Bureaucracy Problem With Government Dept.

[ro2124]

I am currently doing battle with British bureaucracy which unfortunately I am losing at the moment.
Basically story is like this. I am an ex paratrooper and was discharged from the forces after a serious parachute accident. I have received a pension in compensation and this has been paid for many years without problems.
In fact the pension is in two parts. One paid by the Veterans Agency and the other part by an organisation called Equiniti Paymaster , which I think is the old Paymaster General which probably has been privatised now.
And of course anything privatised in UK is usually an utter shambles!
The problem started a few months ago when I changed bank accounts after moving abroad and my bank account is now with a major bank in Prague, Czech Republic.
And the new account is actually in Pounds Sterling which should make things easier, one would have thought.
I then wrote to both organisations to request my pension be paid into this new account from now, which I would have thought is a relatively simple matter by electronic bank transfer as before.
And in fact the Veterans Agency did this without any problems at all and I have been receiving payments from them for three months now.
However that other bunch at Equiniti Paymaster, have caused me nothing but problems.
They said we cannot pay pensions into bank accounts in Europe by electronic transfer!
I said are you serious? This is the 21st century in Europe and you cannot do a simple bank transfer? (Perhaps someone forgot to tell them we have been in the EU since 1973)
Unbelievable!
So after weeks and weeks of fruitless email exchanges, they finally said well under the circumstances we can do it now, so thought Hooray, problem finally solved! Hah. I should have known bloody better!
I informed them that I have an account in pounds sterling which should be a simple matter and what did they say? Sorry, we can’t pay you in pounds it has to be in Czech Krona.
I said look, my account is in Pounds, not bloody Krona.
But they won’t budge and refuse to pay, saying they can not pay in pounds.
I said are you people serious? You are a major government organisation in a country which has the Pound as its currency and you’re trying to tell me you cannot do a simple electronic bank transfer to a major European bank in pounds to another pound account?
Frankly I am speechless!
What makes it even more irritating is that the Veterans Agency had no problems with this whatsoever, but these idiots cannot seem to manage the most simple basic services.
Christ, bank transfers have been around for decades and decades and they can’t manage it in 2015 - and in pounds which makes it even more ridiculous.
Maybe I have accidentally wandered into a Monty Python sketch or something I don’t know, but I am at my wits end!
This has been going on for months and months and they stubbornly refuse to pay the pension I am entitled to.
First its, Oh we we can’t pay you by electronic transfer, then its OK we can now, but we can not pay in pounds...as I said Monty Python job!
I am at my wits end with these people and it is now causing me some serious financial problems and I may even end up losing my property, because of these dimwits.
Any advice on this from anyone, who has had similar bureaucrat problems would be welcome!

[Canary42]

Write to your MP.

[fiction-factory]

Rather than risk losing your property would you be able to get by for a period if they paid you in Czech Krona while you try to get this sorted.

[bednobs]

if they can't do it, they can't do it so you'l either ned to 1) get them to pay it into your uk bank acount (if you stil have one) or 2) open a Krona bank acount to get it paid into

[ro2124]

@bednobs

>if they can't do it, they can't do it

Question is why cant they manage it when the Veterans Agency can!
They are both Government Depts dealing with armed forces pensions.

>so you'l either ned to 1) get them to pay it into your uk bank acount (if you ?stil have one)

I already said I dont- have changed accounts to CZ!

or 2) open a Krona bank acount to get it paid into

Do not see why I should have to. I am British and want to be paid in pounds as I have been before for many years - and anyway I am currently in the Caribbean, not in CZ, so cant open another account in Krona.

[fiction-factory]

If you live in Prague maybe you'll soon adapt to being paid in Krona. It may be worth giving it a try, as frustrating as it may be, rather than risk losing a property over a matter of principle

[bednobs]

"why should i have to" errrrr ... because you want to get paid?

[bob561941]

If you live in Prague you are going to need the local currency.
I know how you feel,I could write a book about the various problems I've had with various government departments lately, I got my local MP on one case which has now been sorted.It won't cost you anything to write to your MP and as there is an election coming up he/she will be anxious to help.

[ro2124]

@bob56.....
>If you live in Prague you are going to need the local currency.

well actually I am not living in Prague, lived there before, when I had business in Prague, but as I said I am in Caribbean now for a year or so.

=========
@bednobs

"why should i have to" errrrr ... because you want to get paid?

Why dont you try reading posts before making sarcastic comments? As I said do not have Krona account it is in pounds, so needs to be paid in Pounds.
and as I said in Caribbean now, so can not open Krona account!! Which part of that do you not understand?
The old saying "engage brain before opening mouth comes to mind"!

[FrogNog]

It sounds like you want the best of every world and when it is suggested otherwise you get rude about it.
If you want to get paid by them, you will have to abide by the rules they lay down.
How about YOU engage your brain you rude man.

[ro2124]

@FrogNog
>It sounds like you want the best of every world and when it is suggested >otherwise you get rude about it.

Best of both worlds? what the hell are you talking about.
I am trying to find a solution to a problem and some of the suggestions made were just not practical given the circumstances. And the guy I replied to was just making sarcastic comments, unlike the other posters who tried to give constructive advice.
This is supposed to be a site where people try to help, if the only contribution some people can offer is sarky comments, then there are plenty of Troll sites they can indulge their passion in.
As for "rules are rules" yeah well some us do not agree with every rule some bureaucrats bring out, which are often there not to make things easier for people but to obstruct them.
As I already said the Veterans agency are completely different and were very helpful from the start. If they can solve it the Paymaster bunch surely can manage it too if they wanted.

[scorpiojo]

//and my bank account is now with a major bank in Prague, Czech Republic//?

[FrogNog]

Your aggressive stance is more trollish than anything Bednobs said.
Anyway, it seems the czech republic is not on the listed of countries mandated to accept thee payments, so maybe that's causing a massive headache to them.
It's not bits of paper anymore. Your request might simply not be possible on their computer systems.
Here's the list:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-pensions-payment-mandates#history

[boxtops]

why don't you have it paid into a UK bank account, then transfer it across to the Czech bank each month?

[fiction-factory]

In my experience some battles are not worth fighting and getting too worked-up over. Maybe things would be easier if the bank account were in your current country- in the Caribbean

[ro2124]

>Anyway, it seems the czech republic is not on the listed of countries >mandated to accept thee payments, so maybe that's causing a massive headache to them.

Oh Yeah, a headache apparently the Veterans agency does not have, they managed it without any problem at all.
They are both departments dealing with pensions, if one can do it does defy logic, that the other can not.

>It's not bits of paper anymore. Your request might simply not be possible >on their computer systems.

Looks like they could do with an upgrade then! This is supposed to be Europe in the 21 century and a large government organsiation can not make a simple bank transfer?
All that is needed for electronic transfer is an account Number, Iban and Swift, if you do that it does not really matter what currency it is in. If they can do it in Krona, there is no reason it can not be done in pounds.
As the Veterans agency conclusively proved!!!!

[ro2124]

@fiction-factory

>In my experience some battles are not worth fighting and getting too >worked-up over. Maybe things would be easier if the bank account were in your >current country- in the Caribbean

My God, they can not even manage Europe whilst being part of EU !
I dread to think what would happen if I asked them to send it to Caribbean!

[fiction-factory]

It's the people who administer the payments or the banks you need to persuade- we are all just trying to help but clearly failing

[ro2124]

@fiction-factory

>It's the people who administer the payments or the banks you need to >persuade-
Yeah well I managed to partly persuade them at least! They've gone from No we cant pay at all by transfer- which was clearly not true as after many mails suddenly it changes to - ermm we actually can, but in Krona So will keep at them and eventually they may budge and pay in pounds. We will see!

>we are all just trying to help but clearly failing

Yes I know and it is appreciated :-)

[bednobs]

i am not trying to be rude or obtuse. It just sems fairky simple to me - if you want your money to get paid to you, then do it in a maner that they can acomodate. If they can't change their way of paying, then you have to change your way of receiving

[ro2124]

Actually just had another mail from them "We are unable to pay to your Czech bank in Stirling"

Which of course would not be a great surprise as there is no such thing!

UK currency is Pound Sterling last time I looked. Christ, if they cant even spell their own currency correctly, guess not much hope they can manage a bank transfer.