You think we have it bad over here, take a read at how NickM in the UK was awakened this morning
It was the phone. Well, the cat had to remove his paw from across my left arm (and looked most put-out about it, sorry Timmy) and I answered the phone. I had to answer it. It could have been a job for me or my wife, right? It was instead Her Majesties Revenue and Customs. The chill reached my bowels in seconds and the kitty ran off afrighted for similar reasons. Fortunately it wasn’t for me. Unfortunately it was for my wife. Apparently she owes them 1500 quid. This is primarily because they use self-assessment forms which NASA would deem a bit complicated, actually. This isn’t an outstanding debt. Oh, no! This is 2008/2009 tax year. This is on the basis of monies they think she’ll earn. And get this. If she doesn’t pay on the nail they are going to charge interest on it. Yes, interest on money not yet earned.
If I could get away with that I’d be sitting pretty. I could charge all the local owners of crappy Dells fifty notes (at least) up-front in case they go wrong. And if they didn’t pay I’d drag them into the courts.
But, of course, my wife’s (and mine and your) tax pays for vital stuff like schools and hospitals doesn’t it? So, why can’t we get an NHS dentist? Why can’t she get a blood-pressure monitor? Why can’t she get Implanon without driving half-way across the county? Why are the roads in a total fucking state? Why are the railways crap? Why are they closing down Jodrell Bank? Why, on 47% of our GDP, do we not even have the hint of a space program? What the fuck is it being spent on? What the fuck is it being spent on?
I’ve heard of and have even contemplated paying my taxes ahead of time so as to not have to worry about the possibility of getting stuck between February and April with saving up a chunk of change for the IRS.
Even having to let my employer take the money out of my check before I get to see it is offensive.
But being forced to pay on income you haven’t even earned? That should be so completely insulting to any thinking person that revolution is seriously considered.
Don’t think that this issue is limited to the taxing authorities. Early this week I received a bill from Orkin, with which company I had an arrangement (not a contract) for regular insect control at my home. I opened the bill and noted that it was double the usual amount. I checked my checkbook, and noted that I had paid them for their last service and the check had not cleared, but then I read the invoice line more carefully, and it claimed I owed them also for the next month’s service which they had not performed yet!
I called them up, and they sheepishly said that must have been an error, and they would remove the charge and re-bill.
I said, “Hold on, don’t you have a computer that does your billing?” They replied, yes, of course they did. I pointed out that someone must have programmed the computer to pre-bill, so there must have been an instruction from higher management to do that. I requested to speak to a supervisor.
Instead of a supervisor, I was transferred to a customer service rep, but I repeated my question to her. She put me on hold for 3 minutes, and when she came back told me that she couldn’t answer my question. I asked her, “do you mean that you aren’t permitted to answer my question?” and she said that the only person who could answer that question was not in the office.
At that point, I told her I was terminating my requirement for services from Orkin, and I explained that I expect all companies with which I do business to abide by the Uniform Commercial Code, which has zero instructions about billing out services neither contracted for nor performed.
My take on both instances, the one in UK and Orkin is that piracy is the primary motivator of business and industry, as well as government, at this point in time. If you are not sharp enough to do business among pirates, you’d be better off dead.
In the last few months, I’ve heard and seen for myself several examples of bills that pre-charged for the next month’s services.
Is there something going on?
Some Guy – Yes, you are correct. A year or so ago one of the neighbors brought one of our standard utility bills over and showed us that by billing for a two month cycle – one month having services already provided and the following month yet to be provided, we were actually being billed for 13 months in a 12 month period!
Sneaky, sneaky petes – sometimes though us old farts are sharper than they give us credit for and we have the time to go lookin for this crap! That was a “gotcha” for sure.
Actually, I think NickM, and the rest of Britain, is paying, “47% of our GDP” to the New Stasi that is the CCTV world that they live in these days.