Problems with Computershare childcare vouchers

devonpie

Hello all

Frustrated with the poor customer service I have just got off the phone from the incompetent company and found this thread.

What a shambols!

Since transfer from busy bees, each month the money is taken from my husband and my pay on or even before the 25th of the month and still after the first of each month no money is in the on line account to make payment to our childcarer.

When you get through on the phone, if your patience lasts that long, you are fobbed off with a variety of excuses:
- it is not us it is your employer
- if we had been paid we would make the money available
- it is an it issue
- it is a systems issue
-it is a teething problem
- or worst, we are sorry but your money is not available!

I rang on friday and after 15 minutes holding and a further 15 minutes of being fobbed off -I gave up. Today, monday, I had an answerphone message from customer services and they said that they had not been paid and I could email if I wanted to talk to the person who called me but they do not have a direct line so I couldn't call them back.

I rang this evening and there were no records or her call on my account. Also she had gone home. I asked if they could tell me when the money would be in my account they said that was not possible.

I asked who is responsible for them because after 6 months of this problem, continued complaining and phoncalls and saying sorry to my child care provider each month that my money I want to pay them is lost in cyberspace (or in computrshares bank account???)- I am fed up. The representative said they are regulated by ofstead. I said fine can she give me their number and she said she would put me on hold. She then said she could not give me their number. I asked if I could complain to them (OFSTEAD). She stated only if I registered a complaint with them first (computershare). I said I complain the 3 or so times a month I ring with the same problem. She said they were not complaints but enquires or problems which they resolve. I said each month I state it is a complaint. She stated that they could not take complaint over the phone but they had to be in writing or by email.

At the end of my teather, I just said fine I will contact ofstead and put the phone down. I went straight on line but could find no deatils on ofsteads website and I am now going to do the following:

1- continue to negotiate with my employer to see if we can find a childcare tax provider that is not computershare

2- approach my local MP as this company seem to be within their own jursdiction with no reproach

3. fill out this page of the WATCHDOG (bbc) website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/

I suggest you spread the word and get as many people having these problems to fill out the 'got a story' page and maybe they can pick up the story.

Let see what we can achieve!

Caroline

devonpie

or write... Watchdog, MCG A6, Media Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7TG. to watchdog

catz1ct

Send an email to the bloke in charge, he will sort it out.

scootermacc

Hi all. I have news!

A few weeks ago we got a voicemail from ComputerShare Vouchers (CSV) offering us a 'goodwill gesture' payment by way of compensation for the time we have spent sorting this out. We contacted them back and they requested we send them details of how much we expected. We did this.

Then last week we got another reply from them refusing to pay us any compensation after all ! Naturally we were very upset, so we wrote back again telling them that we were not happy (again), and we were not going to go away.

I then had a sit down face to face meeting with our MP last Friday to discuss this issue, and the following has happened this week:

1. He has sent a letter to Computer Share Vouchers (CSV) to ask them to explain why our problem has been handled in such a poor manner, and to deal with it properly.
2. He has written to the high levels of Trading Standards to ask them why they are not taking responsibility for consumer complaints against this organisation.
3. He has written to HM Revenue and Customs (or may be HM Treasury, I forget now) to ask them why there is no proper regulation of this company, or the sector they operate in.

Then the big news!

On returning home from seeing the MP, we opened email to find CSV had reconsidered (it has been escalated to a customer services manager finally), and offering us a £70 payment by way of compensation (I should now point out that we asked for more than this).

As it stands right now, we have now told them that we are waiting for a response from them to our MPs letter before we decide whether to accept their offer or not.

Needless to say I consider this a small victory, however there are actually more important things than the money to us right now:

1. we have no say in which company we can do business with as a consumer. CSV have annoyed us so much that if they were a bank we would have walked ages ago. We cannot do this.
2. there is no regulation of these companies (others may be fine, but they should still be regulated).
3. there is nothing to stop CSV continuing to do business in a shambolic manner, and if the other posts in this thread are anything to go by, they are causing new heartache every month.

We shall have to be patient for a while more on responses to our MPs letters, but I will keep you all updated.

Ta. Stay positive.

scootermacc

Devonpie - Ofsted cannot help you.

I suggest you write to them at their HQ in Lichfield raising a formal complaint and asking them for a copy of their complaints procedure - send recorded delivery. Get everything in writing from now on, as you need the evidence.
At very least communicate by email and keep all emails you send, and their replies.

Don't call them - if you do, make a note afterwards of what was discussed, and email it to them after the phone call to let them know what you believe was agreed/discussed on the call.

Be patient, and don't give up.

Also suggest writing to your MP too as you suggest.

scootermacc

Tina 222,

It appears that this business sector is not regulated by ANYBODY.

I recommend going to your MP.

In my attempts to get someone to help us thus far, I have tried:

Financial Ombudsman Service - cannot help as this company are not on their list of regulated companies.

Local Government Ombudsman - cannot help as they only handle complaints against councils.

OFT - only deal with complaints raised by organisations (not Joe Public) and refer all consumer complaints to:

Consumer Direct (they are the 'front end' for Trading Standards) – who replied to say they could not help with this issue as childcare vouchers is a government run scheme.

HM Revenue and Customs – who have no department dedicated to running childcare vouchers. Although they ‘approve’ the companies to run these employee schemes, it is impossible for them to direct me to a department responsible who I can complain to. Their Child Tax Credit department referred me to…

Ofsted – who told me they only cover the carers/nurseries, not the companies who provide the vouchers to pay them.

HM Treasury – who told me to write to Stephen Timms.

scootermacc

Surreysaver - the FSA told me that the Share trading arm of ComputerShare IS regulated by them, but unfortunately not the Childcare Vouchers company.

surreysaver wrote: »

It is not only if your childcare vouchers go through these people - if you hold employee share plans previoulsy managed by Lloyds you need to watch out too -

http://corporate.computershare.com/uk/news_media/Current%20News/Computershare%20completes%20acquisition%20of%20HBOS%20Employee%20Equity%20Solutions%20from%20Lloyds%20Banking%20Group.pdf

it would seem that this unregulated, incompetent company now has your shares as well as your childcare vouchers! No doubt sold down the road by this Government to cover them buying out Lloyds / HBOS. And its funny that no one has written to me, either my employer, Halifax or Computershare informing me of this.

Snarf999

Sounds like you've had a marginal amount of success. Our company has finally managed to change to another childcare voucher company, so hopefully we have a bit more success with them - they're even setting up a panel to learn lessons from what happened with Computershare!

YummyMummy123_3

Been havin problems with these IDIOTS for ages, longer than I care to remember. Was on the phone with them, again and I was asked something interesting, I was told that they're going to have a "get together" for a hour next monday (29th March) in Birmingham. They even said they'd donate £20 to charity (barnados I think she said). Apparently it's at 1pm and it's a chance to go an have your say. They want to get some feedback from us (apparently). Gotta say, a bit of face to face with some of these idiots would be great!! ring em an ask about it! I wish I wasn't working that day, they'd get a piece of my mind I tell you!!!

scootermacc

YummyMummy123 wrote: »

Been havin problems with these IDIOTS for ages, longer than I care to remember. Was on the phone with them, again and I was asked something interesting, I was told that they're going to have a "get together" for a hour next monday (29th March) in Birmingham. They even said they'd donate £20 to charity (barnados I think she said). Apparently it's at 1pm and it's a chance to go an have your say. They want to get some feedback from us (apparently). Gotta say, a bit of face to face with some of these idiots would be great!! ring em an ask about it! I wish I wasn't working that day, they'd get a piece of my mind I tell you!!!

Really? Did you go? Did anybody? We never heard about it which isn;t saying much.