Taking On Big Brother

Stuart-Goldsmith - Tue 13 May, 2008

What happens when you take a zero-tolerance approach to government bureaucracy...

I have a friend who is in deep trouble.

All attempts to save him on my part have failed. I can write this without the slightest worry that he will read it and be offended.

He doesn't read anything anymore. He doesn't answer his phone or pick up his emails. He hasn't opened his post for the last five years.

He exists (I hesitate to use the word 'lives') in a squalid, rat-infested hovel lying amid the accumulated filth and detritus of a decade. By the way, this was once a nicely restored mid-terrace - just as he was once a top computer programmer and excellent musician.

That was then, this is now.

He has no heating and has not changed his bedding for five years. He urinates into empty wine bottles and has thrown no rubbish away for years. I'll spare you further graphic details, but whatever you are imagining - it is worse.

How did my friend get into this state? The answer to that question is nowhere near as interesting as what I discovered when I tried to help him, so I'll be brief - drink and depression (in who knows what order).

My job was to sort out his financial situation. That means Council Tax, Inland Revenue, gas, electricity and TV licensing. Not a very daunting list in fact. But doing this was a real eye-opener for someone who has never received a second request for payment in 30 years!

I think you'll find the story interesting.

My unenviable task was to go through a five-year old pile of mouldering, smelly mail to try and piece together the shambles which passed for his financial life. He has plenty of money - several hundred thousand as it happens - so that wasn't the issue.

There quickly emerged a fascinating and oft-repeated story line which I will illustrate by means of the Council Tax.

First comes your polite, regular assessment. 'You owe us this much - here's how to pay.'

Sometime later comes the 'almost polite reminder'. “It appears you have not paid - here's another payslip and a reminder of how to pay.”

Then the increasing threat levels:

'You have seven days to pay or else.'

'Regrettably we have still not received payment. We are granting you a one week extension, but you MUST pay by... Or else.'=

“Unless we receive payment by banker's draft within 24 hours, bailiffs will.”

'This notice informs you that bailiffs will be calling at...'

'We have now passed this matter to our collections agency, Doolittle, Allday and Knight.'

Then came an endless series of very threatening and harassing letters from said Doolittle, Allday and Knight, culminating in several hand-delivered letters from bailiffs. They had called to confiscate property, failed to gain entry on several occasions and had now given up. Then came a court order in judgement for the overdue amount. Then a court fine of £157.93 for failing to respond. Then more bailiffs' letters. A thick and entertaining pile of them (letters, not bailiffs).

Then... silence. Nothing. Nada. Eighteen months' worth of nada by the time I started work.

The same with the gas - endless threats, endless exhortations, endless sabre-rattling and attempts to gain entry and cut off the gas. Then... silence (with a total gas bill of £1,000+ and rising).

TV licensing? Well this is a hobby horse of mine anyway so don't get me started. How dare an entertainment company threaten us for not buying their service? Outrageous. After going through a fistful of hysterical bluster from the licensing authorities, nothing further was done.

Inland Revenue? Surely they got heavy? Well his earnings are virtually zero - just the interest on his savings. But of course they didn't know that. The Council Tax scenario was played out almost word for word, letter for letter. Again, nothing.

He kept one credit card which he used to top-up the electricity (often after being without power for a fortnight) and also to buy that essential of life - red wine.

Here's the kicker - his wreck of a car was no way street legal. No insurance and no MOT and a tax disk for 2001! He had not paid road fund licence for seven years. In the pile were the stereotypical threats and red letters followed by the usual total silence.

The picture was repeated across the entire spectrum of his financial life. The fact that he did not interface with them IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER eventually led to them completely giving up and going away.

In contrast, another friend who got into minor financial difficulties attempted to reason with the bailiffs and to pay off whatever small amount he could afford. His life was made total hell by these rude and hostile people who harangued him with endless phone calls demanding more. He wishes he had never paid them.

Well, this is not a route for most of us, but it seems the less you are registered, bagged and tagged by the state, the less hassle you will get from them. They just don't seem to be geared up for folk who refuse to have anything to do with them. It costs money to chase such people with no result - and there comes a time when they refuse to spend any more, even if you do owe them £1,356.33p or whatever.

Of course it is increasingly difficult for an honest citizen to say 'No' to government interference in every aspect of their lives. How did we get to a society where you could get a criminal record for leaving a dustbin open or where petty council officials could use the full force of police state surveillance to track your littering habits or your attempts to get your kids into a good school?

As I write, the Government are flat out building a series of interrogation centres across the country in preparation for the new ID card. We have hundreds of thousands of spy cameras monitoring us - and now plans for microphones to listen to us in public spaces and loudspeakers to bark-out orders in the streets. I am writing this in Guernsey which when I last looked was not a foreign country, yet I needed my passport to get here. It goes on.

Attempts to disengage with the interference of the state are easier said than done. It is now official - you cannot have your name removed from the electoral role, even if you willingly give up your right to vote.

The battle has been a protracted one. In the left corner, a Home Counties refusenik who, disillusioned with politics, demands that his name be removed from the electoral register. In the right corner, the forces of Big Brother bureaucracy who refuse to comply. The issue has given rise to an extraordinary 15-month correspondence between our hero (who wishes to remain anonymous) and the authorities.

The man, who lives in Hampshire, merely wished formally to renounce his right to vote. The nub of the problem is that it is an offence not to fill in the registration form, which leads, inexorably, to appearing on the register. The 'bizarre and lugubrious search for political leadership among the floating voters' finally got the better of him.

He asked to be removed from the electoral register. The request brought a predictable response from a junior council official. House holders were required to fill in the 'Form A' and these details would be placed on the register of 'other electors'.

After several exchanges of letters, our hero finally wrote: “I formally abrogate my voting rights and do not wish to be a voter. I do not even wish to be associated with the constituency of voters. I am terminating all association with the body politic and refuse to appear as any form of elector.”

The reply was curt: “Thank you for your letter. I have retained your name on the Register of Electors as required by Law. Yours Faithfully.”

He is still battling, with little hope of success.

Yet to return to my friend who took the extreme zero tolerance approach to bureaucracy, there seems to be an unexploited wormhole through this black hole. If you refuse to interface in any way with government (and one must be consistent - zero contact) it seems you pass through into wonderland where (can this be true?) they leave you alone to get on with your life.

That, to me, is bliss.

Regards,

Stuart Goldsmith
For The Daily Reckoning