Contacting Centrelink

[Dissident]

Seriously, how hard is it?

My mate receives a disability pension. He has CF. He had to take some work forms in, so he did last week but when they asked for more that he didn't have on him, he said "is it ok to bring them in by next Friday".. ie tomorrow. They said yes, and the payment wouldn't stop.

He didn't receive his payment yesterday.

Today he's spent HOURS, literally HOURS, on his phone trying to get something that isn't an engaged signal. Yes, ENGAGED. Can't even do anything! He managed to get to the local office to see a spiral and tail of 60+ people. He was there the other day and the 7 people took 20 minutes to get through, and he had to go to work in an hour.

I've been sitting here also, trying to get through, engaged.

What a joke!

[Zelezny Chucks]

Wrong thread,

Entertainment. Best Jokes.

[Drop Bear]

Yeah mate they are f*cking useless! Put them in the Telstra category.

[bayman]

see your federal mp, that will get the ball rolling immediately

[mick]

Ring Leon Byner

[gadj1976]

I had mates who set up the original call centre at Centrelink. After many discussions with them on how long it takes to get through, they could never admit it took more than 3 minutes because **insert Telstra gobbledegook** wouldn't allow it. I said "get on the phone and try it yourself". They never took that option up, insisting that the verbal diahorrea that Telstra proposed was indeed correct.

If I asked them today, they'd swear black and blue that you couldn't get an engaged signal either.

Having never worked in the call centre myself I can't comment, however I know that the call waiting time is normally less than 3 minutes. The calls that don't make it onto that queue however......well that's anyones' guess.

[TEX07]

My mother works at centrelink in Elizabeth and can you imagine the people that come in there after these things happen on the phone and abuse her personally! Seriously she has recived threats of violence from the person sitting n the other side of the desk, my advice to your friend is go into an office and plead his case and treat the person he is talking to as a means to getting it fixed and not the problem and this person may be able to help. I am not defending centrelink but sometimes i have seen the staff treated poorly by people who litterally believe that the money owed to them comes out of the pocket of the person they are speaking to. Sometimes kissing butt can get you places.

[A Mum]

You do have to feel for some of these centrelink staff,
and only need to have stood in line at a centrelink office to see if first hand for yourself.
The front line staff deserve a medal there I think.

[Zelezny Chucks]

Easy way to fix the abuse.

Give 1 warning, if they continue they get their payments suspended for a month.

Guarantee they'll be nice as pie.

[JK]

The missus just had to register for the baby bonus (I think that goes through Centrelink) and must have placed, no lie, about 40 calls before anyone even answered the phone ... Took her ages to get it sorted, pretty happy that wasn't one of my jobs

[Dogwatcher]

Easy to get hold of then

[JK]

Easy to get hold of then

LOL Yup, but that wasn't the end of the process