A while back I got a traffic fine. Depressing I know, but not as bad as what is to follow. I got the fine on October 12th, 2006 – the date by which it was suppose to be paid was the 8th of October, else I would get a summons. Great!

I then tried to find out where I could pay the fine. My Mom told me that I could do it at Pick ‘n Pay (A local supermarket), which I tried. I went there with the original ticket, and indeed, they said I could pay the fine there. I handed the lady the ticket, and she started looking for the “Easy Pay Reference Number”. She couldn’t find any, this I assumed from her stunned reply: “Eish…” She asked the guy next to her to help her look I assumed, cause she handed the ticket to him, to which he uttered the same astonished “Eish…”

Okay, so my traffic ticket didn’t have an “Easy Pay Number”. This was still okay, as I could also pay it at an FNB ATM. Though I don’t have an FNB account, I know someone at work who does. He tried to do the transfer, at the ATM, but just got a message which said that “The reference number is not recognized.”

By then it was already November, my ticket was due nearly a month ago, another person at work told me that I could pay it at the licensing office, so I decided to go there. When I got there, just after 9am, they sent me away, and told me that I couldn’t pay my ticket until 11am. How bizarre, the staff are working, but traffic fines can only be paid after 11am – at least that’s what the security guard told me. (Note to self: Never believe security guards again).

11am came, and there I was again, and this time the security guard let me in! I went to the front desk to ask the receptionist where I could pay my fine. She looked at me strangely, and then said that I couldn’t pay traffic fines there, that I had to go right into Pretoria city to pay it at the Traffic Department.

Arrrrgh…. If you have any idea what Pretoria city looks like, you’d understand that I was NOT going there. Not even to pay a traffic fine.

A third person at work suggested that I mailed the ticket with a postal order to the Traffic Department. I decided that this was a fool proof method, which would also save me time, effort and frustration. I could definately do without frustration. I went to the post office, filled everything out, got a postal order, put it in an envelope with the ticket, and sent it as a registered letter. I even got the tracking slip with a referrence number. GREAT! This was two weeks ago.

Today, in my mail, guess what I found? A slip for a registered letter? Upon opening it I found MY TICKET & POSTAL ORDER. Noooo……….. It has come back to haunt me? The wonderful South African postal service has failed to notice the difference between the “To” and “From” addresses, and sent the letter to me instead of to the Traffic Department. Can you believe it? That is so pathetic? They work with envelopes every day of their lives, and STILL THEY MAKE MISTAKES LIKE THIS?? How can that be excusable? I didn’t know how stupid these people were till today.

I had it all sent back ofcourse. I hope it reaches its destination before I’m summoned, or locked up!! Hopefully the administration at the Traffic Department is as bad as that of the Post Office. Maybe if they made it a bit easier to pay fines, they wouldn’t have to go around arresting people for outstanding fines!

Sad to see that MOST South African government services are so careless and clueless…