The process has created high anxiety, low self esteem and I feel threatened. My eating habits have deteriorated, my confidence is shot, and I am withdrawing from society due to feeling I am not believed and I feel shamed. And all this over the Xmas break.
Taking funds out of my payments to pay the debt has caused me hardship especially since it was an unplanned and unknown (and UNFAIR) debt and so I was not able to budget for it. Coupled with it being Xmas time, meant that I am now further in debt on credit card.
I feel that this centrelink debt recovery process is un-Australian. It is valuing a system more than the people. The people are saying that the system is not working, the computer system is flawed and the process is not only cumbersome it is demoralising to the users. The Government is demonstrating that the concerns of the people matter not to them. The people at the centrelink office are unable to help and refer me to phone contact to "compliance" and on the phone compliance are in the main supportive, but the system is flawed and data is not able to be updated. I am pleased that the contact number is a 1800. and thus costs less. No proof by centrelink has been provided to me substantiating the debt, but I am forced to pay the debt. No other industry or sector of the community would e allowed to do this legally. The Government statements that the system is working, is misleading and incorrect, and further demoralises and destroys my trust. The system is not working! and the system should never be more important that the people.