Politics Centrelink

[GreyCrow]

I've got until the 9th to produce some documents from work. Unfortunately nobody is at the office until the 12th.

Its crazy. I will present my docs then ask for backdated dismissal.

 

[Watchyourwaite]

In this thread, people without jobs complaining about people doing their jobs.

 

[GreyCrow]

In this thread, people without jobs complaining about people doing their jobs.

But its not people. Its a computer generated glitch.

 

[big_bazza]

In this thread, people without jobs complaining about people doing their jobs.

so your assuming everyone on centrelink is un-employed? way to go pal!

 

[brucetiki]

In this thread, people without jobs complaining about people doing their jobs.

Hi Christian

 

[Watchyourwaite]

Hi Christian

Who dis? How do you know my name?

 

[skipper kelly]

Yeah i wish i did the same thing now, i rushed into it as i didnt want another debt hanging over my head after finally dealing with AAMI and then Dunn and Bradstreet in september/october this year and the stress that caused me i thought i was better off to just pay the centrelink debt to avoid anymore un-needed anxiety, especially after they said you have 21 days to pay until debt collectors get involved. Boy was i wrong!

You can still fight it and get the money back. It was posted earlier but it seems the system has average out income earned from part of a year across the whole year. For example, if you were on an allowance for part of the year the income earned for the remainder of the year has been average out across the full year rather than only the part of the year you worked. So if you earned say $20,800 for 6 month and got an allowance for the other 6 months the system is saying that you earned $400 per week across the whole year and that you have not declared the $400 per week for the 6 months you were getting an allowance.

My daughter had a year where she was on youth allowance for 2-3 months and they sent her a bill for it. She spoke to someone at centrelink and got the debt wiped.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Everywhere online is going off on this new computerised debt recovery system.

Reading some of the stories of individuals, it's pretty ordinary.

 

[NSWCROW]

http://theaimn.com/turnbull-plans-raise-4-6-billion-unemployed/


How was the timing too , xmas - NY break.

Cowinkydink ???

 

[little graham]

I am not sure if it has been mentioned in this thread but half the battle is they are understaffed. The workload gets bigger but the staff numbers smaller.

Last time I was in centerlink they paid a guy to stare at me. When I moved so he couldn't stare, he moved to. He was an Indian security gaurd.

Short staffed my arse.

 

[Willo_]

Last time I was in centerlink they paid a guy to stare at me. When I moved so he couldn't stare, he moved to. He was an Indian security gaurd.

Short staffed my arse.

They are absolutely understaffed, and they go about it all half arsed though.
They get funding to do overtime, but not to put on more staff.

There are centres round the country that are half empty with regards to available desks.
fix that and the service would improve

 

[little graham]

They are absolutely understaffed, and they go about it all half arsed though.
They get funding to do overtime, but not to put on more staff.

There are centres round the country that are half empty with regards to available desks.
fix that and the service would improve

So you think its perfectly fine for centerlink staff to be paid to stand around and intimidate law abiding rate paying citizens? This is happening and now those guards are being told to expect trouble. That only means more innocent law abiding citizens have to deal with bored security gaurds and thier power trips.

 

[Willo_]

So you think its perfectly fine for centerlink staff to be paid to stand around and intimidate law abiding rate paying citizens? This is happening and now those guards are being told to expect trouble. That only means more innocent law abiding citizens have to deal with bored security gaurds and thier power trips.

Since you mean the security guard then yes it is absolutely fine.
I formally worked at the Sunshine office, with the specimens that frequent that office it is a requirement.

and if there were more staff in the office mind you old mate there would probably have less to do....

 

[VineyIsLORD]

Hey just so everyone is aware...

If your debt is under 10 thousand dollars there is basically nothing a creditor can do to you. Same goes for debt collectors.

They can ask for the money back, but a cebtrelink debt is unsecured and once a debt collector has purchased it there is no way for them to get the funds.

For an amount that small you can flat out just tell them "sorry im not paying it, you should just write off the debt or take me to court" and demand any correspondence between you and the debt collector be in writing.

Just an FYI. Debt collectors sound scary but they can be ****ed with pretty essily. They would have been licking their lips at going after centrelink customers though, the parasites. Knowing most centrelink recipients arent well educated or resourced makes them an easy mark for standover tactics.

 

[VineyIsLORD]

Also it is a relevant factor that these debts are many years old, and you could argue that due to the length of time between being essentially fined/made aware of the debt you are unable to provide or source the relevant evidence as it is 6 or 7 years old.

The main thing is to just clog the ****ing system up with conplaints. And never give in to intimidation.

The courts will become so sick of the constant cases for meaningless amounts of money that they will develop a bias toward the public and against centrelink. This is why people who take their public transport fines to court rarely end up paying a cent.

 

[VineyIsLORD]

So you think its perfectly fine for centerlink staff to be paid to stand around and intimidate law abiding rate paying citizens? This is happening and now those guards are being told to expect trouble. That only means more innocent law abiding citizens have to deal with bored security gaurds and thier power trips.

Working at centrelink is legit one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Far more dangerous than being a police officer or a soldier.

They absolutely need security guards.

As was posted above, more actual front line staff would probably fix the issue. But until that happens (never, thanks to capitalism) they need security there. For the public as much as the staff.

 

[little graham]

Working at centrelink is legit one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Far more dangerous than being a police officer or a soldier.
.

What comes around goes around. If they didn't pay security to intimidate poor people, the poor people wouldn't retaliate. I've seen them bully law abiding rate paying citizens. once you cross that line you have no credibility, you are the problem and deserve everything you get working for an organization that does that.

 

[cannot]

What comes around goes around. If they didn't pay security to intimidate poor people, the poor people wouldn't retaliate. I've seen them bully law abiding rate paying citizens. once you cross that line you have no credibility, you are the problem and deserve everything you get working for an organization that does that.

some still would

some proper drop kicks going around

 

[little graham]

some proper drop kicks going around

You should talk to these drop kicks and find out how centerlink treat people. You should talk to bar staff where centerlink workers meet for drinks on friday nights or have lunch during the week and see what they say and think, when their guard is down.

 

[cannot]

You should talk to these drop kicks and find out how centerlink treat people. You should talk to bar staff where centerlink workers meet for drinks on friday nights or have lunch during the week and see what they say and think, when their guard is down.

yeah , i can appreciate that too

 

[little graham]

yeah i can appreciate than too

Centerlink staff are amongst the most corrupt in the public service. You should talk to clients who have been mistreated or abused by centerlink. Tendency to gang stalk the clients to stop investigations and complaints. Very effective in rural areas.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Centerlink staff are amongst the most corrupt in the public service. You should talk to clients who have been mistreated or abused by centerlink. Tendency to gang stalk the clients to stop investigations and complaints. Very effective in rural areas.

How far rural are you talking about? I know plenty of people that move to small rural communities because it's a lot harder for Centrelink to harass them and they are shown some leniency with regards to reporting their situation because there are no services in the smaller rural towns.

 

[little graham]

How far rural are you talking about? I know plenty of people that move to small rural communities because it's a lot harder for Centrelink to harass them and they are shown some leniency with regards to reporting their situation because there are no services in the smaller rural towns.

Rent and housing more affordable, crime rates lower, better relationships with health staff. Cheaper to get around and afford a car. There's lots of reasons welfare families move to rural areas.

But the public servants all breed and drink with each other, work out scams and rather effective at black booking someone they phuq with.

its not uncommon to go through the complaints process at a rural centerlink and one of the responses is police harassment, another is your mail fiddled with, passive aggression from the local library and your bank card cancelled.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Has anyone got any stories of trying to claim back the money they paid centrelink under duress or getting out of paying the fines altogether? i paid my fine after waiting on the phone for over an hour and then got told by the operator that there is no point reviewing the payment as it was a fruitless exercise so i bowed under their pressure and paid them, now after reading all info about how flawed the system is im wondering if theres anyway to recoup the money i paid?

I'm expecting I may have to go to the AAT. gettimg anything back from Centrelink will prove tough.

I paid my false debt after the threat of debt collectors (and a permanent bad credit record as a result - as of a few years back even if a false debt is referred it never gets removed from the record). I may have to chase them for damages as well, I had to dip into my interest earning savings because they cleaned out my "live of this" account.

I doubt I'll get it back through Centreliunk processes. All that "pay within 14 days or we send the boys round" stuff and they can't even provide a receipt 14 days after its paid. I got a receipt number over the phone, but can't get a receipt out of them.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

In this thread, people without jobs complaining about people doing their jobs.

Peope aren't doing their jobs. The complaints are about falsely raised debts.
any many of the complaints are from people who do have jobs, but at some point in the past did not. Or did, and were casual with varying incomes and Centrelink's annualisation process ****ed on them. Or, as in my case, did not receive one cent from Centrelink in the period they claim there was a multiple thousand dollar overpayment.

I doubt many people have a problem with the idea that genuine overpayments be paid back. Its the demands for false overpayments, and lack of consideration about how to pay "back" debts, that is the problem.
And it was known aboiut years ago. Well before I had a brief stint working at DHS the annualisation plan, and its inherent failures, was in the rumour mill amoing Canberra's IT people. But it was only a rumour, and I couldn't believe they would be that stupid - I forgot how politicised the senior levels of the public service is these days, no neutrality whatsoever.