In early July, 2007 I received a registered letter from the Portuguese Finance Department saying that I hadn't yet paid a fine that they so graciously gave me for not filing a quarterly report that I didn't know that I had to file because I had no income so thought that it would be ridiculous to file and it turned out that it wasn't! This situation was taken care of in February of this year when I reluctantly paid a fine of over €100 . It was a draining day with lots of driving involved and the stress of communicating with the dim-witted in two separate finance offices on opposites sides of the Tejo River, but life goes on (oh bla di bla da).
After receiving the July notification I, once again, trooped back to the finance department armed with paid documents and with my personal translator :-) in tow. I was in a b*tchy mood from the get-go because I anticipated the blank looks and shrugs and the "passing-the-buck - it wasn't my fault" round about that I would get at the finance office - AND in true form, they didn't disappoint.
After showing all the paper work, lots of consults among the workers, they finally agreed that I had, indeed, paid the fine previously and were surprised (more like appalled) that I had an attitude because, of course, they were not responsible for any error as it was the other finance office that I had visited that day in February. They assured me of their efficiency and said they would rectify the situation.
Well, this past week, I received yet another registered letter saying that I still haven't paid my fine. . .
I'm on their shit list for sure!
1 comment:
Dear Ramona,
that sounds so much like the public services in Brazil!!! My dad used to call this "a treasure hunt" because they never tell you everything you need to know from the start; just like in a treasure hunt, you are given clues only as you move along... :-)
A warm hug from Brazil
Mônica
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