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The initial enrollment went relatively on time. I was lucky I planned on arriving 20 minutes early. The office was in such a discrete location with no signage, it took me 20 minutes to locate it once I arrived on sight.
However, weeks later, when I arrived at 0850 for my 0900 appointment to have my TWIC issued to me, I was told to sign in. At 1030 they called me to the desk.
The lady contractor tried to put on a cheery attitude after she noticed the disappointment on my face. She continually stated in different ways how they were running short on staff that day.
My response was that they had no excuse to be short on staff. I reminded her that we are all paying $130 for our cards. With that kind of fee, there can be no valid reason in my mind that resources are not available at all times to ensure appointments go on schedule.
I was there on my time. My employer was not paying me the extra 1 1/2 hour of time I spent waiting for my scheduled appointment. They were also not paying for my $130 TWIC.
Today is June 4, 2008. I e-mail them for the second time to ask the status. The online status check reveals the "card is in production".
Here in San Diego, Mariners are receiving their cards in 3-4 weeks. I asked if I could get a refund and apply elsewhere. Here is their response:
"Unfortunately you cannot cancel the transaction once the information has been taken and submitted for processing. We cannot grant you a refund once the information has been received and processed. If you were to enroll again – the system would flag you as a duplicate and it won’t process your information, which means you would have paid twice without the option of getting a refund".
As mentioned in other posts, the credit card is charged immediately but the promised service is not rendered. To top it off, there is nothing I can do about it.
Wonder what would happen if they were paid "after" the service was rendered instead of before. Bet Lockheed Martin would be pumping out cards a lot quicker!!!
The deadline was extended to April, 2009 and at the rate they are going it will be extended a few more times. I can legally sail until then, so I'm not going to worry about it. Just hope it arrives before it expires!!! LOL
The stations do not vary, enrollee information and when information was transmitted varies and plays a large role in the processing.
We thank you for your continued patience and you will receive a notification.
February 27, 2008 - Applied at the TWIC Enrollment Center, Suite F
814 Greenbrier Circle, Chesapeake, VA 23320
May 22, 2008 - Sent e-mail to credentialing@dhs.gov requesting status.
May 23, 2008 - Received response saying my information was received, gone through the adjudication process, and sent off for production. My information was being kept on file and forwarded to Lockheed Martin for further research, and they would contact me as soon as possible. Never heard from them.
June 4, 2008 – Sent e-mail to credentialing@dhs.gov asking if I could cancel my application so I can apply elsewhere. I was told I could not cancel as I would be flagged as a duplicate and the system would not process my information. They thanked me for my patience and said I will receive notification.
July 17, 2008 – Sent e-mail to credentialing@dhs.gov requesting status. Never received a reply!
August 6, 2008 – Called TWIC Helpdesk. Told to call back in 1 ½ weeks for status update.
August 19, 2008 – Called for status update. No record of my previous phone call. Asked for case number I was never given. Got frustrated and hung up.
August 25, 2008 – Called TWIC Helpdesk. I was assigned a Ticket # and told to call back in 2 weeks for status.
August 27, 2008 – Sent e-mail to credentialing@dhs.gov requesting status.
August 27, 2008 – Used the online form on the TWIC website to request status.
August 29, 2008 – Received reply from Operations Manager, Mr. Tom Hathaway, phone # 571-227-1024. He said my security threat assessment was completed on February 29, 2008 and a card order was generated then. He requested Lockheed Martin to investigate my card order but there was a 1 day turn around and the card order must be hung up in the system. He hoped to have an answer by Tuesday (Sept 2, 2008) and will provide an update then. Never heard from him again. Unable to contact him.
September 2, 2008 – Received response from Brandon Vance at TWIC Helpdesk informing me that my card appears to be misrouted! He apologized that the representatives at credentialing didn’t inform me of this. He escalated a Ticket # to Lockheed Martin and asked that I give him until September 12, 2008 for an update. Never heard from him again.
September 8, 2008 – Called for status of ticket # from August 25. A representative with an attitude told me I have to wait a month for a status. I told her the representative that gave me the ticket number said 2 weeks. She said she doesn’t have a status and to call back after a month.
I can't seem to find contact info for anyone at TSA other than the general "run of the mill we'll get back to you" customer service reps. If anyone has e-mail or phone #'s for the management or director of TSA please post. My next step is a letter to my Congressman, hate to go that route and not sure if it will even help, but worth a try.
Anyone have any other suggestions I'd appreciate your input.
Thanks All and good luck with your TWIC!!