Capita-utter farce-wrong details

[gbooker]

All,
Please beware that if you decide to take you AVC with your pension, you will not receive anything until the AVC has been calculated and returned to Capita.

Just got off the phone with the agent managing my process in the escalation team and was told this for the first time. I was due to get my Lump Sum on 02/02/2019 and this was the first time this was made clear to me after originally emailing them my notice of taking my pension at 55 back in October 2018.

I have been calling and chasing for the last 2 months trying to get updates, but as has been said here on numerous occasions, although polite, the people on the phones are next to useless as they have no information available to them.

The Escalation Team have been in place sine November but still seem to not be able to answer simple questions around current timescales etc..

I emailed customer.relations.pensions@capita.co.uk (FAO: Mr Richard Kirwan Head of Complaints) and copied in the CEO (jon.lewis@capita.co.uk) on Saturday 16/02/2019 but have not heard a thing from them, just to fall in line with the usual non communication policy I have experienced to date.

Gary.

[N60]

Hi Gary,

Sorry to hear of yet another one of us having a problem.

You'll see that in general those on this thread who have emailed Richard Kirwan/Jon Lewis have usually had a positive response - it's still taken some time to resolve matters but at least things have moved more quickly. To be fair if you emailed on Saturday it is only Monday afternoon so you may need to give customer relations a day or so to get back, it's also half term so that may put a bit of delay in too, it shouldn't but they could be even more short staffed than usual.......isn't the customer relations email address the general one for enquiries etc? you could be stacked up in a bit of an email backlog there.

Generally, my experience of officially emailing folk has been that the person/team to whom it's addressed is the one who responds (in this case customer relations) and cc usually just means "for info" for the person who's cc'd, hopefully given the circumstances that won't be the case here and Richard/Jon may pick up on it but I'd suggest that if you want one of them to reply to you then you email them directly, their email addresses are in this thread and you'll see from the posts that people have had personal, and usually quick, replies.

Hope this helps. And good luck in getting it sorted.

[Dennis Lewis]

Hi Gary,
Sorry to hear you're having problems too. I would certainly email Jon Lewis again directly this time. He has seemed to be the one to get things moving but sometimes needs a couple of prompts to respond. The same with Richard Kirwan. You would think that their enquiries team would be better equipped to deal with basic issues 5 months down the line and that the CEO would make sure of this to save him from dealing with the many of us who have been left with no alternative but to contact him. Hope it gets sorted soon for you and keep posting your experiences with Capita as it helps others in the same boat. Good luck

[Dennis Lewis]

Hi Dennis

Yes I tend to agree. What this needs is a class action. Lot's of irate RM pensioners all co-ordinated and maybe plonking themselves outside Capita's offices with suitable placquards with the local or mainstream newspapers tipped off beforehand so the demonstration is widely publicised. Capita are clearly imo unfit to manage this pension scheme. Something needs to be done.

Hi Skeptic,

Agree entirely but would there be enough support? I may be wrong but I wonder if most of us on this thread are ex-Royal Mail? I say this because a friend of mine, still in service, is due to retire next week and he's had absolutely no trouble at all, and neither have a lot of others still working at RM, so he tells me. This could explain why the CWU haven't bothered also.

It seems Capita are just about muggling along at best, but if they look after those still in service, they know it will be more than enough to subdue the CWU and keep the Cabinet Office ecstatic about them and help them win even more contracts... You're right though something needs to be done - we've seen enough already to suggest they are unfit to administer our pensions. None of us want to spend our glory years worrying about our pensions and knowing we'll more than likely be ignored if we ever have to contact them. I still haven't had my statement and I've contacted them four times over this. Keep posting.

[N60]

Hi Dennis

Yes I tend to agree. What this needs is a class action. Lot's of irate RM pensioners all co-ordinated and maybe plonking themselves outside Capita's offices with suitable placquards with the local or mainstream newspapers tipped off beforehand so the demonstration is widely publicised. Capita are clearly imo unfit to manage this pension scheme. Something needs to be done.

Hi Skeptic,

Agree entirely but would there be enough support? I may be wrong but I wonder if most of us on this thread are ex-Royal Mail? I say this because a friend of mine, still in service, is due to retire next week and he's had absolutely no trouble at all, and neither have a lot of others still working at RM, so he tells me. This could explain why the CWU haven't bothered also.

It seems Capita are just about muggling along at best, but if they look after those still in service, they know it will be more than enough to subdue the CWU and keep the Cabinet Office ecstatic about them and help them win even more contracts... You're right though something needs to be done - we've seen enough already to suggest they are unfit to administer our pensions. None of us want to spend our glory years worrying about our pensions and knowing we'll more than likely be ignored if we ever have to contact them. I still haven't had my statement and I've contacted them four times over this. Keep posting.

Hi Dennis, I'd got the impression from the posts, and just assumed really, that we were all ex RM (I am!) especially as this is RMChat .... but then I may just be being naive .... it could be that your friend's pension went through OK (as did his colleagues) as they are not dealt with by Capita ? As I understand it existing RM employees are still dealt with by the Pension Centre at Pond Street. I thought Capita had taken on the RMSPS contract, so, deferred pensions are now processed by Capita along with those whose pensions are already in payment (Capita now run the payroll for those I think ?) People still employed by RM are part of the RMPP scheme still run in house.....it's the S that makes all the difference ! .............. the RM pensions website certainly gives Pond street as the contact for those still with RM, looking at the website you follow the links according to which scheme you're in/dates employed etc and it pops you up onto either Pond Street or Capita .... we got Capita

Not sure how long Pond Streets going to last though - think there are talks/plans to outsource the RMPP too ?

[MichaelJ]

My sincere thanks go to all the contributors on ROYALMAILCHAT. My deferred pension is now in payment, and I have you to thank for that.

After months of trying to get my application pack, I finally received it on 21 January 2019.

I have emailed Nigel.Wilford@rmsps.co.uk, copying in Richard.Kirwan@capita.co.uk, firstly to thank them for helping me, but also to make the following suggestions:

"I note that https://www.royalmailsps.co.uk/im-not-r ... y-benefits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; still states “We will write to you at least six months before your Normal Retiring Age, giving you a quote of the benefits payable in full.”

Can I make a couple of suggestions which may help future claimants avoid the experience I (and other deferred pensioners) have had.

My initial issue was that I was not contacted at least six months before my Normal Retiring Age.

From the time I first contacted Capita on 05 September 2018, until the intervention of Jonathan Lewis and Richard Kirwan, on 21 January 2019, I had suffered from a string of delays and misinformation.

I think it may help to add something to the website to give clear guidance who to contact if you have not been written to at least six months before NRA. A deferred pensioner should not have difficulty escalating the matter if something has gone wrong.

I also think that training should be given to prevent the misinformation and delaying tactics experienced by deferred pensioners."

I hope that my situation offers some hope to all of you who are currently still experiencing issues, and that you eventually receive your pensions when they are due.

[Dennis Lewis]

Hi Dennis

Yes I tend to agree. What this needs is a class action. Lot's of irate RM pensioners all co-ordinated and maybe plonking themselves outside Capita's offices with suitable placquards with the local or mainstream newspapers tipped off beforehand so the demonstration is widely publicised. Capita are clearly imo unfit to manage this pension scheme. Something needs to be done.

Hi Skeptic,

Agree entirely but would there be enough support? I may be wrong but I wonder if most of us on this thread are ex-Royal Mail? I say this because a friend of mine, still in service, is due to retire next week and he's had absolutely no trouble at all, and neither have a lot of others still working at RM, so he tells me. This could explain why the CWU haven't bothered also.

It seems Capita are just about muggling along at best, but if they look after those still in service, they know it will be more than enough to subdue the CWU and keep the Cabinet Office ecstatic about them and help them win even more contracts... You're right though something needs to be done - we've seen enough already to suggest they are unfit to administer our pensions. None of us want to spend our glory years worrying about our pensions and knowing we'll more than likely be ignored if we ever have to contact them. I still haven't had my statement and I've contacted them four times over this. Keep posting.

Hi Dennis, I'd got the impression from the posts, and just assumed really, that we were all ex RM (I am!) especially as this is RMChat .... but then I may just be being naive .... it could be that your friend's pension went through OK (as did his colleagues) as they are not dealt with by Capita ? As I understand it existing RM employees are still dealt with by the Pension Centre at Pond Street. I thought Capita had taken on the RMSPS contract, so, deferred pensions are now processed by Capita along with those whose pensions are already in payment (Capita now run the payroll for those I think ?) People still employed by RM are part of the RMPP scheme still run in house.....it's the S that makes all the difference ! .............. the RM pensions website certainly gives Pond street as the contact for those still with RM, looking at the website you follow the links according to which scheme you're in/dates employed etc and it pops you up onto either Pond Street or Capita .... we got Capita

Not sure how long Pond Streets going to last though - think there are talks/plans to outsource the RMPP too ?

Hi N60

Thanks for clarifying things re what Capita are running, I thought they were running everything. Makes sense really: not run by Capita -things go well ; run by Capita - I'd best not say! . I was pleased my friend's pension was going through okay and was hoping Capita were improving. I still await my statement after four attempts. I have no faith in their ability to respond at all outside the CEO and Richard Kirwan and what happens if they go?

[Davech]

Having just found and joind this forum I am now quite concerned that it's going to be quite a while before I get my lumpsum and pension. The last physical correspondence I have received about my pension was back in Sept 18, from RM asking for my ID and that Capita were takng over. I haven't received anything from Capita. I've been phoning them almost weekly since the begining of Jan only to be told theres a backlog every time. They rang me to say my option forms had been sent but they never arrived. I got them by Email and I returned them by RD but "they never arrived" despite my receipt saying otherwise. I had to Email a copy to them. My lumpsum was due mid Jan & pension to start end of Jan but looking here it looks like I'm in for a long fight. I guess it's because I'm ex RM. I've just Emailed Jon Lewis so I've got my fingers crossed.

[N60]

Having just found and joind this forum I am now quite concerned that it's going to be quite a while before I get my lumpsum and pension. The last physical correspondence I have received about my pension was back in Sept 18, from RM asking for my ID and that Capita were takng over. I haven't received anything from Capita. I've been phoning them almost weekly since the begining of Jan only to be told theres a backlog every time. They rang me to say my option forms had been sent but they never arrived. I got them by Email and I returned them by RD but "they never arrived" despite my receipt saying otherwise. I had to Email a copy to them. My lumpsum was due mid Jan & pension to start end of Jan but looking here it looks like I'm in for a long fight. I guess it's because I'm ex RM. I've just Emailed Jon Lewis so I've got my fingers crossed.

Hi Davech, shame you've had to join us but hopefully you'll get some reassurance from the posts on here that you will get your pension sorted out - may just be more hard work that it ought to be !

I don't think we should take it personally not sure being ex RM matters ........it's just that Capita were given the contract for administering the RMSPS scheme on 1st Oct last year and they simply don't seem up to it. They're still blaming the backlog but think that excuse is wearing a bit thin now - not sure they've ever staffed up for it or got to grips with it hence the current sad state of affairs.

There are thousands of RMSPS members out there and each month there'll be many of them qualifying for their pension/lump sum ..... I wonder if every one is delayed .....

Good luck with chasing yours Davech - you'll see from the experience so far on this thread that an email to Jon lewis seems to get things moving, hope it does the same for you.

[Dennis Lewis]

Having just found and joind this forum I am now quite concerned that it's going to be quite a while before I get my lumpsum and pension. The last physical correspondence I have received about my pension was back in Sept 18, from RM asking for my ID and that Capita were takng over. I haven't received anything from Capita. I've been phoning them almost weekly since the begining of Jan only to be told theres a backlog every time. They rang me to say my option forms had been sent but they never arrived. I got them by Email and I returned them by RD but "they never arrived" despite my receipt saying otherwise. I had to Email a copy to them. My lumpsum was due mid Jan & pension to start end of Jan but looking here it looks like I'm in for a long fight. I guess it's because I'm ex RM. I've just Emailed Jon Lewis so I've got my fingers crossed.

Hi,
Sorry you're having trouble with Capita too - most of us here know exactly what you are going through. I hope the CEO Jon Lewis has got back to you - he's been the only one who seems to respond and he passes it down to Richard Kirwan who also tends to be on-the-ball. It shouldn't be like this though and they've had plenty of time to sort things.... 'there's a backlog' ... 'it's been escalated' - we've all been there. There is light at the end of the tunnel though. If you haven't received a reply, make sure you are emailing them direct (the email addresses for them appear earlier in the thread - don't go via enquires or solutions or whatever they call themselves (more chance of hell freezing over than getting any response from anyone at Capita other than the CEO and Richard Kirwan). Keep your spirits up and keep posting. Good luck

[Dennis Lewis]

I've just emailed the Guardian about our experiences with Capita... If they reply then will take it from there. I'm not usually one to complain (ha-ha) but enough is enough. I am still awaiting to hear from my caseworker with the Early Response Team from the Pension's Ombudsman - he should have contacted me by 17th Feb and it took them two months to say that - we can only guess why Will keep you informed.

[N60]

[quote="Dennis Lewis"]I've just emailed the Guardian about our experiences with Capita... If they reply then will take it from there. I'm not usually one to complain (ha-ha) but enough is enough. I am still awaiting to hear from my caseworker with the Early Response Team from the Pension's Ombudsman - he should have contacted me by 17th Feb and it took them two months to say that - we can only guess why Will keep you informed.[/quo

It's enough to drive you mad isn't it ..... first all the hassle and problems with Capita and then the organisation that's supposed to deal with Capita's poor performance don't deliver either

I don't think it's "complaining" Dennis - you've plenty of genuine valid grievances that need addressing - it's standing up for yourself

[Davech]

Having just found and joind this forum I am now quite concerned that it's going to be quite a while before I get my lumpsum and pension. The last physical correspondence I have received about my pension was back in Sept 18, from RM asking for my ID and that Capita were takng over. I haven't received anything from Capita. I've been phoning them almost weekly since the begining of Jan only to be told theres a backlog every time. They rang me to say my option forms had been sent but they never arrived. I got them by Email and I returned them by RD but "they never arrived" despite my receipt saying otherwise. I had to Email a copy to them. My lumpsum was due mid Jan & pension to start end of Jan but looking here it looks like I'm in for a long fight. I guess it's because I'm ex RM. I've just Emailed Jon Lewis so I've got my fingers crossed.

Hi,
Sorry you're having trouble with Capita too - most of us here know exactly what you are going through. I hope the CEO Jon Lewis has got back to you - he's been the only one who seems to respond and he passes it down to Richard Kirwan who also tends to be on-the-ball. It shouldn't be like this though and they've had plenty of time to sort things.... 'there's a backlog' ... 'it's been escalated' - we've all been there. There is light at the end of the tunnel though. If you haven't received a reply, make sure you are emailing them direct (the email addresses for them appear earlier in the thread - don't go via enquires or solutions or whatever they call themselves (more chance of hell freezing over than getting any response from anyone at Capita other than the CEO and Richard Kirwan). Keep your spirits up and keep posting. Good luck

Having seen the advice here I emailed Richard Kirwan and although I initially got an out of office for a week reply, he sent on my Email to his team and copied me in. I then almost immediately got a Email from Malcolm Ramsay saying my case has been sorted and my money would be with me within 3 days. It arrived today

[N60]

Having just found and joind this forum I am now quite concerned that it's going to be quite a while before I get my lumpsum and pension. The last physical correspondence I have received about my pension was back in Sept 18, from RM asking for my ID and that Capita were takng over. I haven't received anything from Capita. I've been phoning them almost weekly since the begining of Jan only to be told theres a backlog every time. They rang me to say my option forms had been sent but they never arrived. I got them by Email and I returned them by RD but "they never arrived" despite my receipt saying otherwise. I had to Email a copy to them. My lumpsum was due mid Jan & pension to start end of Jan but looking here it looks like I'm in for a long fight. I guess it's because I'm ex RM. I've just Emailed Jon Lewis so I've got my fingers crossed.

Hi,
Sorry you're having trouble with Capita too - most of us here know exactly what you are going through. I hope the CEO Jon Lewis has got back to you - he's been the only one who seems to respond and he passes it down to Richard Kirwan who also tends to be on-the-ball. It shouldn't be like this though and they've had plenty of time to sort things.... 'there's a backlog' ... 'it's been escalated' - we've all been there. There is light at the end of the tunnel though. If you haven't received a reply, make sure you are emailing them direct (the email addresses for them appear earlier in the thread - don't go via enquires or solutions or whatever they call themselves (more chance of hell freezing over than getting any response from anyone at Capita other than the CEO and Richard Kirwan). Keep your spirits up and keep posting. Good luck

Having seen the advice here I emailed Richard Kirwan and although I initially got an out of office for a week reply, he sent on my Email to his team and copied me in. I then almost immediately got a Email from Malcolm Ramsay saying my case has been sorted and my money would be with me within 3 days. It arrived today

Very good news Glad to hear the Richard Kirwan route worked for you as it has for most of us on this thread. Sounds like Malcolm Ramsey is one of Richard's team ? Can you share his email address here please ? It would be useful to have a back up to Richard should we need it Thanks.

[Dennis Lewis]

That's great news Davech! Must be a relief for you and I'm glad this thread continues to help people. You can relax a bit now but do keep your eyes on your tax situation regarding Capita. They are still a long way off being competent but there are one or two on-the-ball and that continues to give a little hope to the many of us caught up in this. It seems there could be a lot more. Do check in from time to time and share info that may help others. Good luck