Can't reach anyone at FRO

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Coop

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Hey everyone,

We seem to be having a problem getting a hold of our case worker at FRO. We have called 4 times the last 2 weeks and there has been no call back.

Their voicemail now says that they will get back to us "as soon as possible" whereas it used to say "within 48 hrs".

It is so frustrating. Anyone know how to get around the automated system?
 
Coop:

I wish I had any advice to offer. I am still waiting for my first package from FRO. I'm going to send my info in pre-emptively at the end of the week if I don't receive it.

I do have an interesting story to relate. My friend who lives in the USA and is a payor got his wages garnished from their Friend of the Court system (US version of FRO) within one week of his divorce. 1 week....and they have far, far, far more people to deal with in his state.

Literally as soon as the court order for divorce was processed the garnishment started. Go figure.
 
You're at thier mercy trying to talk to a live person at FRO. I left a message on the caseworker's voice mail (late Tuesday afternoon) that I was going to contact my local MPP. I got a call back first thing Wednesday morning.
 
I've heard that they really don't mess about at all on this issue in the States. PH; Fro is still not able to tell me anything and I sent Registration paperwork in Feb 2nd. I did find out that that the Courts have still not registered it as well. (That, I found out (again) just earlier this week.) PH: Give it a week before you call (after docs all in). They said "3 wks to scan in docs" and I also found out that the Courts don't email the orders. They send them in the mail (hard copy). My court hasn't done *F-all.* They make me sick. THEY are supposed to register all Court Orders w/FRO and it says that anywhere you read ie: Min of A.G. Site etc.

Coop: you can call Fro's # and don't enter your 7 digit case #. It will prompt you 3x, and then it will say "please hold for next available agent" and within 3 or 4 minutes, someone picks up. If you still can't get any answers, call the Ministry of the Attorney General's office and tell them you are getting the runaround at FRO. I keep hearing how "notoriously slow" they are. Ugggh. I am still waiting to see what actually dealing w/them will be like. Good Luck.
 
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In the US, each state maintains their own enforcement agency. And why are they so effective/efficient? Because the agencies are funded based on how much money they can collect. The more people they can get after, the more funding they receive.
 
Coop said:
Hey everyone,

We seem to be having a problem getting a hold of our case worker at FRO. We have called 4 times the last 2 weeks and there has been no call back.

Their voicemail now says that they will get back to us "as soon as possible" whereas it used to say "within 48 hrs".

It is so frustrating. Anyone know how to get around the automated system?
Click to expand...

You can expect this to get worse after the Drummened report if it gets implemented. The government cuts will impact FRO too.

You are in queue for service sorry to say. It is a volume issue.

Good Luck!
Tayken
 
Hi All:

I have been calling them from Dec 2011, no reply came. I have faxing them too. So to have the hard copy and letting them know that I left message. I have left message on Fen 13, waited 48 hours with crazy working situation.,Sits 3 meter away form supervisor. However, I call only my lunch hour as I do not want other people to know that I am calling FRO. I will fax them next week again. I were unable to talk to live person about the case after Nov. 21, 2011 (new rule).

It is very frustrating. KEEP calling and documenting. This is what I am doing.
 
I am having the same problem. I left several polite, brief and professional messages for my case worker she only returned my call once by leaving a message.

Since that time, I have tried several more times with no results. I am giving up on it for now!
 
Kenny said:
I am having the same problem. I left several polite, brief and professional messages for my case worker she only returned my call once by leaving a message.

Since that time, I have tried several more times with no results. I am giving up on it for now!
Click to expand...

FRO is understaffed probably. With divorce pleaguing our families at near 50% the volume of cases going to FRO must be overwhelming.

It has become a social problem impacting too many families. The system just isn't setup for this kind of failure in marriage. There is a fine line for the government to walk when getting involved with families. Is this the breaking point for the government services that people are experiencing?

Who knows... FRO is named incorrectly. Family "Responsibility" Office is miss leading. They are a collections organization and should be labeled as such. If they wanted to be a "responsibility" centre they would also be responsible for family therapy, providing the non-paying parent with financial education, etc... Working to solve the problem not just collect money.

They need to take the "R" out of FRO. Family Collections Agency may be a better name.

Good Luck!
Tayken
 
Well,
As you may know from my posts I was trying to avoid them from very beginning but so far I had no issues with them. Always got someone to talk from first call. Get answer I need and follow recommendations.

Will see for long it will last.
 
That's encouraging to know seeing as all I seem to hear is how inadequate/non responsive and slow, they are. I've always reached someone as well but I'm still awaiting my fabulous 7-digit file #. I sent my info to them (court order) etc @ the beginning of Feb so it's early days.
 
I'm having the same issues as well...I faxed in my application, statement of arrears and so on (35 pgs) and showed received on their end....this was 30 days ago. Today I called, I don't have a file # but I held on the line for a rep. I stated my question and she said files take 3 months to process! She searched for any infor on my name and my ex's.NOTHING!@!! Now I've been asked to refax everything again to yet another #. I have @ friends who work at fro and they tell me they are bogged...ok fine I get it but come on....my ex is in arrears...he makes 75K a year and doesn't want to pay. Tell me to go find a job........ :) I have one actually I have 2 now cuz I ain't got no mo money.... :)
 
Just mail it to them w/a note attached saying you are re-sending and that you faxed it a month ago. I was told *3 weeks* (turnaround time) to "scan" the docs, by 3 different agents @Fro. Once scanned, THEN it takes several weeks for them to address the file, assign someone to it, make contact etc. I'm pissed too. I call, and Nooooo they don't have my info. The Court should have registered it Months ago. I sent an email to the MAG (Ministry of The Attorney General) on Feb 14th and actually got a response (via email) today. I don't want to get my hopes up, but the email was worded in such a way that it actually appeared that they give a **** - I don't know.

I have no faith in any of these Government run agencies. Good Luck. You should email the MAG too. They should get bombarded actually by ALL the people who are forced to deal with this mess that they call a "system."
 
Hadenough....can you post the email address to the MAG. I saw we all get on this!

My husband called today and was told that our case worker was off for a bit and is now backlogged. Seriously....so is my bank account! Things are not great for us but I'm sure there are others other there that have it much worse, yet they don't give a crap. Okay, I need to change the energy here. Instead of complaining I would like to send an email to get something done.

Thanks for everyones input!
 
Coop: If you google Ministry of the Attorney General, you will find the links. They provide a link to FRO as well. You only need go to MAG's "contact us" tab and the option to email them your comments is there. Apparently, they do respond. The email I rec'd today had the name and direct line for an *actual person* that I may contact. The email I rec'd was cc'd to that contact person as well. Good Luck :)
 
It does take FRO three weeks to scan in documents but you can request that the matter be expediated. You need to speak to a real person and make your case to make this happen. Everyone is assigned a case worker and with the new system in place you should have direct access to him/her. They are supposed to return your call back within two business days. If you are leaving a message, make sure you include all your information e.g. case number, your address, and date of birth. They will only leave you the information you need if you provide all this info. Otherwise you will end up playing phone tag and getting no further ahead.

Make sure every page you send in has your case number on it and is clearly numbered - e.g. 1 of 35 etc. They have been known to misplace whole documents. Just do not leave anything to chance.

I have also found that it is better to mail using registered mail rather then fax, especially if its a large package of documents.

Nadia
 
Hey everyone,
I played dumb and called fro again this am.........ooo guess what? the person I spoke to today said my file was received 3 weeks ago and is being assigned? funny yesterday they couldn't "find" me and today....a miracle happened? nonetheless I refaxed my 35 pages as I was instructed yesterday! Don't give up..be persistent.
 
The process is pretty simple (not that it works all the time!):
1. the support order is made by the judge;
2. the support order is written and approved - either by the lawyers (if there are any) or by the court staff. Often it is the lawyers that delay the process here - for MONTHS - and sometimes because they haven't been paid by their client(s).
3. the support order is sent to FRO for registration;
4. FRO registers the order and starts enforcement - and it passes through a dozen hands before it gets to the case manager.

None of this excuses the delays.

If you can't find out exactly what is going on with your order, ask where the order is - at what stage from the above.

If you can't reach someone at FRO, contact the Ministry of Community and Social Services - NOT the Attorney General. MCSS has headed FRO for over a decade now.
 
I find that calling multiple times a day and leaving messages with your case worker helps. I call every day on my breaks at work or on lunch. I leave messages every time. I had to file a financial statement because they're garnishing 50% of my pay at my new job for court costs I haven't paid.
And well 50% is too much. I'm basically making 7.50 an hour, which is under minimum wage. I find this highly unfair! But I understand I owe costs, but at least give me 10.25 an hr.

Point is, calling them annoys them and they call back right away to deal with matter. I babble...
 
Once the support order is made by the judge, if it is not on consent and the parties are self-represented, the court staff issue that order within a month - by my experience.

The FRO (and other provincial enforcement agencies) are the problem here. They are probably understaffed, but so are many government and private sector departments.

- The Ottawa Court issued a Temporary Child Support Order on 1 March 2011.

- The FRO received it before the end of March 2011.

- THE FRO DID NOT PROCESS THE ORDER FOR EIGHT MONTHS (November 2011).

- THE FSOS NEW BRUNSICK DID NOT PROCESS THE ORDER FOR SEVEN MONTHS.

- At the end of this June, I finally receive my very first child support deposit at half the rate of the order, which was well below guidelines. My ex-spouse is quite well employed with the government of NB.

This is not busy, understaffed, etc; it is incompetence!

Another issue is that they lie! It is simple. I have been taking notes of my conversations with the FRO and FSOS since March 2011. I just received my Access to Information package disclosure and was amazed at the level of misleading that occurred. The FRO knew about the order because they discussed it with me, but they took NO action whatsoever with it, while informing me of the opposite.


TwoDecadesExperience said:
The process is pretty simple (not that it works all the time!):
1. the support order is made by the judge;
2. the support order is written and approved - either by the lawyers (if there are any) or by the court staff. Often it is the lawyers that delay the process here - for MONTHS - and sometimes because they haven't been paid by their client(s).
3. the support order is sent to FRO for registration;
4. FRO registers the order and starts enforcement - and it passes through a dozen hands before it gets to the case manager.

None of this excuses the delays.

If you can't find out exactly what is going on with your order, ask where the order is - at what stage from the above.

If you can't reach someone at FRO, contact the Ministry of Community and Social Services - NOT the Attorney General. MCSS has headed FRO for over a decade now.
Click to expand...
 
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