Hello.
This year I have been assessed for vessel tax on two items of additional tax. There could be just an explanation why this is so, but the item would be one. When paying, I overlooked that there were two different references and paid the total of the two on one reference, also because of the fee to the bank after each posting. After a few months I received a reminder about the unpaid tax. On examination, however, he found my mistake and sent a letter explaining why the debt was incurred and also received a reply, which I enclose below.I cannot understand how the clerk could have booked the overpayment without a problem, but the other account showed a shortfall of exactly the difference of the overpayment for the same matter, and the overbooking was not a problem, I just had to warn them. I was instead sent a reminder about the unpaid tax. According to the clerk, I am liable to pay interest of €0.60 for late payment, because that is the law.  So I had to pay €0.60 interest plus a fee of €0.35 to the bank because of the administration's rigidity.
I suggested to the clerk to go to her superior and suggest a solution or a change if that is the law, but the matter is illogical. She flatly refused me, saying that she was working according to the law and if I felt that my rights had been violated I should complain. I expected a bit of human dialogue, however, because we are not on a battlefield.
Personally, I think that this attitude on the part of civil servants throughout the civil service is also why we have so many problems. People and situations change and it is also necessary to keep up with the regulations and the law, if anyone has an interest. There is clearly little of that in these services. The managers should monitor the work and suggest changes and it would be much easier.