There are eight million stories of trying to deal with the City of Los Angeles. This, from my friend Tom, is one of them:

Because we own a duplex the City of Los Angeles has it listed as a rental property.  Every year we receive a bill from the city to register the property and every year we file for an exemption for “owner occupied” so we don’t have to pay.  This year when the bill arrived it had two addresses listed, ours and some number between ours and the building next door.

I called the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) and had the following conversation . . .

Me       – Hi, I wanted ask about my bill.

LAHD – You want to ask about your bill?

Me       – Yes.

LAHD – OK, how may I help you?

Me       – The bill shows that I filed for an exemption last year.

LAHD – Yes, you filed for an exemption last year.

Me       – But last year you said I couldn’t have an exemption and you made me pay the bill.

LAHD – Yes, you paid last year.  Are you filing for another exemption this year?

Me       – Yes, but you have two addresses listed on the bill

LAHD – Yes, two addresses are listed on your bill

Me       – But we only own the one property

LAHD – But you have two addresses listed on your bill

Me       – I know, but we only own the one property

LAHD – Then you put the address wrong last year

Me       – No, I just sent in the form you sent me

LAHD – With the wrong address

Me       – No, last year it had the right address.  I just requested an exemption.

LAHD – So, this year you can fix the address.  Just change it on the form and send it in.

Me       – I wanted to use your website.

LAHD – OK, you can use the website.

Me       – But when I went on the website it says it’s down.

LAHD – Yes, the website is down.

Me       – Do you know when it will be back up?

LAHD – No, the website is down.  It’s broken, that’s why it’s down.

Me       – So what if I try it tomorrow?  Will it be up then?

LAHD – Yes, you could try it again tomorrow if you like.

Me       – Thank you.

LAHD – OK, good bye.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 7th, 2011 at 10:45 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.