Arrrghhhhh council smouncil

I am never ceased to be amazed by the common stupidity shared by the various members of staff at my local council.


Each time I try to call up and get through to a department I try to give them the benefit of the doubt however countless conversations and resulting post I receive through the door only confirms my previous thoughts - that the department would run much more smoothly if they employed a horde of orangutans and dressed them in suits.  (this being the watered down 'family friendly' versions of my thoughts) but I failed to understand why everything is always so complicated.


So why exactly am I going on and on about the council because....
I'm a student- > students do not pay council tax-> students go to the trouble of providing letters of proof from their educational institution to send to their local council -> student is told 'thank you for your proof' -> 2 years later student receives letter through the door saying 'excuse me but you owe me this much money for tax, also we're taking you to court, and for fun we're also going to charge you and extra £95.00 because you defaulted on your tax payment, have a nice day!' this is then accompanied by the following sequence of events:


phone call 1 to council -> speak to 'i hate my job/life' lady #1 -> transferred department -> speak to 'irrate lady' #2 ->transferred department ->back to 'i hate my job/life ' lady #1-> transfer call -> speak to 'happy go lucky lady' that informs me that she cant get through to department required as they are not answering the phone (there's a surprise) and that shes made a note on the system that it's an urgent call and that I will receive a call in 48 hrs.


1 week later ..... Nothing ...... and so the vicious cycle of the glorious council continues- which ends in them asking me to provide them with letters from my education institution to prove I am a student there........................................................................... Well council what can I say- You are obviously correct in charging an addition £95.00 for default tax payments as you'll need that money to invest in a filing system that ACTUALLY WORKS.I mean how hard is it to file a piece of paper in the correct place??????


Really I should know better. I happen to have a number of a acquaintances that  to work in various councils around the London, and they seem to share one thing in common- they love to work.
Why?? Because their day is filled with numerous important tasks such as 'facebooking', 'msning' and just general 'BBMing' on their mobile phones. This sadly, does not surprise me, happy to know that the council tax that people are paying is going to good use.