Theyve cut all my payments!

Im really upset cause i always do things by the deadline when it comes to centrelink, and not only have they suspended one but all my payments!!

Firstly, they sent me a letter saying they are suspending my CC benefit cause DD isnt fully immunised. SHE IS...i rung the immunisation register and they said no shes not...i rung my GP and they forgot to call the immunisation register and said theyd do it 'soon'...i said well thanks to your forgetfullness theyve now cut my payment.

so i thought no worries ive still got my single pension....

then i open my mail yesterday and it says 'we have suspended your pension as you didnt reply to the letter we sent you'

1. um which letter? no specifics mentioned

2. i reply (or do whatever is asked) of each centrelink letter i receive...

3. another letter opened yesterday says i have an appt at centrelink on 21st april (2 weeks away!) to discuss my pension


can i go in there and talk to them? i havent done anything wrong, maybe thier computers have stuffed up, or i didnt receive an important letter that i was supposed to respond to, but im so upset cause i always do the right thing with centrelink and now im getting nothing for 2 weeks! :(

:hug: has the doctor rectified the situation? they never said anything to me about immunisation the only time it comes into it is at 18 months anyway thats when u get the immunisation payment u need to ring them coz if u go in they'll just dorect u to the phone i know thats rediculous but thats wat they make u do hope u can sort it out very soon :hug: xoxox

I wouldn't wait. I'd be in there first thing Monday morning. I have friends who don't immunise & I haven't had DS's 18 month or DD2's 4 year needles & my centrelink payments have never been questioned.

Course you can. Ring them on Monday and let them know what's happened, they will reinstate straight away. The appt will likely be a routine check everything is updated yadda yadda.

xoxo

ETA - don't go in, ring first.

That happens to parents quite alot with their CCB in my experience. The centre can cancel and resubmit the weeks after it's all fixed up so you don't get a big bill - if they are a nice centre they will do it without problem.

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I wouldn't wait. I'd be in there first thing Monday morning. I have friends who don't immunise & I haven't had DS's 18 month or DD2's 4 year needles & my centrelink payments have never been questioned.

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To get CCB your child must be immunised, that's just how it works. CCB is childcare benefit, perhaps your friends don't use childcare.

I had problems with the registering of DS' immunisations too. If your appointment is BEFORE your DD's 2nd birthday make sure you take in your blue book that should have the doctor's stamp in it to prove the immunisation has happened.

If the appointment is AFTER her birthday try and get it sorted out ASAP because once your child turns 2, they won't pay the immunisation benefit. This is what they told me when I was sorting it out over the phone, that it was lucky I was doing it before he turned 2 because then it would be too late.

ok, first thing - given the GP didn't provide the information to the childhood immunisation register, ask them to print out their records and provide direct to local c'link office - they can update your file to reflect correct details as ACIR can take a while. reduction in ccb is very different to the requirements for the immunisation payment at 18months - you have to have injections done within 4 weeks of due date or your child care benefit is suspended. it will remain suspended until this is rectified. if the problem is simply your GP not providing the information to the register, it is easily rectified.

secondly - query over the phone the suspension letter - check what you supposedly haven't complied with. it may be something you can fix over the phone - but if it is something you need to attend the office to rectify, you are better off knowing so that, if any other information is required, you can supply that at the time. have you checked online services to see if your payment is still suspended? it may be that a review was supposed to be manually generated and wasn't - and the system automatically suspended your payment because of this. even if someone reconnects your payment immediately, as soon as it is suspended a letter is generated and sent out.

i will be online tonight off and on if you want to talk about it hun

BG

it was just for CCB not immunisation payment...stressing me out cause they cut my CCB so i go from paying $30 for two days to $140! and missing out on $600 a fortnight pension ...boohoo :(

BG: i went online and it just says they sent me a part payment (i got $170 instead of usual $600) but no reason as to why.
im glad i can *hopefully* sort it out before the appt!
and received a letter from immunisation register dated before the c'link letter saying its all now upto date (sorry the CCB issue happenbed about a week ago and seems to be rectified on paper but not in my bank acc)

I would go into the doctors office and ask for the serial numbers from the immunisations and then take them into centrelink yourself.

the ccb will need to be corrected by the child care centre to fix everything up. it sounds like your payment has been cut and not restored if it is showing a part payment and not the remaining on normal pension day - definitely call on monday.

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To get CCB your child must be immunised, that's just how it works. CCB is childcare benefit, perhaps your friends don't use childcare.

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And just to clarify, to get CCB, your child must either be immunised, exempt from immunisation, or have a conscientious objection. Immunisation is not compulsory to receive CCB, as long as you've discussed it with your GP / Paediatrician and signed the appropriate form. Same for the immunisation allowance.

Uh I get CCB and Charlotte is not vaxd at all.
All you need to do is supply the signed conscientious objectors form with Centrelink.

Okay, thanks, I wasn't aware of that - good to know all we are told as directors is that children who aren't immunised don't get CCB. I guess they don't want alot of people to know?

TM, it sounds like you must have had some mail go astray. They do not cut your CCB off without first sending you a letter telling you that it will be suspended in a few weeks if you don't take action. It gives you time to either get the immunisations, fill out a form, or chase a GP who hasn't registered the vax yet. If your mail is going missing, maybe getting a PO Box might be a good idea - hopefully mail would be more secure there. It would also be worth explaining to FAO and Centrelink that this has happened and try to get the payments temporarily re-instated until you can get copies of the letters again.

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can i go in there and talk to them? i havent done anything wrong, maybe thier computers have stuffed up, or i didnt receive an important letter that i was supposed to respond to, but im so upset cause i always do the right thing with centrelink and now im getting nothing for 2 weeks! :(

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Absolutely go in there. Go up to the counter with your letter and ask to speak to someone.

please don't go in to the office until you've spoken to someone over the phone! offices are often very busy and hard to get someone who can spend the time you need with them - the staff in the offices will often send you to a phone within the office to make a phone call - talk to the call centre staff. yes, it can take a bit of time to get through (often less than standing in the queue at the office though) - but once you have someone on the phone, they can go through everything with you - they are able to spend as much time with you as needed and will only send you to the office if there is a need for you to attend. there is no point leaving home, trekking to the office, standing in a queue, getting to the counter to be told "oh, you need to supply this" then having to go, find "this", trek back in and do it all again.

the offices are contact points for making claims, interviews, handing in forms. they are not set up to deal with enquiries - the staff have a queue to deal with and they will send you to enquire via the call centre for most things - the don't have time to be looking into stuff - they take forms, process them, and move to the next person.

the call centres should always be your first port of call for enquiries