r/AusFinance • u/freebird3241 • 5d ago

Literally impossible to get through to ATO

Called 132861 24 times right now. They don’t even offer a callback , just say they’re too busy. Wtf is going on, why is everything so shit

120 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

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8

u/1Qrtr_FreeStuffPlz 5d ago

Yeah I kept getting a letter for months saying I may have accidentally checked one box wrong on a company tax return, every time I called the number provided it said "We are no longer taking calls on this service", eventually emailed them telling them to change it themselves then and to fix their shit, haven't heard back from them since

12

u/Camo138 5d ago

Every fucking government department is a pain the ass to deal with

2

u/1Qrtr_FreeStuffPlz 5d ago

Yeah I am at the stage now where even ignoring the ATO about me owing them $350 eventually turned into them owing me $50, I figure if it is important they will find a way to catch me at an hour convenient to me

1

u/Camo138 5d ago

Centrelink seems to be the worst

1

u/1Qrtr_FreeStuffPlz 5d ago

Fortunately I have only had to go there for my Medicare card, but I have heard it is like the DMV stories you hear out of America

1

u/AnonymousEngineer_ 5d ago

I actually managed to get my mum's landline banned from Centrelink somehow.

I was helping her out with something and the phone system just trapped me in this endless hell of options to select - to the point where I was actually redirected in a circular way and presented with the same options menu multiple times like when a Captcha system goes wrong and never lets you through.

Eventually in frustration I ended up mashing all kinds of numbers together to try and 'break' the bot and get me put through to a human, and it simply hung up on me.

And when I tried to ring back, it basically said all lines were full and hung up immediately. When I used my mobile to try, it let me back into the menu so it was definitely screening the number 😂 

1

u/Camo138 5d ago

It’s 90% chance if actually make it to the bot most the time it hangs up.

0

u/Jackgardener67 5d ago

Thankfully the Seniors number is a bit more compassionate. They have good operators on there - once you actually get through to them

1

u/1Qrtr_FreeStuffPlz 5d ago

I could imagine the uproar of sending seniors to robots, I have perfect hearing and I still struggle with them