Can you take legal action Vertex?

March 31, 2013

Does anyone know whether it is possible to take legal action against Vertex, the company contracted by the government to process clerical cases?

I have submitted NUMEROUS complaints via my M.P regarding the conduct of the staff employed at the CSA offices in Bolton, over a period of EIGHT YEARS! In fact I have had so many causes for complaint that I would be typing all night if I were to detail them all. The latest fiasco was caused by a tardy “escalated caseworker” by the name of Katherine who failed to adequately chase my ex-partner’s employers to impose a Deductions of Earnings Order.

My case was sent to Bolton from Hastings Enforcement team back in October however Bolton failed to process the case and even denied receiving the documentation from Hastings until January when I called Bolton to enquire about the progress of my case. After sending me from pillar to post, denying receipt and referring me back to Hastings, they eventually accepted that the case had been received and they had failed to “pick it up”.

It was finally allocated to an “escalated caseworker” called Katherine. Katherine claimed that she had made various attempts to make contact with my ex-partner’s employees during the month of January and advised that she would call me on the 6th of February to update me regarding making contact with the employer. Having received no call from her on the day I called Bolton and asked to speak with her.

The initial call taker advised that Katherine had in fact called me but was unable to get through however staff are required to make a further two attempts at contacting clients if a call back was promised, (which it was). Needless to say Katherine NEVER called me back, in fact she continued to evade my weekly (sometimes daily)calls despite me leaving numerous messages and messages sent to her line manager Ashley.

The final straw came yesterday when I contacted Hastings only to be told that my ex-partner’s employer details were clearly detailed in the case notes and that Hastings had already confirmed the necessary details and made contact with the employer to set up the DoEO, so why Katherine had been claiming to been having difficulty contacting the employers for over a month was a mystery! Hastings then proceeded to call the employers immediately and got through first time! How can Vertex explain such poor conduct?

Not only has Katherine failed to make ANY contact with myself or my ex-partner’s employer since the 6th of Feb, when I called Bolton yesterday asking to speak with her I was advised that Katherine had a sore throat that day and was unable to speak on the phone! Of all the excuses huh? In any case, it has now been 5 months since my case was received by Bolton and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING has been done in regards to processing my case! In fact Katherine had the bare faced cheek to tell me all about her forthcoming wedding plans, when I spoke to her back in January!

In addition to this numerous members of staff promised to call me back regarding this but failed to do so, some of which were supervisors. I have kept dates, names and times when I have called the Agency, therefore I have enough detailed information to take the culprits to task. I have lost over FOUR MONTHS maintenence due to Bolton’s incomptence.

My case has always been dealt with promptly when received by the CSA offices in Hastings however, in light of all of this, does anyone think I have a legal case against Vertex?

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