big f.e.p.s problem

fepper

in late 2007, i planted forestry under f.e.p.s.,i was not in r.e.p.s at the time but had to be in r.e.p.s.4 within 1 year to qualify for f.e.p.s. premium,unfortunately i did not get into r.e.p.s.4 within 1 year,so when i got my 1st forestry premium,i also got my f.e.p.s.premium for 2007 and also got my f.e.p.s. premium for 2008,but in 2009 i got a letter from the forest service that i was not in r.e.p.s.4 within 1 year and did not qualify for any f.e.p.s. premium payments,i rang the forest service and explained my problems trying to get into r.e.p.s.4 within the 1 year and was told to send in a letter from my r.e.p.s. planner that i was now in r.e.p.s.4,i sent on this letter and about 3 weeks later i got my f.e.p.s. premium for 2009 and also got my f.e.p.s. premium last year 2010,however in early 2011 i recieved a letter from the forest service saying all f.e.p.s. payments were a mistake and i now have a debt judgement for those premium payments,and now they are saying they have no record of any letter being sent to me in 2009 and no record of letter from my reps planner being recieved, my f.e.p.s. plan is supposed to be under review at the moment but i know the answer i'll get.its obvious it was a cock-up and now its a cover-up and i'm paying a dear price for it.i'd appreciate any advice what i should do next.thanks

Grecco

That old missing letter syndrome. It seems to be a regular thing with the ag dept.
they tried to pull a stunt similar to that on me a few years back, I had applied to the national reserve for entitlements but lo and behold they had no record of the application:eek: No amount of phone calls sorted it either because they never ring back!!!
I ended up having to go to my local TD to get it sorted.

F.D

fepper wrote: »

in late 2007, i planted forestry under f.e.p.s.,i was not in r.e.p.s at the time but had to be in r.e.p.s.4 within 1 year to qualify for f.e.p.s. premium,unfortunately i did not get into r.e.p.s.4 within 1 year,so when i got my 1st forestry premium,i also got my f.e.p.s.premium for 2007 and also got my f.e.p.s. premium for 2008,but in 2009 i got a letter from the forest service that i was not in r.e.p.s.4 within 1 year and did not qualify for any f.e.p.s. premium payments,i rang the forest service and explained my problems trying to get into r.e.p.s.4 within the 1 year and was told to send in a letter from my r.e.p.s. planner that i was now in r.e.p.s.4,i sent on this letter and about 3 weeks later i got my f.e.p.s. premium for 2009 and also got my f.e.p.s. premium last year 2010,however in early 2011 i recieved a letter from the forest service saying all f.e.p.s. payments were a mistake and i now have a debt judgement for those premium payments,and now they are saying they have no record of any letter being sent to me in 2009 and no record of letter from my reps planner being recieved, my f.e.p.s. plan is supposed to be under review at the moment but i know the answer i'll get.its obvious it was a cock-up and now its a cover-up and i'm paying a dear price for it.i'd appreciate any advice what i should do next.thanks

Tell the forest service you want to talk to the lands taken out section and you will pay back the whole lot and forget about the trees, see what they say then,
we have 35 acres of trees planted and because it was planted a year before we joined reps 4 they would not take it into consideration for feps, so when they told me they wanted me to plant hedges and sow trees i told them to go jump i had enough planted already after a while they settled on clover and a few small bits and pieces,
I know its not much help to you but you should probably dig in a little and show your not easily pushed around they might be a bit more considerate
your reps planner should really have a copy of his letter on file, if not i'm sure he could send a letter now backing you up saying he did send it at the time

fepper

thanks for replyin lads,i'l contact td but in fairness he's not much good,my planner on contract with teagasc in 09,he's gone now and no copy of his letter now on my reps file so thats a big problem.

MOSSAD

fepper wrote: »

thanks for replyin lads,i'l contact td but in fairness he's not much good,my planner on contract with teagasc in 09,he's gone now and no copy of his letter now on my reps file so thats a big problem.

Do not let these people walk over you. Lost letters my arse.
Get on to your forestry inspector and have him bat for you. If he doesn't contact the IFA and have them represent you and threaten a boycott of the Forest Service in your area.
Most of the Forest Service people are really helpful and will do their best to sort out things in your favour. Unfortunately it has several twits who have no understanding of the word "discretion".

fepper

thanks mossad,i'll keep badgering them anyway,

Caoimhín

Who did the planting contract for you Fepper? If it was a company or forester i presume they got the FEPS grant. Has the forest service been on to them about repaying?
It depends on the inspector in your area but he mightnt be much help. Have you tried the forester who signed the application forms?

fepper

hi caoimhin,s.w.s forestry services did the whole forestry job,they have being paid 36000euro(75%) and due 9000euro(25%) around now,i told s.w.s forester about it,not 2 sure what he did cos he never got back onto me,told him that i wouldnt sign .off the remaining grant if he didnt sort this out,again no comeback from him

greenfingers89

ring the office of sws forestry and look for the boss (padraig egan) complain about the service you are getting (you should be getting far more help from your forester)...this is why its v important to choose a good forestry company for your applications people!

fepper

thanks greenfingers,i'll ring him and give him a bit of my mind,and as far as their maintenance for the 4 years which is nil,i have a good mind to claim the rest of the grant 4 myself!!

greenfingers89

fepper wrote: »

thanks greenfingers,i'll ring him and give him a bit of my mind,and as far as their maintenance for the 4 years which is nil,i have a good mind to claim the rest of the grant 4 myself!!

you may have signed away the maintenance contract so bear that in mind, but at the very least you can refuse to sign the form 3 which they will need to put the site in for its 4 year inspection

however it might be worth ringing your local inspector and getting them out to have a look at it, most of them are obliging...what area are you in fepper?

and by the way im not surprised that the maintenance isnt up to scratch, in recent years some sws foresters have been paying cash up front to farmers in return for the job, now people are seeing where some of that money might be clawed back

fepper

i'm in kerry greenfingers,no money was offered or asked for when i decided to do forestry(sorry i didnt ask 4 a sweetner at the time but i was honest and trusting)i had to harden up a lot since,im sure from once they got the job and the 75%,they didnt give a damn,i probably did sign away the maintenance grant. you live and learn the hard way.

greenfingers89

fepper wrote: »

i'm in kerry greenfingers,no money was offered or asked for when i decided to do forestry

trust me your better off they didnt pay you, it would have hurt your plantation even more.....some might say that certain foresters are a bit "lawless" when it comes to grant funding

if your on the dingle penninsula, tralee area or north kerry your inspector is kieren nugent, south of this and iveragh penninsula is eugene currans area, they might be able to help you like i mentioned above

fepper

well-worded greenfingers,he fitted well in there!!ye met nugent when he passed it 4 grant,suppose no harm in talking to him bout my problem with the feps,funny feeling that all in the forest service sing out of the same song book?

greenfingers89

no harm in trying him, hes generally pretty sound.. id focus his attention more on the poor state of the plantation rather than the details of the application