Dear Claudienne,

I was employed as a compliance officer (RMG/TA) by the Collector General’s department from July 3, 1967 to June 7, 2004. During the period of my employment I worked at the Buff Bay Collector of Taxes office in Portland.

When I retired in 2004 I made a claim for National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits.

I received a lump sum cheque for $14,000 from the NIS upon reaching the age of 65, but based on my calculations I believed I was short-paid. In 2008 I went to the NIS office in Port Antonio and queried the amount and was given a letter to take to the Inland Revenue Department as a means of establishing how much of my NIS contributions had been paid over to the insurance fund.

After six years I did not get a reply from the Inland Revenue Office, so I went back to the Port Antonio NIS office. They gave me another letter to take to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) enquiring about deductions made on my behalf.

On September 25, 2014, TAJ responded by way of a letter sent to the manager of the NIS Ripon Road, Kingston 5 office. I was given a copy of this letter to take to the NIS Port Antonio office but it was not accepted because they said the TAJ had not put their stamp at the bottom of the page. The TAJ letter to the NIS stated that my contributions to the scheme for the years 1978 to 1981 and 1997 to 2004 were “not available at this time”.

I would appreciate your help because a significant number of years of my NIS contributions are missing, and I am receiving a partial NIS pension benefit.

In 2014 I wrote to the Minister of Finance and to the Public Defender but neither office has responded.

KG

Dear KG,

Tell Claudienne has been in communication with the NIS and the Human Resources department of the TAJ. The NIS Ripon Road office sent an officer to the TAJ, and the 10 missing years of your contributions have been located. The Ripon Road NIS office has processed your file and returned it to the NIS Claims Department at Heroes Circle on September 7. The NIS said that because you currently have a pension book, you will not receive the additional pension amount due to you until the new payment cycle in November 2015. Please let us know when you receive this payment.

Good luck.

Dear Claudienne,

I am seeking your advice regarding the Registrar General’s Department (RGD). In 2007 my mother applied for her birth certificate so that she could renew her passport. After a very long wait I visited the office in Portmore and was told that my mother’s surname was not on the birth certificate even though it showed female child of Leonora Clarke.

Unfortunately, they told me that she should get her school record, even though she was born in 1933. Those records no longer exist and no one had another solution.

However, I want you to see the irony of this: my mother is a British pensioner who lived in England for 30-plus years, travelled many times on various passports and renewed many of them, and suddenly they have realised that her surname on the birth certificate is missing.

My mother is very frustrated, but I want her to have her passport as I live in Canada and would like her to take a vacation. I would appreciate your advice as I have sent the RGD an e-mail which they ignored.

I await your answer and thank you for your assistance.

LS

Dear LS,

Tell Claudienne spoke to the RGD in regard to your concerns and they responded via e-mail as follows:

“Without the name of the applicant (the mother) or the tracking number for the application referred to, we cannot speak to the specifics of this case; however, this situation is quite common among persons born before the 1950s and is not difficult to resolve. To provide a brief overview, persons born to unmarried parents prior to the 1950s did not have the father’s particulars placed on the birth record and consequently, were registered without a surname. Since the RGD does not print certificates for incomplete records owing to the global threat of identity theft and fraud, LS’s mother will simply need to do a Record Updating procedure known as a Late Entry of Name (LEN).

“The Agency has, over the last several years, made special provisions for senior citizens to update the records by showing strong evidence of the surname they have been using over the years. Consequently, senior citizens are not required to provide a copy of their school record because the RGD will use internal evidence such as copies of their children’s records or their marriage certificates; as well as other types of documentary evidence. Such documentary evidence could be photo identification, utility bills or land titles. It is critical that seniors take as much documentary evidence to the RGD office to apply for an LEN. Additionally, without getting into detail about the LEN process, another special provision is that senior citizens can ‘self declare.’ The requirements for an LEN application and the application form are available in any RGD office and online at www.rgd.gov.jm (documents and forms).

“The Passport, Citizenship and Immigration Agency is best positioned to respond to LS’s concerns about the passport process/requirements. We use this opportunity to wish mother and daughter a speedy reunion.”

Please apply for the LEN for your mother and you can let us know if you experience any difficulties in completing this process.

Good luck.

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 936-9436 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.