Monday, 19 February 2007

Too innocent

The office was bustling this morning with Helen (Volunteer Centre co-ordinator) delivering another workshop for potential volunteers. Vanessa was off delivering some Trustees' training - part of our joint programme with Three Rivers CVS.

The morning's mail brought news that the regional Compact event scheduled for 5 March has been cancelled - apparently due to lack of interest. I found this rather disappointing. Maybe at just 45 I am still too innocent and optimistic and not yet sufficiently cynical. I must try harder.

A helpful conversation

At lunchtime, I met with Sarah Pinnock (WBC's Senior Grants Officer). There seemed to be an awful lot on which we had to update each other. And we last met less than two weeks ago!

The biggest items up for discussion were the LAA targets, the review of the Watford Compact, WBC funding decisions, community development, nad accommodation. But we also managed to touch on a large number of other issues.

Hot water

Safely back home, I found a final demand from a Debt Recovery company for Road Tax on a car I disposed of last summer. Of course I had notified DVLA but I had never received confirmation. I later got a reminder and spoke to DVLA on the telephone, but again I never got written confirmation. This was my mistake, assuming that DVLA employed competent and honest people - it seems they can't afford them. Even though I can still prove I disposed of the vehicle last summer, I still have to pay an £80 penalty. "Can't you check you're records to see the correspondence?" I asked.

"No."

"Then how do you know I didn't notify you?"

"If you had, we wouldn't issue a penalty notice, would we?"

You can't argue with logic like that. Especially not when DVLA's "Customer Relations" person then simply hung up on me after a final heart-felt: "yeah, yeah, we'll look into it".

I was cross. Should I just put it all down to experience? By writing a note to myself that the DVLA employs dishonest uncaring morons whose main purpose is to get as much of your money as possible? Do I really just want to put that down "to experience"?

But at least our gas leak was fixed so we had central heating and hot water - and didn't we make the most of it.