Gordon Brown
Chancellor of the Exchequer
11 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

18/04/2007

Dear Mr. Brown,

Please do not view this letter as an accusation, I understand that mistakes can happen and I am sure that this is somehow the case on this occasion. However, the situation I am about to explain needs to be rectified as soon as possible as it is having a profound effect on my finances.

I have been employed now for more than nine years and have earned a steady income during this time. I have always been fairly good with money, which is fortunate as the amount that ends up in my bank account is barely enough to cover my family’s living expenses. Just recently, however, I decided to take a detailed look at one of the payslips I am given each month, but which usually end up in the bin.

What I found understandably came as a shock to me. Somebody had somehow been swindling money out of my wages! Before they had even gone into my bank account!

I immediately contacted my company’s payroll department who told me that the money was being taken by "HMRC", a company with whom I am fairly sure I have never had any dealings and certainly have not agreed to purchase any products or services from. I could not believe it. I hate to think how long this has been going on for, but it certainly explains why my family regularly has to heat our baked beans on the radiator.

Having looked into this matter further I have found that many people are being defrauded in a similar way, with the exception of my Uncle Harry who, when I asked him, defensively asserted "I'll be damned if any of those people* ever get any of my hard-earned cash!" and then closed the door in my face.

I have spoken with HMRC, who outright refused to stop taking money out of my wages. I consider this to be extremely bad customer service. I had similar problems with NTL taking money out of my account when they shouldn’t, but at least they agreed to stop doing it when I pointed out the error.

Naturally I asked for the head of their organisation and was given your name. Well, Mr. Brown, to be completely honest with you I am surprised that your company (whatever it is your company does) is still in business, judging not just by the gross error you have made but also by the way your call centre staff has (not) dealt with the problem.

I would be very grateful if you could please look into how much money you have taken from me and what services you believe you have provided me with in return for this, as I can assure you that I haven’t seen any evidence of them. I would then appreciate a refund in full as well as your assurance that you will never steal any more money from my hard-earned wages.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Jameson


*Harry did not actually use the word "people"

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