How to go crazy…

It doesn’t take much, nor long when dealing with administrative tasks!

This morning in the mail I received a letter announcing that if I didn’t pay within 10 days the property taxes in the next state up on a piece of land the family owns, this state would be within it’s legal rights to slap a mortgage on said property.

So far, so good.

However, I had already paid this tax shortly after I received it last fall!!! Even reconciled in my bank accounts so I know that the bank paid it (sometimes, I discover a month later that something I have scheduled hasn’t been paid… but that’s another problem).

I had used the payment slip they sent and did it on-line. This is an important fact as we have a reference number of some 20 digits that allows the receiver to correctly attribute the payment.

Instead of writing a letter, paying the postage and trying to cover any other payments from the bank as proof I decided, oh mistake, oh mistake, to call.

I properly followed the instructions and got the usual, “sorry all of our collaborators are busy”, with the addition of please consult our on-line pages.  Then after no collaborator is available within 10 minutes they simply say “sorry, no one is currently available, please call back later”. I repeated this cycle 6 – yes SIX – times (never had it worse), meanwhile duly checking the website, but of course, my question isn’t covered.

The sixth time I go someone and with my client number was able to have her “find” the payment. Although there are separate reference numbers for each bill, it seems that the banks sometimes “correct” the number to the one that you last used for that invoice and thus my property tax payment became simply a payment on my income taxes. Arghhhhh

And I can’t say that loud enough! At least this year I am forewarned.

There are days like that: I also have no heating in the attic so I called the heating chap. He was quick, but the problem couldn’t be solved so now I’m waiting for the company that checks the whole system to call me and come see.

I have dinner with a friend, which will save my mood, then it’s coffee with girlfriends followed by cocktails tonight with the neighbours. My day will end better than it began.

And, oh, the sun is shining. Right now though my blood pressure is through the roof and my faith in the “system” non-existant

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