They made a mistake and now I have to pay for it.

Debt amount:

$1800

Date debt issued:

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Period debt occurred:

March 2016 to July 2016

Has your case been referred to a collection agency?:

Yes

Payment Type:

Austudy

Appealing Debt?:

Yes in process

Tell us about your debt and how has this affected you? e.g. anxiety levels, financial and accommodation stress:

I found out I had a debt straight from the debt collector.
At first I thought it was a scam but then found out I had been getting letters from Centrelink to my very old address.

I can’t sleep from the stress and don’t have time to be waiting in Centrelink or on the phone (nobody answers half the time).
I work so hard as a teacher and $1800 is my entire payslip and a month's rent.
I did everything right when claiming from Centrelink two years ago and I told them whenever my circumstances changed. They stuffed up.

How do you feel about the way the Government has handled this process?:

What process? It’s a joke clearly.
I pay my taxes, I do everything right and I care for 25 other people on a daily basis. They made a mistake and now I have to pay for it.
The government claims to be in “surplus” well that’s because they are ripping off the little guy.