
The train operator said it was within its rights to charge different
amounts. Spokesman Paul Charles said: "You get a difference on prices for
training shoes, clothes and other things around the world. Everyone has
different prices for different markets. A pair of jeans in Gap will be a
different price in New York versus London and we are no different."
Mr Charles added Eurostar had no objection to British customers registering
to pay in dollars and pointed out the non-flexible, standard fare started at
£29.50 one way. The US fares start at $45, which is under £25.
<SNIP to end>
Aug 15th 2004, 7:47 pm
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 10:56:25 +0100 Owain <[email protected]>
said...
> Perhaps you've already visited it before, and it's remembered where you are.
More than likely and you don't have to look far on the start page of the
Eurostar site to discover (like numerous other sites) that cookies are
used:
Cookies
Eurostar places a cookie on your computer when you first enter the
website to identify your country and (if applicable) language
preferences. A cookie is a piece of data stored on your hard drive
containing information about you, which enables us to display content
relevant to your market. For the use of the Eurostar Booking Engine, the
cookie is also used to keep track of Eurostar products placed in the
Shopping Basket. If you create a "My Eurostar" and select the "auto-
login" option, a unique ID number will be placed in your cookie to enable
you to return to the Eurostar website without having to login again.
Only non-personal information is stored in your cookie. If you disable
the cookies, you will still be able to use the website and book tickets.
We use "cookies" to identify you when you visit the Eurostar site and to
build up a demographic profile. Our use of cookies also allows
registered users to be presented with a personalised version of the site.
--
Phil Richards
London, UK
Home page: http://www.philrichards1.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
said...
> Perhaps you've already visited it before, and it's remembered where you are.
More than likely and you don't have to look far on the start page of the
Eurostar site to discover (like numerous other sites) that cookies are
used:
Cookies
Eurostar places a cookie on your computer when you first enter the
website to identify your country and (if applicable) language
preferences. A cookie is a piece of data stored on your hard drive
containing information about you, which enables us to display content
relevant to your market. For the use of the Eurostar Booking Engine, the
cookie is also used to keep track of Eurostar products placed in the
Shopping Basket. If you create a "My Eurostar" and select the "auto-
login" option, a unique ID number will be placed in your cookie to enable
you to return to the Eurostar website without having to login again.
Only non-personal information is stored in your cookie. If you disable
the cookies, you will still be able to use the website and book tickets.
We use "cookies" to identify you when you visit the Eurostar site and to
build up a demographic profile. Our use of cookies also allows
registered users to be presented with a personalised version of the site.
--
Phil Richards
London, UK
Home page: http://www.philrichards1.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Aug 15th 2004, 7:56 pm
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
In message <[email protected]> , at 08:47:38
on Mon, 16 Aug 2004, Phil Richards <[email protected]>
remarked:
>Only non-personal information is stored in your cookie.
[snip}
>We use "cookies" to identify you when you visit the Eurostar site and to
>build up a demographic profile.
As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
here!
--
Roland Perry
on Mon, 16 Aug 2004, Phil Richards <[email protected]>
remarked:
>Only non-personal information is stored in your cookie.
[snip}
>We use "cookies" to identify you when you visit the Eurostar site and to
>build up a demographic profile.
As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
here!
--
Roland Perry
Aug 15th 2004, 8:05 pm
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 12:29:32 +0200, Alan \(in Brussels\) wrote:
>- Alan (in Brussels, mind the spamtrap)
>Internet buyers find it's cheaper by the dollar on Eurostar
>James Sturcke
>Saturday August 14, 2004
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...283098,00.html
>Eurostar customers can make substantial savings when buying tickets online
>by pretending to live in America and paying for their purchases in dollars.
>Price comparisons on the company's website revealed Americans pay a third
>less for some fares between London and Paris.
>Some of the biggest savings are made in first-class travel, though
>travellers purchasing a standard-class, semi-flexible return can also find
>prices around 20% cheaper if paid for in dollars.
Note that for some fares (for instance the full fare singles) it's
cheaper to book from the Netherlands than from Belgium...
Regards,
Rian
--
Rian van der Borgt, Leuven, Belgium.
e-mail: [email protected] www: http://www.xs4all.be/~rvdborgt/
Fix Outlook Express: http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/
Fix Outlook: http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/outlook-quotefix/
>- Alan (in Brussels, mind the spamtrap)
>Internet buyers find it's cheaper by the dollar on Eurostar
>James Sturcke
>Saturday August 14, 2004
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/new...283098,00.html
>Eurostar customers can make substantial savings when buying tickets online
>by pretending to live in America and paying for their purchases in dollars.
>Price comparisons on the company's website revealed Americans pay a third
>less for some fares between London and Paris.
>Some of the biggest savings are made in first-class travel, though
>travellers purchasing a standard-class, semi-flexible return can also find
>prices around 20% cheaper if paid for in dollars.
Note that for some fares (for instance the full fare singles) it's
cheaper to book from the Netherlands than from Belgium...
Regards,
Rian
--
Rian van der Borgt, Leuven, Belgium.
e-mail: [email protected] www: http://www.xs4all.be/~rvdborgt/
Fix Outlook Express: http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/
Fix Outlook: http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/outlook-quotefix/
Aug 15th 2004, 8:16 pm
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
In misc.transport.rail.europe Ralph Rawlinson <[email protected]> wrote:
> > So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
> > that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
> > from their website.
>
> Spokesman for Eurostar, Paul Charles (D.M.Saturday) asked if Britons could
> circumvent the high charges by pretending to be Americans said yesterday:
> "That's fine we want happy customers but few would want to pay in dollars on
> their credit cards as this would involve a special transaction charge."
> However this is likely to be less than £5.
> Ralph
>
... or if you have a Nationwide card, no transaction charge at all and
good exchange rates.
--
Chris Green
> > So for the slow of thought, exactly how do you convince eurostar.com
> > that you are in the US? It doesn't seem obvious (to me) how to do so
> > from their website.
>
> Spokesman for Eurostar, Paul Charles (D.M.Saturday) asked if Britons could
> circumvent the high charges by pretending to be Americans said yesterday:
> "That's fine we want happy customers but few would want to pay in dollars on
> their credit cards as this would involve a special transaction charge."
> However this is likely to be less than £5.
> Ralph
>
... or if you have a Nationwide card, no transaction charge at all and
good exchange rates.
--
Chris Green
Aug 15th 2004, 9:08 pm
#12
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
Roland Perry <[email protected]> wrote:
> Phil Richards <[email protected]> remarked:
>> Only non-personal information is stored in your cookie.
> [snip}
>> We use "cookies" to identify you when you visit the Eurostar site and to
>> build up a demographic profile.
> As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
> identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
> here!
Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
> Phil Richards <[email protected]> remarked:
>> Only non-personal information is stored in your cookie.
> [snip}
>> We use "cookies" to identify you when you visit the Eurostar site and to
>> build up a demographic profile.
> As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
> identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
> here!
Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
Aug 15th 2004, 9:23 pm
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
Miguel Cruz <[email protected]> wrote :
> Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
> information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
> something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
> context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
> information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
It has for french law, and I think european laws on privacy...
--
Real programs don't eat cache
> Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
> information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
> something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
> context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
> information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
It has for french law, and I think european laws on privacy...
--
Real programs don't eat cache
Aug 16th 2004, 1:08 am
#14
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
In message <[email protected]>, at 09:08:39 on Mon, 16
Aug 2004, Miguel Cruz <[email protected]> remarked:
>> As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
>> identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
>> here!
>Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
>information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
>something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
>context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
>information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
Yes it does, that's *exactly* the sort of thing which is personal data:
"Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be
identified from those data or from those data and other information
which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession
of, the data controller."
So the "UID=559043" is the data, and the contents of the database is
"other information in the possession of the data controller".
--
Roland Perry
Aug 2004, Miguel Cruz <[email protected]> remarked:
>> As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
>> identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
>> here!
>Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
>information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
>something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
>context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
>information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
Yes it does, that's *exactly* the sort of thing which is personal data:
"Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be
identified from those data or from those data and other information
which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession
of, the data controller."
So the "UID=559043" is the data, and the contents of the database is
"other information in the possession of the data controller".
--
Roland Perry
Aug 16th 2004, 5:20 am
#15
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Eurostar fares best paid on-line in $ US
Roland Perry <[email protected]> wrote:
> Miguel Cruz <[email protected]> remarked:
>>> As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
>>> identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
>>> here!
>> Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
>> information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
>> something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
>> context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
>> information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
> Yes it does, that's *exactly* the sort of thing which is personal data:
> "Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be
> identified from those data or from those data and other information
> which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession
> of, the data controller."
> So the "UID=559043" is the data, and the contents of the database is
> "other information in the possession of the data controller".
That seems like a troubling definition to me, as there is a valuable
distinction between information that actually has something to do with
someone, and information that was specifically assigned as abstract in order
to avoid encoding any of what most people would call "personal information"
(name, age, address, tax ID, etc.).
But anyway, you're all in luck; my guess about the cookie was wrong. I've
looked at the cookie and it just says this: "country=MY&lang=UK". So it
simply identifies me as an English-speaking person in Malaysia which isn't
terribly specific by anyone's standards. Evidently they've read the data
protection laws more closely than I have.
miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
> Miguel Cruz <[email protected]> remarked:
>>> As Personal Information is *defined* as information which is capable of
>>> identifying you, I think they've got themselves into a bit of a muddle
>>> here!
>> Based on the description, the cookie is probably a reference to personal
>> information stored in the database on their server. So the cookie might be
>> something like "UID=559043" which, while it does identify you within the
>> context of the site, doesn't really fit the definition of "personal
>> information" since it has no particular meaning to you or anyone else.
> Yes it does, that's *exactly* the sort of thing which is personal data:
> "Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be
> identified from those data or from those data and other information
> which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession
> of, the data controller."
> So the "UID=559043" is the data, and the contents of the database is
> "other information in the possession of the data controller".
That seems like a troubling definition to me, as there is a valuable
distinction between information that actually has something to do with
someone, and information that was specifically assigned as abstract in order
to avoid encoding any of what most people would call "personal information"
(name, age, address, tax ID, etc.).
But anyway, you're all in luck; my guess about the cookie was wrong. I've
looked at the cookie and it just says this: "country=MY&lang=UK". So it
simply identifies me as an English-speaking person in Malaysia which isn't
terribly specific by anyone's standards. Evidently they've read the data
protection laws more closely than I have.
miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
