Nov 2008 25

Oops!6

I laughed when I received this yesterday from a TPA supporter:

081125 Voter Reg Form

Look at the top line.  It says that by not registering or giving false details with Basingstoke and Deane council, you face a £1,000 fine!  What do they do next?  They say your details have to be in by Thursday 24th November 2008. 

Do you spot the problem?  Yesterday was Monday 24th November.  As our correspondent in Hampshire pointed out to us – does their error mean that details have to be sent in by Thursday 27th November, Monday 24th November or Thursday 20th? 

Were you to be as confused about this as our supporters in Hampshire are and you get your details wrong or miss the deadline – you face a £1,000 fine.  Here’s food for thought.  How about when the council gets their details wrong, instead threatening to fine us, they give us a rebate as way of apology.  We’ve all got to live by the same rules, surely?

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  • Steve Robson

    Its called a mistake Tim; i could give you quite a few from the private sector much worse. Now where is my IKEA order; and i’m still waiting for that British Gas call in 2004; and don’t even get me started on NTL.

  • Tim

    Haha, classic Steve – the thing here is that you won’t get fined because of Ikea’s mistake, though you may be slightly inconvenienced.
    You can choose not to shop at Ikea if you don’t like their service, but you can’t avoid the council’s big nose (and big hands, in your wallet).

  • Tim

    By the way, I’m a different Tim – not Tim Aker who wrote the article.

  • Steve Robson

    Except obviously they wont really fine anyone when they’ve made a mistake and even if they wanted to, the (publicly funded) rule of law would stop them.
    Your point about choice has some value, though theres less real competition than you imply and its a bit late after they’ve failed to deliver. I’m not clear how you can have choice in electoral registration however. If you are a genuine libertarian who thinks peeople shouldn’t have to register, i do respect that view. I would consider letting people almost completely opt out, but it would have to be a full opt out; no services at all, no use of roads, no protection, no employing people educated or born in the state sector, no advantage taken of state services at all. They would have to be subject to some laws though, ie they can’t just murder people. I think it would be difficult, which is why we have a state… and civil society…and taxes…and obligations, like filling in a form, which one Council in 400 got the wrong date on.

  • Dave Scot

    You all seem to be under the illusion that “Government” “Taxes” “Voter registraion” are real things. They are not.
    They are illusion, lies.

  • Steve Robson

    You what?