Sids Dad Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I have received a letter from Centrelink informing us that the assurance of support has now expired. To be honest there is no other details except to name the assurer. No info except to give a phone number for any further info that may be required. i paid a visit to the nearest Centrelink whom informed me that I should ring the international department as they deal with it. I rang and the first person I spoke with said " we get this all the time but it's really Centrelink that deals with it, hold on I will have a look for you. I held for over 30 minutes before thinking she had disappeared! I rang again and got another person who said I need to get through to another department but that she would bump me up to avoid going back to the bottom of the People waiting! I held for another forty minutes before I had to go! does anyone know what the procedure is to reclaim our bond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 46 minutes ago, Sids Dad said: I have received a letter from Centrelink informing us that the assurance of support has now expired. To be honest there is no other details except to name the assurer. No info except to give a phone number for any further info that may be required. i paid a visit to the nearest Centrelink whom informed me that I should ring the international department as they deal with it. I rang and the first person I spoke with said " we get this all the time but it's really Centrelink that deals with it, hold on I will have a look for you. I held for over 30 minutes before thinking she had disappeared! I rang again and got another person who said I need to get through to another department but that she would bump me up to avoid going back to the bottom of the People waiting! I held for another forty minutes before I had to go! does anyone know what the procedure is to reclaim our bond? Now I don’t know for sure but what if you took the letter to the Commonwealth Bank and asked them as they hold the money in an account? Surely they would know. It might be that the letter is enough and they’ll release the bond. Fingers crossed ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 https://www.humanservices.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/su631-1411en.pdf ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 1 minute ago, Cerberus1 said: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/su631-1411en.pdf ? Clever Cerberus 1! I’ll bookmark this for next year when we will need it! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sids Dad Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 Thank you for the link but I have seen this form and I should maybe have expanded a bit more. My problem is that even though I supplied the bond it's the assurer that has to apply for the release of the funds and after speaking to him he does not remember any of the account details ( ten years ago!) I feel I need to try and prise this info from Centrelink somehow but getting someone to help is proving difficult to say the least. If he filled in the form it would be lacking in info like the receipts and account number. I'm wondering if there is face to face help I can get? cheers. 1 hour ago, Cerberus1 said: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/su631-1411en.pdf ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 7 minutes ago, Sids Dad said: Thank you for the link but I have seen this form and I should maybe have expanded a bit more. My problem is that even though I supplied the bond it's the assurer that has to apply for the release of the funds and after speaking to him he does not remember any of the account details ( ten years ago!) I feel I need to try and prise this info from Centrelink somehow but getting someone to help is proving difficult to say the least. If he filled in the form it would be lacking in info like the receipts and account number. I'm wondering if there is face to face help I can get? cheers. Oh dear! Maybe try the Commonwealth Bank then, they hold all of the bonds as far as I am aware. Take the assurer with their ID with you as it is technically their account and their money. My account is in my name but the phrase “held in trust for ...........” is underneath so if you both rock up they must be able to help. Centrelink is painful at the best of times. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sids Dad Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 What a debacle, my assurer texted me today to say he hung on the phone for over an hour to be told that the wait is 18 weeks from when he first claimed! By my reckoning it will be the end of June before the bond is released! When I think that the money we paid ($14,000) had to be lodged within a fortnight at the time! So having to wait until June after receiving the letter in January borders on the criminal! i just hope that others will be aware of this wait, ours was a ten year bond so we are close to our seventies now! Maybe they thought that we would have fallen off our perches and that it would have fallen through the cracks! Ha ha, good old government snailsville. one of the pointers I would give anyone going through the process is not to engage Centrelink at all, they have wasted hours of my time as they have no clue as to the process and constantly gave out mis information. Very frustrating to say the least. as was pointed out the letter you receive only says that the bond duration is now up. The person who is actually the assurer is the only one they will engage with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minh815 Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Hi Sids Dad, I have lodged an application for bank guarantee release and I have been waiting for about a month or more now , I have not received any thing from Centrelink yet. As you have said the waiting period could be up to 18 weeks. Anyway, thank you for your information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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