Centrelink -_- (warning: slight rant) (1 Viewer)

[Dumsum]

It never ceases to amaze me how much an organisation can be so inadequate at performing their task. OK so recently Centrelink sent me a letter requesting my tax returns for the last two years, fair enough I thought... I head into the Maroubra branch and they photocopy them and put them in an envelope to send to Ballina (Ballina is still my "local" centrelink office since they deem college to be a temporary residence. I'll be staying in Sydney, they don't know about this yet though because I only signed the lease yesterday). Anyway a few days later I get a letter saying my youth allowance is suspended because I haven't handed in documentation. WTF? Apparently Ballina never received the shit from Maroubra. I also get a letter saying I have to go in for an appointment. More on this later. So I have to take the tax returns in -again-, this time i get them to fax it... finally it all gets sorted out.

Now: the appointment I mentioned was to be held at Ballina. Fucking dumb shits don't realise I live in Sydney. So I call them up and get them to change it to Maroubra. That all happens, I get a letter from Maroubra detailing the new time and location etc. This is happening next monday. The one for Ballina was going to be held last monday, but it got changed...supposedly. My youth allowance has AGAIN been suspended because I didn't show for my appointment on Monday, even though it was supposed to be changed. This is so fucking annoying. :burn:

 

[AntiHyper]

It's best to turn up in person to the branch rather than mailing in the forms / papers.

I had a form to renew my health care card, which was mailed in December. My old card expired in January. I didn't get the new card until mid March.

I had to borrow my mum's medicare card (that had my name on it) for my dental appointments in february.

 

[Dougie]

i find some of the time i call them or go to them i either get a really nice person who will sought it all out on the spot, or a loser who has one eye on the clock. I find it's just the luck of the draw. Have to agree it's best to talk to someone though, rather than letters which can put put on the bottom of a pile!

 

[Dumsum]

Yeah... i'm going in for this appointment on Monday, hopefully it can all be sorted out then.

There's something severely lacking in their communication between branches though. I mean surely by now they'd know I was in Sydney... earlier this year they thought I was studying at SCU in lismore... I would never have told them that, I guess they just assumed... blargh.

 

[shariken]

Hope it gets sorted out. I know what it's like for them to stuff people around.


I've had a few problems with centrelink too over the years..My last one was that I had to report to them my study future intentions to them but I was supposed to have gotten a letter that I was to fill out but I never knew about filling it out but I knew I had to notify them of my changes. I went to the office to report and this lady was like why didn't you get the letter and didn't believe me when I didn't receive it so she said that I had to wait until someone called me to get it all sorted out because apparently her job at reception wasn't to give my that form because oh so and so had to be called. So after 20 minutes of waiting I had to wait another 30 minutes and after I saw this other lady after 2 minutes she gave me the form that she just printed out without calling so and so and she got from the reception area..I could tell the reception lady just couldn't be bothered because she printed and photocopied stuff for other people.

 

[kalli]

Centrelink really is hopeless regarding your uni residence being a "temporary" residence.

When i was on centrelink, they sent me a form to fill out to determine something or other... i was living in melbourne doing my uni and my parents lived in coffs harbour. one of the many stupid questions was "how many steps does it take you to walk home"? and other was "detail how you would travel home on public transport". OMG it was so stupid.

 

[ur_inner_child]

I had to tell centrelink over and over that I wasn't sleeping with the gay couple I was currently living with. Or buying a house with etc.

The 3rd form I wrote at the bottom where it asks for comments: "THEY'RE GAY".

Thus stopped asking me to fill in forms.