Debt amount:
$760
Date debt issued:
Friday, 8 September 2017
Period debt occurred:
February 2016 to June 2016
Has your case been referred to a collection agency?:
No
Payment Type:
Austudy
Appealing Debt?:
Yes & I won
Tell us about your debt and how has this affected you? e.g. anxiety levels, financial and accommodation stress:
It was extremely stressful and they automatically took money out of my fortnightly payment twice with no warning.
I spent hours upon hours chasing the debt up.
I had it reviewed twice before it was sent off to the third party review officer who was the only person who actually listened to me.
The debt was finally then reduced to $60 after 1.5 years of waiting, phone calls and terrible communication.
None off the Centrelink staff knew the correct information and all told me different stories.
How do you feel about the way the Government has handled this process?:
Terrible. I am an educated person who had all of my bank statements and pay slips and it still took me 1.5 years.
What hope is someone who is unable to advocate for themselves or does not have access to pay slips etc?