Do you understand what it means?!

[fireheart]

I'm keeping this one short, sweet and intentionally vague for legal reasons.

Basically, if you have been told by a client and by TWO different government departments to stop sending said client emails and making appointments, you STOP SENDING EMAILS AND MAKING APPOINTMENTS!! Especially when that client is not required to keep those appointments because they no longer need them.

(and yes, I'm going to lodge a complaint-it's borderline harassment)

[AmbrosiaWriter]

If and/or when the legal reasons for being vague are gone... will you tell the story?

I MUST KNOW! WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME SO!!

You hate me don't you? You do. I guess I'll just have to burn all those pictures I took of you and painstakingly arranged into a mural mosaic of your face and worship it every night. SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU'VE RUINED ART!


*blink*
...wow and I haven't even had any sugar today. What the hell?

[fireheart]

If and/or when the legal reasons for being vague are gone... will you tell the story?

Yes I will.

I should also add that of the two government offices that are involved, one is aware of what's going on and knows full well that anything coming in that says "fireheart did not attend appointment" is complete and utter bull manure.

[Food Lady]

I read this story yesterday, and I am frustrated for you. They still haven't fixed this? Like I said, it seems government agencies in all countries, apparently, can be inept.

[PepperElf]

time for a "what part of stop don't you understand" call?

[fireheart]

I read this story yesterday, and I am frustrated for you. They still haven't fixed this? Like I said, it seems government agencies in all countries, apparently, can be inept.

Luckily of the two agencies that are more or less involved, one of them is fully aware that I don't need visits because I'm meeting their requirements via my studies. So anything that happens with this, doesn't affect any study payments. (they also have a note on my account that prevents them from generating that response)

The other agency IS aware that I'm meeting my requirements, but they're just a little slow on the response. Luckily the management of the agency is also aware of the matter.

[fireheart]

Update update update!

So I finally got some good news from this matter, so I do believe that I can comfortably talk about what had happened. This is very long.

Quick explanation: The Employment Agency has JC's. This issue dealt with one particular JC hence why I refer to it as JC and not the employment agency. The employment agency sends through details to WA and GA and vice-versa, so that everyone's in the loop about their clients.

Cast of characters:

JC: Job Coach.
JC2: The job coach who I spoke to once.
WA: Welfare agency.
GA: Government agency.

Earlier this year, my job coach from the employment agency was transferred to a different branch and I received a brand spanking new job coach. Unfortunately however, I discovered that the job coach was lacking in communication skills and response. In a phone meeting with her, she advised me to switch to a different welfare payment, which I had no problems doing. Get the paperwork sorted out for that and it goes through swimmingly.**

The day before I'm due to receive my first payment from the welfare office, I go in for a meeting with the job coach. JC tells me that according to her records however, I had NOT submitted the paperwork and I wouldn't be paid. I informed her that I had submitted it and that the WA's website was showing that I would otherwise receive a payment*. She told me that WA was known for being incompetent and that the website was lying.

I go home, contact WA and ask them to clarify what JC had told me. They turn out to be very helpful and inform me that not only was the payment going through, but that I wasn't actually required to attend meetings with the JC and should not have attended the meeting I just went to. They pulled me from the system and sent a notice to the JC stating that not only would I be paid, but that I wasn't to attend meetings. I go on my merry way, payment in hand.

A fortnight later however, I get a message in my inbox stating that I have an appointment with JC. Cue a swift from me and calls made to WA and JC confirming that I didn't need to attend the appointment and that I shouldn't receive any communication. The JC also reassured me that I would be pulled from their system by the end of the week and that I didn't need to submit any paperwork. (The WA also confirmed that I had been pulled from their end, so the JC couldn't send a message to the WA saying that I hadn't been attending meetings)

Another fortnight passes and THIS time I get an email in my box informing me of another appointment. The email states that if I'm receiving these emails in error, to contact GA. So I do. The person on the other end of the line tells me that I HAVEN'T been exited from the system according to their records and that they'll contact JC on my behalf to sort it out. Because WA's website has been showing that I don't need to attend meetings, I know that I can otherwise ignore the email without penalty. JC doesn't follow up with me on this one thankfully.

Another fortnight passes and I get another email in my inbox stating I have an appointment. This time however, it states that I'm meeting JC2, ANOTHER person from the same agency. Cue a swift "HELL NO" from me, but I can't follow up on it immediately due to my other commitments.

The day arrives, I ignore the email and I get a very nice phone call around 3pm that afternoon from JC2 wondering why I hadn't shown up. The guy was polite and seemed a bit confused, so I didn't get angry with him, but I calmly explained what had been going on and that I was meant to have been pulled from their system. He told me that according to their computer systems, I was a "voluntary" job seeker. () He states that he'll follow up with JC and JC's boss to figure out what's going on but that I wouldn't receive a penalty.

I then contact GA straight away to let them know of what had happened. Unfortunately I get somebody else, so I leave my contact details and a message explaining what had happened and for them to call me back ASAP. This doesn't happen, but I start preparing a complaint letter to send to GA that logs all the emails as well as the one or two phone calls.

Today I received my final letter in the mail informing me that I have an appointment with them in 2 weeks. I contact GA to update them. The guy on the other end of the line tells me quite happily that I had NOW been pulled from the system. In fact, it had happened yesterday (the letter had been dated a couple of days prior to that). They also told me that like me, they'd received a VERY slow response from JC and had marked it as such. This will affect a LOT of things for the following year.

Either way, the issue has been resolved and I can sit back and relax.

*=In order for anyone to receive particular welfare payments, they need to report their income and other things to WA over a certain period of time (anything from 2 weeks to 3 months). They can do this online, along with a host of other things. It also shows what payment you'll be getting, any other payments and any other things you need to be aware of.

**=One of the requirements of my previous payment was that I had to visit their office every fortnight to build my employment skills. Until I found a certain number of hours per week/fortnight, I had to attend those meetings. On my current payment, I don't need to do this.

[Opalin]

I feel a bit sorry for JC2, since it sounds like he was just doing his job and the system messed up for him.

Sorrier for you, because that must have been as annoying as all heck

[fireheart]

I feel a bit sorry for JC2, since it sounds like he was just doing his job and the system messed up for him.

Sorrier for you, because that must have been as annoying as all heck

JC2 was actually quite polite and seemed more confused. As far as I'm aware, he hasn't been penalised over the whole mess.

The actual JC that I had however...total mess.

My previous coach prior to JC was incredibly helpful. She'd email me about things, I would email things to her and she'd be incredibly quick on the uptake to respond.

Either way, VERY VERY VERY glad to be off of their system.