Post by bear on Sept 8, 2021 20:21:02 GMT 7
Daughter’s anger as late mother hit with decade-old $1,600 welfare bill, but jobkeeper companies keep cash
Exclusive: The debt issued to Tarnya Widdicombe’s mother was later wiped and blamed on a ‘mistake’ after inquiries from Guardian Australia
A Perth woman has said she felt “ill” after Centrelink pursued her late mother’s estate over a $1,600 welfare debt it claimed was caused by her failure to lodge a form more than a decade ago.
At the same time the Morrison government was declining to claw back funds from profitable businesses that got jobkeeper, Centrelink issued Tarnya Widdicombe’s mother, Marthea, 72, with a $1,630.91 debt dating back 12 years.
The debt – which was later wiped and blamed on a “mistake” after inquiries from Guardian Australia – was detailed in letter sent to Marthea on 2 June.
Tarnya Widdicombe discovered the letter after her mother’s death last month. In bold type it stated: “You need to act now” and warned Widdicombe’s mother she would “now be charged interest daily”.
“If you delay paying, your debt may increase,” the letter said.
While the letter gave plenty of information about various ways Centrelink could recover the debt – by sending it to an external debt collector or garnisheeing her tax return, for example – it was scant on details about why Widdicombe owed the money.
It said only that the debt in question was for overpaid Centrelink payments between 9 January and 7 March 2009 and listed the reason for the debt as: “failed obligation: form not lodged”.
“I did contact Centrelink in that first week after she died,” Widdicombe told Guardian Australia. “The bill made me livid, I don’t know why, it just did.
“I asked what the form they were asking for was, told them that she passed away, and they said given those circumstances, they would assess the appropriateness of whether to chase the debt.”
Widdicombe said the agency was only able to say the debt related to her mother’s failure to lodge a Newstart form. Newstart is the old name for the jobseeker payment.
Widdicombe, who works for the Western Australian government, said she was surprised when only a few days later she received a new letter, addressed to her as the executor of her mothers’ estate, reasserting the debt.
She was so enraged she said she ripped it up into four pieces, thinking she would later sticky tape it back together. But she later returned and tore it up further into “15,000 pieces”.
“I did regret it but it was so cathartic at the time,” she said.
Widdicombe said her mother had worked all her life as an IT consultant, except for a short period of about six months when she had been unemployed.
Given the family was in a comfortable position financially, it was not so much the money but the principle of chasing an older woman over a supposed debt from more than a decade ago that angered her.
That was compounded by the fact her mother had also now died and yet it appeared Centrelink still wanted to recoup the money.
“Initially I felt quite ill,” Widdicombe said of finding the letter. “Because I know my mother was a very proud woman and I know this would have caused her a lot of stress and humiliation.
“I spoke to her best friend who she told everything to and she didn’t know anything about it.
“It’s so inappropriate to be chasing up the non-lodgement of a form that is that old when people are not required to hold records that long.”
Guardian Australia revealed last month the government was chasing nearly 12,000 people over debts caused by the alleged overpayment of jobkeeper and welfare payments, while refusing to claw back money from profitable businesses that incorrectly forecast a downturn in revenue to claim the wage subsidy.
Although businesses were required to predict a drop in revenue to get the subsidy, the law never stipulated that they would need to repay the funds if the projections did not materialise.
The government argues it would be unfair to change the law now, but welfare recipients, like age pensioner Jan Raabe, have suggested those receiving Centrelink payments are not given the same leniency.
Notably, the government also changed the law in 2017 to give it greater powers to recoup historical welfare debts. It did so by removing a six-year statute of limitations on welfare debts, according to the social security guide.
Services Australia generally does not comment on individual cases.
However, its spokesman Hank Jongen said the “letters were sent in error”.
“We’re following up with Ms Widdicombe to apologise and confirm that no debt exists and therefore no repayments from the estate are required,” he said in a statement.
“This related to circumstances originating in 2009 and wasn’t a new debt raising activity.
“We regret this mistake at such a difficult time for the Widdicombe family.”
But Widdicombe said she did not believe the debt was raised as a “mistake”.
She said when she had contacted Centrelink about the debt, the staff member had given no indication the letters had been sent by mistake or the debt had been raised in error.
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/08/daughters-anger-as-late-mother-hit-with-decade-old-1600-welfare-bill-but-jobkeeper-companies-keep-cash
Exclusive: The debt issued to Tarnya Widdicombe’s mother was later wiped and blamed on a ‘mistake’ after inquiries from Guardian Australia
A Perth woman has said she felt “ill” after Centrelink pursued her late mother’s estate over a $1,600 welfare debt it claimed was caused by her failure to lodge a form more than a decade ago.
At the same time the Morrison government was declining to claw back funds from profitable businesses that got jobkeeper, Centrelink issued Tarnya Widdicombe’s mother, Marthea, 72, with a $1,630.91 debt dating back 12 years.
The debt – which was later wiped and blamed on a “mistake” after inquiries from Guardian Australia – was detailed in letter sent to Marthea on 2 June.
Tarnya Widdicombe discovered the letter after her mother’s death last month. In bold type it stated: “You need to act now” and warned Widdicombe’s mother she would “now be charged interest daily”.
“If you delay paying, your debt may increase,” the letter said.
While the letter gave plenty of information about various ways Centrelink could recover the debt – by sending it to an external debt collector or garnisheeing her tax return, for example – it was scant on details about why Widdicombe owed the money.
It said only that the debt in question was for overpaid Centrelink payments between 9 January and 7 March 2009 and listed the reason for the debt as: “failed obligation: form not lodged”.
“I did contact Centrelink in that first week after she died,” Widdicombe told Guardian Australia. “The bill made me livid, I don’t know why, it just did.
“I asked what the form they were asking for was, told them that she passed away, and they said given those circumstances, they would assess the appropriateness of whether to chase the debt.”
Widdicombe said the agency was only able to say the debt related to her mother’s failure to lodge a Newstart form. Newstart is the old name for the jobseeker payment.
Widdicombe, who works for the Western Australian government, said she was surprised when only a few days later she received a new letter, addressed to her as the executor of her mothers’ estate, reasserting the debt.
She was so enraged she said she ripped it up into four pieces, thinking she would later sticky tape it back together. But she later returned and tore it up further into “15,000 pieces”.
“I did regret it but it was so cathartic at the time,” she said.
Widdicombe said her mother had worked all her life as an IT consultant, except for a short period of about six months when she had been unemployed.
Given the family was in a comfortable position financially, it was not so much the money but the principle of chasing an older woman over a supposed debt from more than a decade ago that angered her.
That was compounded by the fact her mother had also now died and yet it appeared Centrelink still wanted to recoup the money.
“Initially I felt quite ill,” Widdicombe said of finding the letter. “Because I know my mother was a very proud woman and I know this would have caused her a lot of stress and humiliation.
“I spoke to her best friend who she told everything to and she didn’t know anything about it.
“It’s so inappropriate to be chasing up the non-lodgement of a form that is that old when people are not required to hold records that long.”
Guardian Australia revealed last month the government was chasing nearly 12,000 people over debts caused by the alleged overpayment of jobkeeper and welfare payments, while refusing to claw back money from profitable businesses that incorrectly forecast a downturn in revenue to claim the wage subsidy.
Although businesses were required to predict a drop in revenue to get the subsidy, the law never stipulated that they would need to repay the funds if the projections did not materialise.
The government argues it would be unfair to change the law now, but welfare recipients, like age pensioner Jan Raabe, have suggested those receiving Centrelink payments are not given the same leniency.
Notably, the government also changed the law in 2017 to give it greater powers to recoup historical welfare debts. It did so by removing a six-year statute of limitations on welfare debts, according to the social security guide.
Services Australia generally does not comment on individual cases.
However, its spokesman Hank Jongen said the “letters were sent in error”.
“We’re following up with Ms Widdicombe to apologise and confirm that no debt exists and therefore no repayments from the estate are required,” he said in a statement.
“This related to circumstances originating in 2009 and wasn’t a new debt raising activity.
“We regret this mistake at such a difficult time for the Widdicombe family.”
But Widdicombe said she did not believe the debt was raised as a “mistake”.
She said when she had contacted Centrelink about the debt, the staff member had given no indication the letters had been sent by mistake or the debt had been raised in error.
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/08/daughters-anger-as-late-mother-hit-with-decade-old-1600-welfare-bill-but-jobkeeper-companies-keep-cash