A British woman who moved to Australia was left in tears after a customer service agent asked her “inappropriate” questions when she tried to resolve a problem with Centrelink.
In a TikTok video, Jordana Grace appeared distraught as she explained that Centrelink was adding interest to a debt she says she didn’t owe in the first place.
Ms Grace said she spent six-and-a-half hours on the phone with Services Australia, trying to sort out a problem she was having with welfare payments she received during the pandemic because she was out of work.
“As soon as I got a job, I let them know. I gave them all my details. I did everything to the letter,” he said. Your video.
‘Six months later, they told me: ‘They owe us all this money’ and I replied: ‘No, it’s not like that because here is the evidence.’
The Sunshine Coast, Queensland, radio presenter was told her case would be appealed, but four years later, that appeal has still not been concluded.
Earlier this week, Ms Grace spoke to customer service staff for hours, but none of them were able to help her.
Finally, one woman told her to call the debt line again and ask to speak to an “operations leader” because she was being charged interest on “debt she doesn’t owe.”
Briton Jordana Grace (pictured), who moved to Australia, cried after being asked “inappropriate” questions by a Centrelink customer service agent
Ms Grace, who often posts content about the differences between life in Australia and the UK, alleged that Centrelink had even taken money from her.
“They took money from my account without asking me, because they can do that, but apparently they can give it back to me,” she told her followers on social media.
She then called the debt services number again and asked to speak to an operations leader, but said the person she made the request to was not helpful at all.
“He kept ignoring me and at that point I started crying because it had been over five and a half hours,” she said.
I said, ‘Can I speak to an operations manager? That’s what I was advised to do for this list of reasons.’
“And he was like, ‘Give me your questions one by one’… he wasn’t that abrupt at first.”
Ms Grace said she again asked to speak to an operations manager, but the man asked her what she wanted and told her to “work with him” so he could help her.
“If you don’t work with me, I won’t help you,” he recalled telling her, which made her feel uncomfortable.
She said he then started asking her questions she found intrusive, such as “Don’t you have enough money? Don’t you have enough savings?”
After asking her how much she earned and what she did for a living, she said the man asked her about her expenses and medical conditions.
“I thought that was very inappropriate. You can’t ask me about my women’s issues. I asked again to speak to an operations manager, yes or no,” she said.
“He said he would give me my money back and call me back in two days. I told him I needed to speak to an operations manager because I needed to ask him about this interest.”
Ms Grace said he agreed, but then told her she would not receive a refund because of this.
It then turned out that the manager was not free to talk to her and she had to call back the next day.
Adding to her distress, the radio host said it was “that time of the month” and some people she loved were unwell.
“But five and a half hours? You’re the government! I asked politely to speak to an operations manager because that’s what your other departments advised me to do, and this guy didn’t even answer my questions,” she said.
In a TikTok video, Jordana Grace appeared distressed as she explained that Centrelink was adding interest to a debt she claimed she didn’t owe in the first place. The myGov app is shown
“And when I finally asked if I could speak to an operations manager, yes or no, he said ‘fine, but now you won’t get the refund.'”
Ms. Grace thought she was being punished for asking to speak to a manager, so she filed an official complaint.
In a statement sent to Daily Mail Australia, Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said: “While we are unable to comment on the specifics, we sincerely apologise for this poor service experience which was not up to our expected standards.
“We are reaching out to the customer to work with them to resolve these issues and are confident that our interactions will be more positive.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Grace for comment.