Civil Service pensions - payment delays

[kaiserphil]

Civil Service payments have been held up for a number of pensioners living abroad. Unknown to me, as I never received a letter, responsibility for pension administration and payment has been transferred from "Crapita" to a shambles called "MyCPS".

For anyone who may be affected, below is an article from the Guardian of Saturday last, and a link to the MyCSP website. Don't bother with the number for overseas callers, that has been invalidated, I assume because they received a large number of complaints. I suspect that the problem is far greater than they would have us believe.

You need to call the 0300 number.

http://www.theguardian.com/public-leade ... pensioners

http://www.mycsp.co.uk/schemes/the-part ... model.aspx

The Guardian article has an email addy.

[guru]

Yep, MyCSP .....totally clueless.

[waddo]

Their most common excuse is that it takes three days to clear the payments to your bank because you live overseas!!! If you take into account the weekend as well it can take up to five days to clear your pension into your UK account if you live overseas! Now just who is making all the interest on the late transfer funds that sit in the MYCSP accounts?

When/if you try to call you will first hear a message that tells you that due to large numbers of people calling you are in a waiting que - now for the good bit, it matters not what time you call you are always going to wait for 15 minutes - they are only open Monday to Friday between 08:30 and 18:00 by the way so don't try to ring at 08:25 because guess what? Yep, you will get the same message telling you that you have to wait for 15 minutes!!!!

Once you do get through to and administrator - after having been cut off the first six or seven times after waiting anything up to 19 minutes - they are very efficient and will sort out your problems and payments for you - WITHIN 3 WORKING DAYS - and if you want to complain then they have 4 months to reply in, by which time you have starved to death and now your nominated beneficiary can take up the fight.......

And they got rid of Capita because it was not doing a good job???? Its just like being back at work - lol.

[kaiserphil]

Here are a couple of blogs that are interesting. I am going to call one of the names mentioned and see how I get on.

http://poitoucharentes.angloinfo.com/fo ... nsions/102

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... &t=4993164

Now a third of the way through November, and I should have been paid on the 1st.

[kaiserphil]

The Guardian has had a lot of response to their article, and are planning a follow-up.

One staff member who has apparently been quite helpful to people who have managed to bypass the call centre seems to have been silenced. He now says he "no longer deals with enquiries", and an email I sent him this morning has bounced back.

What a shambles!

[Shell232]

I am glad I have 16 more years to wait till mine kicks in, they may have it sorted by then!

[kaiserphil]

I am glad I have 16 more years to wait till mine kicks in, they may have it sorted by then!

I wouldn't hold your breath Shell.

I just spoke to a call centre operative who said that the company line is that the Guardian are being unfair, as MyCSP should be given 6 months to settle-in. Meanwhile while they are settling in there are thousands of people without their pensions.

Mine was due on the first of the month and there is no sign of it.