Mailbag

We've been getting quite an assortment of interesting mail lately. Here is a sampling of some of our favorites:

Voter Registration Letter
We got a letter which explains that the occupants of the house need to verify their voting details. The previous two tenants were both eligible to vote; however, being non-EU and non-Commonwealth citizens, we are not. Thus, we had to complete the part of the form that says that we can't vote, and send it back in to the Council. As an aside, we were legally required to complete this form.

Council Tax Form
We had a nice form waiting for us when we moved in requesting our information for Council Tax purposes. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of a council tax, think about the most regressive form of occupancy tax possible, and you'll be about there. We are still trying to establish our exemptions from Council Tax as students, which requires far more paperwork than it should, not least because the University says that I should be on the list of exempt students that the Council has. We were legally required to complete this one, too.

TV Licencing Form
To be able to watch, record, or otherwise utilize television, you have to buy a TV licence. We got a lovely letter from the responsible government agency, informing us that they knew that there had been a change of occupancy at this address, and that they also knew that we had not purchased a TV licence. They then offered us several methods by which to do so, or face fines if we failed to purchase a licence. We were legally required to provide the requested information, which we did with a phone call saying that we did not own, nor did we intend to own, a television or recording equiptment for use at this address. They assure us that an inspector will be coming by to verify this as soon as is convenient for an inspector.

Other People's Mail
We frequently get mail addressed to the last three tenants, and to the landlord. We also get things addressed to a mysterious person who goes by the lone name of "Occupier." If anyone wants to come by to collect their mail, we have a nice pile accumulating. The offerings range from sales catalogs to university grade reports to political propoganda to coupons to run-of-the-mill advertising. Some of them, for reasons not fully understood, do not have an address, but were just deposited in our mail slot. Frequently, mail without an apartment number is simply left on the table in the lobby, but apparently sometimes the mail guys feel like handing it out at random.

All that said, Deutsche Post was quite more efficient! Royal Mail means to leave you a slip when you have a package waiting at the post office, but Deutsche Post always did leave one. We had to go hunting for our package on our own this time. We're glad we found it when we did, because it had our absentee ballots in them. Thus, we've now voted, and can ignore the rest of the campaign season! It's a great feeling!