{"id":4710,"date":"2015-11-14T23:03:07","date_gmt":"2015-11-14T23:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/?p=4710"},"modified":"2015-11-14T23:03:07","modified_gmt":"2015-11-14T23:03:07","slug":"walters-confrontation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/?p=4710","title":{"rendered":"Walter’s Confrontation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note:<\/strong> Although the following story is entirely based on real events, some of the details have been ever-so-slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect and entertainment purposes.<\/p>\n

\"Walter's<\/a>

Walter’s Phone<\/p><\/div>\n

Walter didn\u2019t care much for confrontation. He diligently avoided it whenever possible. There were times however, he had found, when others were in error, and there was little else he could do but to confront them with their mistake.<\/p>\n

Immediately upon opening the telltale grey envelope from the government taxation office, it became quite clear to Walter that someone had indeed made a mistake, and there was no way of avoiding the impending confrontation. He took the statement over to the telephone (Walter disliked the telephone), sat down determinedly in front of it, and tried to prepare himself for the unpleasantness which was sure to follow.<\/p>\n

Walter had an excellent memory; his mind had a penchant for details. He was quite certain that he had paid his property taxes in full and on time. The statement he now held in his hand, assessing a 5% penalty for late payment was certainly in error. It was true that Walter had waited until the very last day– the day upon which the taxes were due– to deliver his payment to the post office, where it was postmarked with the critical date, before it was sent off to the taxation office in Victoria. It was the very same procedure he had employed all of the eighteen previous years for the payment of his property taxes. Walter was no fan of government… or of taxes… and they could bloody well wait until the very last moment in receiving payment from him. He had never been penalized before.<\/p>\n

Walter took a deep breath and dialed the toll-free number.<\/p>\n

The taxation analyst, a woman– Doreen, with whom he spoke, seemed rather pleasant. Perhaps that would make things easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes… um,\u201d began Walter rather hesitantly, \u201cI seem to have been assessed a penalty on my property taxes…\u201d He paused and swallowed hard before completing the sentence: \u201c…in error.\u201d And then he hurried to explain further. \u201cI\u2019m quite sure that I paid my taxes in full and on time… as I do every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFolio number please,\u201d came the request on the other end.<\/p>\n

Right. His identity in the eyes of his government was encoded in a 15-digit number in the upper righthand corner of the statement. He dutifully recited the impersonal code that would open the door to this necessary conversation.<\/p>\n

And after just a brief pause \u201cOh, I see here, Walter, that our office received your payment on July the tenth,\u201d she said. The statement Walter held in his hand confirmed as much. Furthermore, Walter knew that the taxes were due on July the second– the day he had posted his letter with the payment. Legally, a letter was considered to be in the possession of the addressee at the moment it entered the postal system. How long it actually took the postal service to deliver the letter was none of Walter\u2019s concern. He had met his obligation on the second of July.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, well…\u201d explained Walter, \u201cit\u2019s really the postmark on the letter I sent that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doreen agreed and offered to pull the envelope from the files to send a scanned copy to Walter\u2019s email. Walter happily agreed, noticing that this was already going much better than expected… that is, until she came back on the line with envelope in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have it right here,\u201d Doreen informed him. \u201cAnd the date that I\u2019m seeing is the eleventh of July.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI beg your pardon?\u201d Walter was instantly flummoxed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe date on the envelope clearly says July eleventh,\u201d answered Doreen quite pleasantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s impossible!\u201d Walter quite nearly shouted into the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that\u2019s what it says,\u201d insisted Doreen, maintaining all cordiality.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut… but…\u201d stammered Walter, \u201cyou\u2019re saying that the letter was posted the day AFTER it was already received at your office…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut surely you can see that that\u2019s not possible… for me to have mailed the letter the day after you received it…?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Walter,\u201d she answered consolingly, \u201cbut my opinion doesn\u2019t really count much in these matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that date… it can\u2019t be the proper postmark. It\u2019s impossible!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only date I have,\u201d insisted Doreen sweetly.<\/p>\n

Walter was at a momentary loss as to how to proceed. He pictured the envelope in his mind… and began probing. \u201cSo the date… inside the circle… the one validating the postage… it says July eleventh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, the date inside the circle is illegible; it\u2019s totally unreadable. And I couldn\u2019t even begin to speculate what it might say,\u201d she added as though standing upon some grand ethical principle.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s the relevant date!\u201d Walter had never been this close to shouting on the telephone before.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelevant to what?\u201d asked Doreen as though the asking was most natural under the circumstances.<\/p>\n

Walter stated flatly in disbelief \u201cRelevant to my being assessed a late penalty for my taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no,\u201d Doreen assured him, \u201cthat assessment is based on the date I already gave you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJuly eleventh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! That one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s the wrong date,\u201d insisted Walter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s the only one I\u2019ve got,\u201d insisted Doreen.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you understand that it\u2019s impossible for me to have mailed the letter the day after you received it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do. Perfectly. Honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walter let go an exasperated sigh. \u201cSo how do we proceed with this penalty business then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I suggest you pay it… promptly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat!\u201d Walter wasn\u2019t losing his patience; he was losing his fricken marbles! \u201cYou clearly see the impossibility of it. Why can\u2019t you just remove the penalty?\u201d asked Walter quite reasonably.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I don\u2019t have THAT kind of authority,\u201d admitted Doreen with an embarrassed giggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why am I talking to you,\u201d whispered Walter into the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that I can provide you with all of the information pertinent to your case,\u201d she assured him. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to provide all of the documentation and details for the Rural Taxation office in an email. This all has to be on the up-and-up, you know… a proper written record and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut your office just obviously made a stupid error…\u201d Walter\u2019s sentence trailed off as he realized that this conversation was going no further… if it had gone anywhere at all. He thanked Doreen for her time and hung up the phone.<\/p>\n

There really was no way to prepare for a conversation like that… and it hadn\u2019t been quite as confrontational as he\u2019d feared. He still disliked telephones… and Walter could still find no love for his government.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod help us all,\u201d he whispered to himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: Although the following story is entirely based on real events, some of the details have been ever-so-slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect and entertainment purposes. Walter didn\u2019t care much for confrontation. He diligently avoided it whenever possible. There were times (…)<\/p>\n

Read the rest of this entry »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4712,"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4710\/revisions\/4712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.nielskunze.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}