“Sam’s” payment had been reduced to just $200/fortnight because he had to repay a Centrelink debt of $50,000.
The debt was raised due to numerous unexplained deposits in Sam’s credit card account; deposits which Centrelink considered to be income.
Sam had memory and cognitive problems due to a brain tumour, he could not explain what was in his account and he was distressed and confused by the debt notice.
BRQ immediately got Sam back on full payment as it was a year since the last unexplained deposit and Centrelink had wrongly coded his ongoing income.
After our painstaking review of Sam’s accounts, we were able to show that 90% of the deposits originated from Centrelink payments to which Sam was actually entitled.
The other deposits were from Sam’s relatives who had been using his credit card so he could accrue the points, then repaying him later.
The Tribunal found the debt did not exist, thereby removing a great source of financial and mental stress for someone who was not able to cope with either the debt or the stress.