Saturday, August 17, 2024

Two File System

I contacted a South African regulator, and filed a complaint against a company. They used the classic ploy of two files: one has the official file, and the unofficial one -- in this case, an official one on paper, and an unofficial one in their heads, which they communicated via telephone. The official file said that my complaint was not on target. The file in their heads said that the company concerned was unregistered -- therefore case dismissed. However, the company was indeed registered -- as I found out in time. I said we have a problem with your, so to speak, "two files". But no, they wrote, there was only one. They had checked it, and there was nothing there about an unregistered company -- they were "unable to find any indication" that I spoke the truth. Unfortunately for them, I had kept a voice note of their communication via telephone -- proof that "two files" existed. OBSERVATION: It was worse. But enough for one post.

POSTSCRIPT: Something I often do not understand is: what kind of power do companies have over regulators, to induce irregular behaviour?

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