There’s a difference between Child Support and customer satisfaction offices. Our DSHS has a special unit that just deals with complaints.
Do everything in writing. If someone is stupid enough to tell you that in writing, well maybe you can have his/her job! Not that you’ll like it–everybody hates Support Enforcement.
You can ask for copies of whatever policy, law or adminstrative code they are enforcing–that pisses them off too. If any of you were in Washington, I could give more pertinent info on which buttons to push.
All I can tell you is that shit rolls down hill in state government and nobody likes a state employee that keeps getting legislator calls or letters. And I say this as some who actually has experience in both pisses off and pleasing legislators.
Send it United States Mail Restricted Delivery. Not Registered Mail, but Restricted Delivery.
It is against the law for anyone- a secretary, a postal room clerk, a receptionist, an Admin Assist…anyone- to sign for it. Only the person whose name appears on the letter as the Addressee may sign for it, and none others. The recipient IS legally allowed to pre-designate another person, by name, to sign in their stead. ( Which is how if you were to send a Restricted Delivery piece of mail to say, Karl Rove, the odds are very long that he’d sign for it ). Many people, especially folks not in the public eye, haven’t likely designated anyone in their stead and so will be compelled to sign for your letter themselves. From the United States Postal Service Info Site.
You will get a receip with their name, and their signature on it, along with the date that they took physical posession of the letter you sent to them.
They can insist they never signed, but to do so opens them up to a hellacious legal can of worms, since in your hand you will hold their actual signature. They’d have to accuse you of forgery to claim they never signed for your letter. It’s worth the small fee ( coupla dollars I think. )
Oh, and in that letter- under separate letterhead- have your now-adult son write a letter specifically to this person, explaining his now-legal age, where he lives, being out of High School, etc. Have that letter notarized. Also, make notarized copies of his High School Graduation as proof.
Good luck ! If you really want to come on strong, hire a process server. For a set fee, THEY WILL STAND BEFORE this putz, and THEY WILL hand-deliver your packet containing the notarized letters. All depends on what this is worth to you to do in an ironclad way.
Oooops. That’ll teach me to post before reading through to the end.
I am not a lawyer, I do not play one on the television, and I apologize if I came off sounding like one.
I’ve made use of Restricted Delivery before. It is not the sole purvey of lawyers and such, anyone who can walk into a Post Office is allowed to send US Mail through Restricted Delivery.
It was just a thought. Not me trying to sound like a lawyer. Just another schmo who makes good use of the US Postal Service. That’s me.
