I thought
booking a COVID-19 vaccination was difficult, but getting the digital vaccination certificate afterwards is proving
more difficult. I had assumed I could simply go to Medicare online. However, that requires a My.Gov account with an exact name match. My medicare card has the name I am usually known by on it, and doesn't match what is on my birth certificate. So I called the Medicare number to have it changed. After 30 minutes on hold I was told that I needed to talk to Medicare (which is
who I was calling), and was put on hold again. The automated system said I could change my details online, but I was calling
so I can get online, making the messages very annoying.
The recorded message at the start was curious, warning that threats would not be tolerated. That seemed an odd way to treat customers, with a greeting threatening them. But after one hour on hold, I can see how a caller could be irate by the time they get to an operator. As it was, after an hour I gave up.
I would be happy to deal with this matter some other way, but no other option is offered: it is by phone, or nothing. I suggest the system needs to be fixed to overcome this obvious fault.
Was finally able to change my name on my Medicare card, to match the name on my birth certificate, so I can have my digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate linked to my passport. This took a 34 minute phone call. About 20 minutes on hold, then a few minutes identifying myself to a very helpful person, then another five minutes on hold while they confirmed the update. What had been holding me up was obtaining my birth certificate, but it turned out this was not needed for a minor change of given name.
ReplyDelete