NotMyDebt Stories
We are collecting stories on the site because we think it's important to have a way to people to add their voice to this issue by sharing their story. It's puts a human voice to the issues with using technology and automating systems and providing a blanket solution without providing staff and people that can right wrongs and help people when there is an error.
Please share your story with us if you have a Centrelink debt story that you believe has been issued in error or due to a fault in the system.
As frustrating as it is, persist with the appeals process, and know others are behind you.
Stories are 100% anonymous
My false debt occurred in 2015 when i commenced the Green Army Program 29/6/2015. I was given a letter from Job Futures - Green Army it was to be processed at my local Centrelink office.
I received the Parenting Payment from July 2006 to Oct 2013.
My husband is a farmer and as such, is director of a family farming partnership.
Centrelink claims that for the entire period I received the Parenting Payment, I was in fact ineligible to receive it due to my husband's share of the farming property.
I've gone into a payment plan as I felt I had no option , it's not a large amount each fortnight but is definitely money I could use and it's going to take years to get rid of.
iv been doing it hard in lots of ways for maybe the last 7 yrs .
i was recieving parenting an family tax payments an working casually sometimes.
This debt has been randomly placed on me, through a "duplicate system error".
I had updated my rental details through MyGov in Oct 2016. Centrelink requested a copy of rental agreement or my rental assistance would be cut off.
I was unable to notify centrelink I had left university, as I had been kicked out of an abusive home, left homeless for some time until my Aunt was able to take me in. I suffer from PTSD and depression and anxiety disorders from childhood abuse and an abusive partner I was with at the time.
I had someone in my family fill out a rental certificate (and sign it as my name!) stating they lived with a "relative".
Centrelink then took this as me not living with family and put me on the away from home rate which I wasn't "entitled to" and am being forced to pay it back now.
Angry that we knew it was a scam and they had the data to prove the claim was false but were counting on us to just pay up and say nothing.
Centrelink pretended they had no received a termination certificate which is their requirement.
The debt was fake and god knows where they got the $4500 from. It was a complete fraud!
I am getting calls from Dun and Bradstreet at least 3 or 4 times a day, including 7.30am on a Saturday morning.
I have told them repeatedly that this is being appealed.
I am crying constantly.
I don't have the money they say I owe.
My 'debt' of $1600 has caused considerable anxiety and depression.
I know without a doubt I do not owe any money as I accurately and faithfully reported my earnings every fortnight.
During the period in question, I worked for 2 different employers, one of whom has since gone into liquidation. Obtaining payslips was a struggle, particularly over the Xmas/New Year period during which my information was deemed due.
The establishing of this debt has been extremely anxiety-provoking and very depressing for me.
I have been "randomly audited" and interviewed for an hour, then asked to provide every voluminous financial detail they requested (in hard copy) - and I did.
on the 23rd of December I received the call from a collection company asking me for 15K and to my horror they wanted it straight away. I was not aware of the money owing or l would have paid it back.
I had to move out of my home, as i could no longer afford the rent.
i took about 2 months before i found a place to live.
i had to stop using my car during this time and i was living off friends couches and eating a non nutritious diet, just to get by.
Annoyed. It was 5 years ago. It was an oversight by Centrelink as I had given them all the info.
I now have to repay a lump sum which is not easy or convenient.
What business would be allowed to do this? "Oh. We made a mistake five years ago. You owe us $X."?
My parents debt. My mother depressed cried shook from anxiety for over a year.
We were told about this debt 10 yrs after they were put on old age pension even though dad lost his hands when he was 40 and for 25 years could not get health care card for heart and other issues.
I had a perpetual block placed on my MyGov account, which no one on the telephone service was authorized to clear (they kept reporting the 'unusual' error report of "classification access status denied" when trying to alter the block).
Quite frankly I wish I had been successful in my suicide attempt years ago.
I never received any letters and then I received a phone call and I was out shopping for food and the girl was rude and asked for the money now all of it, I said that I didn't know what she was talking about and how, why, when.
I had already been to a Psychiatrist over financial stress not long before I received my false debt letter. It has given me a great deal of stress as well as depression. I have nettled making plans to eradicate all other debt that I have, which was already a struggle, and this had made it significantly worse.
we received 3 seperate debt notices totaling $5461.61
this was sent to Dunn and Bradstreet and then the calls and texts came
we have started paying $50 a week which is very hard for a one income family, this stress and harrasment from Dunn & Bradstreet is having an effect on us.
Because I am currently (and was at the time I was issued the letter) on a Newstart allowance, I am living below the poverty line, in community housing (which isn't always healthy) so the instant money issues appear, the stress increases.
I have been disputing this debt ever since it was raised. I provided all the information required to show there was no debt right from the start but to date they simply have not used it. Every time I call they tell me it will be reviewed and it will take three weeks.
Financial stress, frustrated...
The debt notification came via a collection agency text in mid feb. after the letter was sent to my old address.
This has caused me serious concern as i may now have to cancel an expensive holiday and am unable to afford basic necessities.