When The Helpline Doesn’t Help – Jordana Brown

By: Joni Boyd

Have you ever found yourself in a call centre loop?

When you finally got through, did things get better – or worse?

Influencer Jordana Brown (@ThatBritishGirl), spoke to us about her stressful situation with Centrelink that went viral.

When Jordana moved to Australia (with some help from a well-timed visit to see her dad, and the 2020 lockdown) she was thrilled to land a job  and begin bringing in an income. What she didn’t expect, was for Centrelink to send her a bill, despite doing the paperwork and notifying them of her employment.

She spoke about trying to navigate bureaucracy, standing up for what’s right and how faith and kindness improve terrible exchanges.

Jordana Brown had a stressful situation with Centrelink that went viral.

Jordana is an influential social media personality known as “That British Girl” on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Before becoming an influencer, she worked extensively in the production field, spending over 15 years behind the camera in a major UK church.

Jordana now hosts a morning breakfast show on Christian radio on Australia’s Sunshine Coast.

“Six months later, I get this letter from Centrelink saying, ‘You owe $1,500 because you were getting money and had a job at the same time from the government,’ she said.

In January 2021, Jordana sent in all the paperwork to show that she’d done the right thing. Snowed under with COVID-19 paperwork, Centrelink told her they’d put the situation on pause for six months and then revisit.

“What wasn’t explained to me at the time, was that when they said pause, in six months’ time, I was going to get another letter saying I owed money, and also I should be checking up on the pause, and also once the pause stopped, any debt I owed the government would accrue interest.

“None of this was explained.”

“I think we need to have kindness to people in call centres – So, yes, my takeaway is: Be kind.”

Six months later, when the second letter arrived telling Jordana that she now owed $1,800, she waited on the phones for hours, waiting to discuss the situation with Centrelink.

Long story short, Jordana took on Centrelink, and the rest is history.

And she maintains, despite the struggles; “I think we need to have kindness to people in call centres – So, yes, my takeaway is: Be kind.”

Agreed!

Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.

Feature image: Jordana Brown, photo by Annabel Weaver, used with permission.

About the Author: Joni Boyd is a writer, based in the Hawkesbury Region of NSW. She is passionate about the power of stories shared, to transform lives.