Mycsp

fedupwith_everything

I placed this in the benefits forum but it was suggested I move it here.
I had read several bad stories about Mycsp all of them seemed to be in the past. They administer my deferred civil service pension. This is my experience with them. Now all I wanted was a pensions forecast. Royal Mail, I have a small occupational pension entitlement with them as well manage this every year. When I've contacted Royal Mail they have been polite and dealt with my query quickly. Ok so here we go I left the civil service in 2001 i'm now 56 in the intervening years my life has been up and down I've moved many times and even been homeless. I was contacted a few years ago by the previous administrator but that letter is "filed" somewhere and I can not locate it along with some paperwork. The first letter I possess physically is dated 02/07/15. This is a list of my requests for a forecast from MyCSP initially for a forecast then for advice on my marriage certificate.
1 An E-mail was sent to them on 03/12/14 requesting a statement.
2 I received an automated acknowledgment the same day.
I didn’t get a statement.
3 On 02/07/15 I received a letter giving me the current value of my annual pension and lump sum but not a forecast of payment at 60.
4 On 16/11/2016 I sent an E-mail request asking for a statement. Apparently MyCSP do not send out annual statements, unlike Royal Mail.
5 On 22/11/2016 I received a letter from MyCSP with exactly the same figures as the previous letter
6 On 23/11/2016 I had an E-mail from MyCSP telling me my query about the current value of my pension had been passed to the pension “experts” who aim to have this issued within 40 working days..
I had asked for a forecast, but never mind I didn’t get anything anyway.
7 On 24/11/2016 I asked them what details they would need as I re-married in September
8 On 28/11 2016 I received a reply a reply saying they needed sight of my marriage certificate
9 On 20/12/2016 I sent an E-mail with a scan of my marriage certificate.
10 On 14/05/2017 after no response I E-mailed MyCSP asking them to explain why the figures on the two letters were the same, asking yet again for a forecast and asking if the marriage certificate had been processed.
11 On the 26/05/2017 I sent a letter asking the same thing yet again.
12 On 13/06/2017 I sent a recorded delivery letter, which they received on 15/05/2017, complaining that I had not had any reply to any of my communications in 2017.
This resulted in..Nothing happening
13 On 23/06/2017 I sent yet another E-mail to the complaints officer telling them if it was not sorted out in a matter of days I would complain to the CEO, the pensions ombudsman and my MP (I believe the Cabinet office still has links with this company.
14 On 26/062017 I had a reply formally acknowledging my letter, Confirming they had all my requests and that the timescale for a statement was 40 days.
So it is now 15/07/2017 I still have no apology. I have no confirmation about my marriage certificate and obviously no forecast.

hyubh

fedupwith_everything wrote: »

So it is now 15/07/2017 I still have no apology. I have no confirmation about my marriage certificate and obviously no forecast.

At the end of the day you'll only be due an apology and perhaps a minor payment to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused, however you should raise a formal complaint according to the scheme's 'internal dispute resolution procedure'. The details are here:

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/complaints/idr-faqs/

As the link documents, there are two possible stages, the first where MyCSP themselves respond and the second the Cabinet Office, acting as a higher authority. If the matter still isn't resolved after that, you would take it to the Pensions Ombudsman:

https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/our-service/make-a-complaint/

maisie_cat

I asked them for information in October 2014 for 2 periods of Civil Service employment.
I chased them in December 2014, then March, July and October 2015. I raised a new query in May 2016, and finally received a letter telling me they were working on it in October with a deadline to contact me of 3rd December 2016.
I'm still waiting, although I will need to start chasing them again as I retire in 6 years

fedupwith_everything

Thanks you for the link. I assumed as I had made a complaint to the complaints officer it would be treated as such I had not noticed this on their web site. The reply from the complaints officer fails to mention this. As a matter of course you would have thought an apology would be offered and I am £1.75 out of pocket for the recorded delivery letter I sent so I could have proof they were just ignoring me.

OldBeanz

They probably do not issue forecasts as your pension will be whatever it is now, plus CPI.
This article states that you need to send the original wedding certificate and not a scan
http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/209946/deferred-abs-guide-v12.pdf
I do empathise with you in having to deal with MyCSP.

xylophone

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/members/deferred/information-for-deferred-members/


Deferred members can request a statement of their deferred benefits at any time. To do this, please contact us Please note: If you request more than one statement a year there may be a charge.

Mind you, they don't say they'll respond to the request!:(

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/72841384#Comment_72841384

You could contact your MP.

fedupwith_everything

This is the E-mail from them 28/11/2016:
"Good Morning,
Thank you for your recent email.
In order for us to update your records we require sight of your marriage certificate. Please either send this to:
MyCSP
PO Box 2017
Liverpool
L69 2BU
or send it via email with a scanned image attached"
The Royal Mail pension website advises you to send the certificate which I did and they processed and returned by recorded delivery within days. If an employee tells me that I can send a scan I will assume that is correct. Royal Mail also manage to provide an updated forecast every year
On the advice of Hyubh I have requested an IDR (internal dispute resolution form ) by E-mail today let's see if that turns up.

OldBeanz

As with any customer facing monkey most of them are badly trained. Best to do as the web site says and as you did with RM.
MyCSP do not provide an update forecast every year unless your request it. The Government Pension Advisor suggests "Annual benefit statements (ABS) are critical in enabling members to effectively plan or make decisions about retirement." I did Email them that on my wife's behalf.
They then struggle to let you know the value of your pension if you want to draw it before 60 (you need to use proprietary software and do it yourself.)
I am in dispute with them as they overpaid me (allegedly) so their tardiness is working to my advantage (now 2 years on since I applied for it so as the ball is their court and having asked to go through the complaints procedure). I threatened to write to my MP in March. Hence why I empathise.
I do struggle to see how a forecast based on 3% inflation which will give you a 3% pay rise will give you any more information than you have at present. You have inflation protection (ok there is an argument over RPI and CPI) so you can assume you will have similar buying capability.

fedupwith_everything

OldBeanz. Unlike the Royal Mail site I find it not overly easy to discover what I'm looking for on the Mycsp site. Which is why I contacted them to ask and I sent an E-mail so there is a records. of what they have informed me. The complaints officer never mentioned they need physical sight of an original certificate. The site seems to being used to tout for business as opposed to being dedicated to PCPS customers. I assume the are not on Farcebook because if they did unsatisfied "customers" like me would be describing their crap service for the world to see. Whilst they may not automatically give out annual statements that is what I want. Just like I request a forecast of my state pension every year. I have never had a PCSPS statement to my recollection so I have in my mind no figure with a date relating to it that I can use as a baseline. I assume they are loath to give out statements as it cuts their operating costs rather than providing a service. . When I left the Department in 2001 I was on detached duty acting up and bailing them out again.and was basically on my own. Therefore I have a figure which is the same figure over two different financial years on a letter but no idea if this applies to the deferred figure when I left or just pulled out of thin air.

fedupwith_everything

"If you wish to update your personal information you should send an email to contactcentre@mycsp.co.uk attaching copies of any supporting documentation.
Please note we will always need original documentation if your request is in relation
to changing your name. " From Mycsp site as per link.
Which is what I did I'm not changing my name so they don't need original documentation.

hyubh

fedupwith_everything wrote: »

The site seems to being used to tout for business as opposed to being dedicated to PCPS customers.

The MyCSP site is a just a corporate site for the company, yes, although when you go to the homepage, there is a banner at the top to take you to the scheme site, still maintained by the Cabinet Office (http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk).

Whilst they may not automatically give out annual statements that is what I want.

Realistically, they are going to do what they have to do. Private sector DB schemes have had to issue active annual benefit statements since 2014/5, LGPS funds have had to issue both active and deferred ABSs since 2014/5, but the unfunded public sector schemes (like the CSPS) have had to issue active ABSs only from a few years back.

I have never had a PCSPS statement to my recollection so I have in my mind no figure with a date relating to it that I can use as a baseline.

Surely you've had a statement of deferred/preserved benefits on leaving? Chase for a copy if you don't have it to hand.

When I left the Department in 2001 I was on detached duty acting up and bailing them out again.and was basically on my own.

Hmm, be careful, the concept of 'acting up' is purely informal in at least small and medium enterprise private sector land ;-) Public sector: formally 'act up', get paid according to the next grade up, with a reasonable chance of making this permanent. Private sector: informally 'act up' with no direct benefit; hope to make a big pay jump in the next salary review (which may actually happen... or may not...).