Liberata

Morglin

This company act for some local authorities in assessing Housing Benefits and Council Tax rebate. (And, I have read they are also involved with some banks)........:eek:

Never, never have I come across a company so lacking in training, good manners, efficiency or even the will to do the job they are paid to do.:mad:

I have just spent 5 months, and had to involve my MP sorting out a very simple change of circumstances.

They did it all wrong 3 times and then tried to make me pay them £500 as they had fouled it up, and lost money for the council whilst doing so.:mad:

Luckily, I know the law and I know my rights and I refused to give way, even after they told me to just to pay £200 as a "goodwill gesture" on their part.......yeah, yeah, but NO!

Their mistake, their loss and finally they have agreed that they would be breaking the statutory rules around overpayments if they pursued this with me....:T

This is the fifth time they have created chaos with me, despite the fact that all their forms are completed correctly, and all relevant verification is supplied by me - it should be simple.

I used to work in benefits and know how pressurised the job can be, but they are causing misery and stress across this county and others.

Widows, pensioners and others are being threatened with evictions and court because this firm seem incapable of processing a simple claim within a reasonable time, and doing it correctly.:rolleyes:

They closed their department for a month to install a new all-singing, all-dancing computer system that would stop all these problems.........yet, they appear unable to operate the damn thing.:mad:

They even ignored my MP when he wrote to them - and the council who employed them refuse to sort this unholy mess out.

To anyone having to deal with them, all I can say is persevere, send all letters RD, keep everything they send you tape all phone calls and stock up on the Prozac...........aarrgghh!:eek: :eek:

kuohu

A very long post without saying what they actually did wrong

peter_the_piper

kuohu wrote:

A very long post without saying what they actually did wrong

I think this is what the OP is referring to:-
"I have just spent 5 months, and had to involve my MP sorting out a very simple change of circumstances."

mrbnewc1

Kuohu

I'm not sure your comments were necessary. Sometimes it's best not to say what you're thinking...it's called tact.

kuohu

mrbnewc1 wrote:

Kuohu

I'm not sure your comments were necessary. Sometimes it's best not to say what you're thinking...it's called tact.

I think in a long post criticising a company/organisation it's reasonable to expect some clarity on what exactly they have done wrong, that's all. The one sentence that Peter refers to doesn't really explain it.

Morglin

Sorry - perhaps I didn't make it clear.

We had a change of circumstances in May which I notified.

They then informed us that the office was shut for a month as they wanted to install a new computer.

By July, we still hadn't heard and needed to sort out the rent/council tax payable.

I phoned and was told they couldn't cope with phone calls so their phones lines would only be open for 2 hours a week (and the office was still closed). I was also told they couldn't deal with mail.

In August I phoned again, and they finally sent the assessment which was wrong. They backdated it to May In the wrong amount), so I phoned them. They told me it couldn't be wrong. They then sent out another letter on Aug 18th (still wrong), followed by a letter stating that a visiting officer would call on the 21st Aug as we hadn't been reviewed for a year..........I phoned them and said we had just got their letter after the change of circs, and was told no, I hadn't..........(????)

The visiting officer turned up, said he'd been sent even though he was a surveyor, and didn't know how to check things anyway.

I got all the paperwork out, suggested that perhaps I would be better taking the papers down to the office (again), and was told I couldn't as he needed to check that we lived here.......eh? (Who let him in, then??)

He checked his figures and went.

A month later we recieved another letter from then telling us that we were no longer disabled. (With a "cure" rate like this, who needs Lourdes??)

We wnt to the office, and was told that they had drafted insomeone to troubleshoot this deapertment, and we saw this woman.

She agreed it was a foul up, agreed that my figures were right - and then said, now she'd put it right, the computer said we owed them £500 anyway.

No, I said.

Make it £200? she said

No., I said.

We owed them nothing, as we hadn't been getting anything..

As it had been reassessed wrong again - we then recieved letters from the CT telling us we were behind (we weren't) and threatening us with court action (great for our credit rating...:mad: )

Then until now was spent restraining Liberata from taking the money anyway out of the rebate they were now paying, by having to threaten them with the small claims court if they did.

The manager ignored letters, as did the council Head Of Finance, Head of the Council, a councillor and Liberata themselves.

Our MP intervened when I told him what was going on, and they ignored all of his letters.

Finally, by sheer luck, I waylaid the manager of this department and finally she agreed to help sort this out and forget me paying them money because they cannot do their job........this wasn't the first time they had delayed and mucked up my claims - they are so bad that even the reception staff sit there despairing at the chaos they cause with clients.

They haven't even got the excuse of my forms being incorrect - I worked and still work with benefits, and they are always spot on.

Finally, it's been done - but I do some benefits advocacy and I am just one of hundreds - this firm are just hopeless, and obviously a frail pensioner or a new widow getting an eviction or court letter because of delays or non payment of benefits can cause untoild distress.

Then, after getting nothing, they are sent letters by this firm demanding money back.

I understand councils hived off benefits to outside agencies - but the councils really need to look at what is happening and get some control back over the situation for their residents.

Hope my gripe is clear now.;)

kuohu

Certainly does sound like a catalogue of incompetence, bet you're glad it's over now. The aggravation is one thing but threats of court action is something else and I hope your credit rating hasn't been affected by it (have you tried one of those free trials mentioned on the site where you can check your credit score?).

On the bigger picture, with this experience and also your experience of working in benefits, what is the answer? Greater control, as you say, but does that mean yet more managers (overheads) and red tape? More accountability somehow? (If I get bad customer service at Tesco I can complain and something will be done). Indeed should departments like this be farmed out at all, or is that a red herring argument? Seems like something has to be done.

lynzpower

have you informed the person/ team at your local authority in the procurement/. outsourcing team. As they should be managing "performance" of the contractor.

No one ever really does this, and I tihnk its terrible, how is the local authority to know. After all they have got to meet best value criteria and so on. Not that this is really going to help YOU but in time it creates a picture of whether this profit making company is fit to work for the taxpayer.

Morglin

lynzpower wrote:

have you informed the person/ team at your local authority in the procurement/. outsourcing team. As they should be managing "performance" of the contractor.

No one ever really does this, and I tihnk its terrible, how is the local authority to know. After all they have got to meet best value criteria and so on. Not that this is really going to help YOU but in time it creates a picture of whether this profit making company is fit to work for the taxpayer.

Yes, I have written 3 times to the local authority, and I personally know many other people have done the same thing.

They ignore letters and EMails - as far as I see it, in common with other LA's, this council has employed the cheapest option without checking they can actually do the job.:mad:

Which, in the end, costs the council MORE money.

I'm just glad I finally got this sorted before Christmas - I really had reached the end of my patience with them and was very near throttling someone.........;)