A similar feeling of being left in the dark is shared by Philip Hawkins, a 57-year-old retired art teacher, from Exeter.
He first contacted Teachers’ Pensions about a CETV in October last year.
He was told he would have to pay for the valuation and that he would be sent an invoice. It took five months for that invoice to arrive.
“Each time I was calling up, I was told I would get a response within a certain number of days, 10 days, and never would get that response,” he said.
“When I’d phone up again, I would say ‘what’s happened to my previous request?’ I would get the same answer, that this is being escalated and we’ll get back to you and each time no one ever gets back to me.
“I’ve felt like throwing my phone out the window and knocking my head against the wooden table because I felt there’s nothing I can do here.”
He received and paid an invoice for the CETV earlier this month, but said that he is “very anxious” that he could be waiting another year or two for the valuation.
“It’s very tiring and it’s something that wears away at you.”
