Home Affairs complaints department

I will keep this short and sweet as I'm pretty sure you receive thousands of complaints a day. My complaint will probably not make on iota of difference, but I'd still like to at least go on record with this complaint.

I applied for the renewal of my license in December 2006, just before I left for the US. I came back 6 weeks later and immediately made a trip to your offices just in case it might be there....yes yes, I know we are supposed to wait for a little collection note to reach us in the post, but your system doesn't work all that well and people don't always get these little notes....so I just went. No license.

Ever since the end of January I have made a monthly trip to you offices in order to find out if my license has showed up...no luck. I've phoned, I've complained, I've thrown nice little Ruby tantrums, I've been nice, I've even tried bribing...still, no luck.

Then last week my father phones me all the way from the Zulu Kingdom. My collection notice had been sent to them..how odd! I didn't even give you their address?? I gave you my address, in Joburg. Not being one to be easily phased I got my Dad to fax me a copy of the thing for "just in case". And set out to your offices early this morning...bearing my now expired temporary license that I had to get when I applied for the renewal, since the old one had expired the week before.

I would like to mention that I think you need to send all your staff members on a social interaction course or something. It is extremely impolite to start yelling at a client when she requests her new license. Needless to say, this morning didn't start out well. I was yelled at, told that the license had been sent back, asked why I had waited a whole year, told that I had to re-apply for a renewal as well as a new temporary license which would mean that I would have to pay for everything again. Ever so sweetly I tried to explain to your employee that I was quite sure that if he would just take a look he would find my license along with all the others, as the collection notice had only been sent at the end of November and that I've been there once a month for the past 11 months and they've told me every single time that they didn't have my license yet. He only knew one sentence:"eish, you have to pay again" Sorry dude!!! ain't gonna happen, this was so not my fault.

Anyway, after a shouting match of about 20minutes some other senior official finally showed up and after listening to me carefully...like the other guy should have done....he promised to go and see if he could find my license with all the others. And guess what??? He found it!

So here is a neatly composed list of my complaints and issues:
1. Please make sure that in future it doesn't take 12 months to renew someones license
2. Please inform your employee that the customer should be treated with respect and kindness......we pay your salary after all
3. Shouting at Ruby first thing in the morning is not good...as your employee will inform you
4. Please send all you employees on 2 courses, the first being one in basic English, the second being one in social skills.

Regards

Ruby