How do I escalate this pass the call centre at Bolton

dizzydusty

This is driving me insane!

I put a special payment request in to the CSA last June for arrears, which they acknowledge they received.

They couldn't action it until my change of circumstances had been actioned as the case is clerical and apparently only one case worker at a time can have the papers.

After questioning why I had not had a response in November 09 as the change was dealt with in September, I received a call back and was told that it would now be actioned within 12 weeks... its now March and still nothing.

Now I have phoned regularly and in the last 3-4 weeks have asked for callbacks regarding this and have been promised them. However I have never had the call backs as promised. Both have now been recorded on the 'failed call back list' and promised a 48 hour call back, the last one noted on Friday. I still have not had my call back and understandably am getting really fed up with this now.

They have until 6pm tonight as I have now been told that saturday and sunday dont count as they dont work weekends - strange that, wasn't told that by the person I spoke to last Friday!

I am going to phone them before I go home tonight as I don't expect to get the call back. But this will be to the call centre as I have no other contact number for them. I fully expect this then to be logged and escallated and another call back promised .... but when does it end?? How do I actually get to speak to someone who is working on my special payment request or isn't as I think the case is!

I also submitted a complaint via e mail 2 weeks ago. When I asked how this was progressing I was told by the call centre that someone should have called me back, but if I've not heard within 10 working days then they may not have accepted my complaint to be a complaint and done nothing with it, including letting me know. Is it just me or is this just unbelievably bad customer service, and completely against there own complaint process as indicated on their website!

I shouldn't be amazed by the CSA as I have had a long running CS1 case with them, but I am ..... Unbelievable.

Dizzy

MrAverage

When dealing with anything, I have found Bolton to be the most inept at doing anything. Callbacks never arrive, you speak to different members of staff who give you different advice. No consistency to their advice at all.
Oh and when you send in original documents, they lose them so beware not to send these in.

MrAverage

My advice is find your local MP, email them. 2 weeks later I had a letter and phone calls.

edinjac

I have to deal with Bolton as well becasue my case went clerical. My money keeps getting "stuck" in the system. I emailed to complaints in to them but they were never treated as complaints as they said they were trying to get the money to me. I then wrote to the Correspondence Unit in London and they forwarded my complaint to the complaints unit. Funny because then i received a payment.

However the same thing happened last month, this time i complained to the Chief Executive and the complaint has now ended back at the complaints unit. i was meant to receive a 5 day call abck about 3 weeks ago and another one 2 weeks ago still waiting. i am also waiting on a 48 hour call back which is up tonight.

The woman who dealt with my complaint told me that Bolton are only a call centre like everything else and they can only tell you what they see on their screens.

I still don't have the money from last month!!

bonjovibel_729

edinjac wrote: »

I have to deal with Bolton as well becasue my case went clerical. My money keeps getting "stuck" in the system. I emailed to complaints in to them but they were never treated as complaints as they said they were trying to get the money to me. I then wrote to the Correspondence Unit in London and they forwarded my complaint to the complaints unit. Funny because then i received a payment.

However the same thing happened last month, this time i complained to the Chief Executive and the complaint has now ended back at the complaints unit. i was meant to receive a 5 day call abck about 3 weeks ago and another one 2 weeks ago still waiting. i am also waiting on a 48 hour call back which is up tonight.

The woman who dealt with my complaint told me that Bolton are only a call centre like everything else and they can only tell you what they see on their screens.

I still don't have the money from last month!!

this sounds exactly the same as my case there was a fault and it went clerical i waited 6mnths to get any money kept calling every few days and made complaint after complaint and dont get me started on call backs or lack of lol.....i have to ring up every month as my payment also gets stuck on a different system im still waiting for febs payment and the march one is due on 19th lol unless they manually allocate it to me it the payment stays there indefinitely....their system is ridiculous...

Blue_Elephant

For the Special Payment request - have there been 3 regular consecutive payments of the correct amount? They won't action the request unless that has happened.

What was the change of circumstances and have you heard anything since the call telling you it would be 12 weeks? If you have requested callback after callback included escalations and these have not been delivered, put a complaint in (the call centre staff can take this) or put it in writing regarding timescales being breached and multiple promises. If you do it over the phone, ask the staff to check if it will be accepted as an actual complaint and ask why if they say no.

What did you put in your original complaint? Also ask them what date the system states the case was allocated to a team/caseworker to do the Change of circumstances? If this is being done, no one can be dealing with the special payment as its a clerical case file so only one person can work it at once!

If you have payments going onto a different system, find out why. If it's because someone's been a numpty and hasn't changed the reference number to pay the money in, that's one cause for example.

My advice with trying to get past the call centre is to make a list of specific questions you want answers to before you make the call so you don't forget what you want to know because you've got frustrated. eg. What is happening now? When can i expect that done by? What will happen then? What is the time scale for that? When can I expect a letter? When can I expect the next payment? What will happen to my SPT referral then? and so on. Don't confuse them by explaining your situation then expecting them to just sort it.... *rolls eyes*

dizzydusty

As guess what... I didn't get my promised callback.

The staff memeber I spoke too escallated this up the line to manger level, which now means I have to wait up to another 5 working days for them to call me back... or not as the pattern seems to be. I ended up speaking to her supervisor as I wouldn't accept the timescale, who indicated that there appears to have been nothing at all done with my request and could only repeat parrot fashion that mangers have 5 working days to respond.

Now I appreciate Bolton is a call centre, but my god, how long does it take to actually get to speak to someone who allegedly knows what they are doing on your case??

My argument now is, if only one person can work on a clerical case at a time, given the timescales I have been quoted for a basic change of circumstances ( 12 weeks for the change, 12 weeks for quality to have it and clear it) and god only knows how long finance have to have it for to actually get some money taken from the NRP, then my NRP only has to report 2 change of circumstances a year for my special payment request never to get actioned... this is bordering on the completely rediculous!

Not only that but if he were smart enough and reported a change of circumstances at least once a quarter, I would never receive any money as my case would be in a permanent state of someone taking 12 weeks to action a change of circumstances. My NRP doesn't pay maintenance without an up to date assessment so as a result I last received payment in early November and apparently there is nothing I or the CSA can do to encourage him to pay while an assessment is being carried out.

I too suffer money going to the wrong system as I unfortunately have an old CS1 case this is inspite of numerous assurances that action had been taken to stop this from happening.

Ive had issues on my CS1 case that eventualy exhausted the complaints procedure and went to ICE with a positive result, however you need to be able to escallate the complaint in order to get to the point you can send it to ICE...how on earth can you do that if they just ignore the complaint because they dont think its a complaint and dont bother letting you know!!

Dizzy

edinjac

i still haven't had my money for February and still no call back, i will call them tomorrow again and see what's happening.

Also they only have until next Friday to deal with my complaint. it will be interesting to see whta they come up with this time!!

MrAverage

Get your MP involved, you will get a response!
Works for me!

edinjac

MrAverage wrote: »

Get your MP involved, you will get a response!
Works for me!

I have done in the past and she was useless. However they are trying to get heer out so if we get a new one i will be straight there

Kimitatsu

Sorry DD I dint read this properly the other day - even if only one officer can have the paperwork it should be accessible by all of them on the computer system so thats a load of rubbish!

My case went clerical and has now ended up somewhere in Scotland but it all happened quickly and I asked for the name of my case worker and their direct line. Everyone should have a named officer so next time you get to the call centre ask them for that and make a note of it, if they are not available then ask for their manager and when they are in, then make sure you give them a call rather than any old manager. In my experience thats the only thing that really works!

I was also given the tip that if you call between 12 and 2 then they are changing shifts so there are usually more people to answer the phones and help with your case - dont know how true it is, but you may get a manager on the end of the phone if you try!

Good luck