In November 2011 I was forced to leave my job due to illegal discrimination, workplace bullying and a rape threat.
I took legal action against the employer and won.
Four years later, Centrelink notified me that I had a debt because the end date my employer had given the tax office did not match the date I ceased work I had given to Centrelink.
They forced me to go back to this employer and literally beg them for my employment records going back four years.
I told them I had been discriminated against at this workplace and they did not care.
The employer refused to help because they hated me for what I had done. No amount of pleading could get the information out of them.
They put me into this demeaning and degrading position without the slightest hint of compassion.
After many phone calls over a period of many days I finally got through to an officer who looked back through my computer records and discovered - hey presto - my medical certificate. But what it took to get to this point. The stress and misery I suffered was unbelievable. I was deep in debt, could not pay my rent, had no money for food but they didn't care.
Multiple officers I spoke to would do nothing, just kept on insisting I had to go back to this employer who HATED me.
When I finally got through to them they said, "oh, sorry about that".
My health, my finances, every aspect of my life was affected for weeks while I tried to sort it out.
I am deeply disgusted by the incompetence and the disgraceful lack of compassion for my situation.
And then the debt turns out to be a problem with the computer algorithm. Well I don't buy it.
I am still angry about it today that they did this to me. I can hardly believe the stress they put me through over this false debt.
I was one of the lucky ones I guess - the amount was less than most and I finally got through to them.
But I can honestly say I will never forget the bastardry behind this sick, degrading policy of data matching which cannot identify where false debts have been created and the way they made it all my responsibility, along with the fact that to speak to a human being who actually knew their own systems well enough to find the med. cert. on my file was nothing short of utterly despicable.