A BROMSGROVE teacher claims she has lost almost £6,000 because of a backlog in Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, formerly known as CRB checks.
Lorraine Cassidy sent off her application in June ready for when the new school year began in September.
But, when her DBS check did not arrive in time she was forced to stay at home losing £143.05 each day she was not at work – she was told it would arrive before September 15 at the latest.
However her DBS did not arrive until October 25 – which meant she had lost 40 days of pay.
The mother-of-four said the financial implications, being out of work for so long, had affected her family which relied on her income to live, buy food and pay bills.
She added she had become frustrated and angered by the situation and had made numerous complaints in writing and over the phone to the police and DBS.
Mrs Cassidy said a letter from the police said because of a backlog they had employed more staff but the applications were being dealt with in a strict date order and only those which were urgent would be prioritised – so she would have to wait.
She added she feared the knock on affects on her credit rating because of bills being taken out of her account when there was no money in there.
Mrs Cassidy said the DBS told her an application was only urgent when people were at risk of losing their home, a foster carer waiting to go to court or being threatened with dismissal by their employer.
She added the so-called urgent triggers were preposterous and asked why her application was not being prioritised when she had no money – putting her at risk of losing her home.
“How dare they put me in a situation where I might lose my home or my job.
“The fact I have been unable to work is unacceptable.
“Treating innocent, hard-working citizens like this is unacceptable,” she added.
Mrs Cassidy said the DBS was now conducting a full audit to see if the application had been administered properly, depending on the results she might be entitled to being reimbursed for some of the money she had lost.
A DBS spokesman said he was not able to comment on individual cases.
He added the DBS processed about 4million checks every year and sometimes some of them, for a number of reasons beyond its control, took longer than it liked them to.
And, where a person feels their application has not been administered correctly, it would investigate.
