Cottee said she felt that the situation was “appalling”.<\/p>\n
“It’s very frustrating. I find it offensive actually,” she said.<\/p>\n
She added that her case was “not half as serious as lots of people out there who have had a year with no money”.<\/p>\n
Chris Coghlan, MP for Dorking and Horley, said people had been contacting him “probably at least once a week, at breaking point, because they literally can’t get their pension, so they’re struggling to survive financially”.<\/p>\n
A Capita spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the impact the service issues have had on members and recognise there is more to do to restore the service members should expect.<\/p>\n
“Our focus remains on resolving outstanding cases. We are continuing to work closely with the Cabinet Office as we deliver the wider recovery.”<\/p>\n
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said service levels since Capita took over had been “completely unacceptable”. <\/p>\n
“Our immediate priority is to stabilise the service to give current and former civil servants the service they deserve,” they added.<\/p>\n
“While robust commercial levers will continue to be applied in the short term, including withholding nearly \u00a310m in payments, the government intends to move forward the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation and is actively shaping a long-term strategy to bring this pension scheme back in-house.”<\/p>\n
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