I’m kind of a forgetful person. I can sit in front of a computer and manipulate virtual things all day and keep variables and chains of reasoning in my head, and solve all kinds of technical problems. But put me in charge of anything physical and I’ll forget where I put it, or even that I ever saw it. It’s the way I’m wired. It’s not that I accept it or blame anyone but myself, and I fight it and constantly try to find techniques to work around my limitations, but the fact remains that I’m good at some things and not good at others.
So it seems that sometimes the government is out to get me. Today I got a letter saying I’d forgotten to pay my car tax and have to pay a £40 penalty (or £80 if I forget to pay that). It’s actually a lot less than I might have thought, and it’s not like they don’t make it easy to pay, and I do at least *choose* to have a car.
But the fact remains: if I was good at bureacracy I would have become a bureacrat. All these requirements — fill in this form by this date or else — are thrust upon me with very little sympathy for the fact that this kind of thing falls outside what I’m good at.
I admit I don’t blog every time I incur a late fee for a forgotten credit card bill, and on the face of it it’s the same kind of thing, but the language here is crucially different. I have comitted an “offence” and must pay a “penalty” and if I forget to pay there may be “court proceedings”. A credit card company might at least phone me up and have a friendly chat about a forgotten bill. Indeed, I can remember one occasion where a late fee was waived when I told them I hadn’t realised a rounding error left me with a few pennies’ balance on a credit card. I don’t imagine the DVLA being all that understanding about it if I call them and tell them that I was organising a wedding when the reminder notice came and on honeymoon when the car tax was due.
And they are a monopoly. It’s not as if I can switch to another provider if I don’t like the terms. I can get a credit card that will take the minimum payment by direct debit. I don’t think the DVLA offers this option, as if the ability to fill in forms on time is part of the test for car ownership.
I can only be thankful that the horrendous ID cards scheme is unravelling. I can imagine the ways I might have unwittingly fallen foul of *its* requirements and penalties.