Dear Claudienne,

This is to advise you that my brother has finally received his birth certificate from the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) after a gruelling process.

As you may recall, he had one of the old white paper-type birth certificates which eventually got destroyed. However, he had kept a record of the birth entry number as my mother always urged us to do. In March 2015 he applied for a new birth certificate and made the requisite payment.

The date passed on which he had expected to receive the new birth certificate, so he called the RGD to find out the reason for the delay and the date when he would get it. At that point he was informed that he could not get the birth certificate because there was another person using the same birth entry number. (My brother turned 30 in August 2015.) Arising from this he was told that a search of the database would have to be conducted to verify and try to resolve the matter.

Reluctantly he paid the $10,000-plus for the search to be conducted, but he was told that he would have to wait nine months to one year for the search to be completed. However, with your help the search was completed by October 2015, at which time he was told that they had found no records for him.

He subsequently did an interview at the Portmore RGD office, and had to submit documents from his primary school, clinic (baby days) among other things. In addition, he had to resubmit one of the documents, even though it was officially stamped and signed by the school, because the RGD officer conducting the interview felt that it was not the original. An officer at the school said that although the documents were originals that had been signed and stamped by the school, on several occasions the RGD had refused to accept similar documents from applicants, claiming that they had been tampered with.

An alternative, in my view, is that the RGD could call the school directly, since they have to verify the documents anyway.

My mother had to go to Clarendon to register my brother, and he had to make a payment for late entry in addition to the various payments previously made at the RGD. Nevertheless, as a family we are glad that the ordeal is finally over.

RF

Dear RF,

Tell Claudienne asked the RGD Communications officer if your suggestion for the agency to call the school directly for verification had any merit.

The RGD replied as follows:

“

Please be advised that the school record is very vital when conducting a Late Registration. This is the primary document used to establish the person’s identity. In the case of RF’s brother, the school record submitted by the applicant was tampered with.

During the interview process, the customer was advised to have the school rewrite the record to match the information entered at the time of registration. It is important to note that customers are sent back to the school to obtain a new record only when the record is tampered with, which is what happened in this case.

To verify the authenticity of school records, the RGD would normally call the school or send our Field Officer to conduct an investigation without the knowledge of the customer.”

We are pleased to learn that your brother has finally received his birth certificate.

All the best.

Flow to reverse

Dear Claudienne,

I paid my January telephone Flow bill on 28/1/16. Even though I paid the bill before the due date on the February bill, I was charged a $250 late fee. When I pointed this out at the Flow Washington Boulevard office I was assured that the adjustment would be made on the March bill. However, there was no adjustment on the March bill.

I would appreciate your help in this matter.

DF

Dear DF,

We communicated with Flow and have been advised that your account was adjusted for the late fee on March 11, 2016. Flow has assured us that you were contacted and advised that the adjustment would be seen on your April statement, as it was done after the March bill was generated.

Please let us know if the adjustment was made on your April bill.

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.