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The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

shkspr.mobi

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Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#11

Post by hennell »

morgan_stanly wrote: post #4

[flagged]

Obviously far less - it's 3 mins per person, but you can stop 20 seconds in if it's not relevant to you so those of us who read it all probably don't consider the time wasted.

Also you're not forced to come back and read it again every month which is the real problem.

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#12

Post by CM30 »

Why doesn't it just default to "no purchase" if the user doesn't do anything? Logically you'd think this sort of system would only make you log in and do anything if there was anything to report.

Why was it designed the way described in the article to begin with?

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#13

Post by lbriner »

CM30 wrote: post #12

Why doesn't it just default to "no purchase" if the user doesn't do anything? Logically you'd think this sort of system would only make you log in and do anything if there was anything to report. Why was it designed the way described in the article to begin with?

I assume they have no way to track your sales back to this system via whoever else in government you sold to. Defaulting to "nothing" is not reliable because maybe you did and they want to know whether this whole thing is really making any difference.

I think the correct way would be a one-click link in an email though!

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#14

Post by krisbolton »

CM30 wrote: post #12

Why doesn't it just default to "no purchase" if the user doesn't do anything? Logically you'd think this sort of system would only make you log in and do anything if there was anything to report. Why was it designed the way described in the article to begin with?

It'll be a legal thing. You're reporting on behalf of yourself / a legal entity, so another system or entity can't say for you. I get it, but it really is a waste of time.

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#16

Post by wubblewobble »

RobotToaster wrote: post #9

The ridiculous system of "you have to tell us you've done nothing" seems endemic in the UK government.

Non-governmental, but the whole TV licensing thing is similarly annoying too. Lots of abusive threatening letters pushing you to declare that you don't watch live TV or use iPlayer, and if you do declare that, then they conveniently forget after 2 years anyway, and start harassing you anew :/

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#17

Post by wolfi1 »

CM30 wrote: post #12

Why doesn't it just default to "no purchase" if the user doesn't do anything? Logically you'd think this sort of system would only make you log in and do anything if there was anything to report. Why was it designed the way described in the article to begin with?

government people think in forms, I guess this was originally a paper form you had to submit signed via mail (not email). their logic is that they have to have something signed so they can hold you liable if something is wrong or even fraudulent. when you don't submit they won't know if you forgot or really didn't have any business. they could of course design the system a bit more user friendly but knowing government agencies that means it would involve some highly paid consultants working for several years with an even more hostile user interface

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#18

Post by willtemperley »

Just an anecdote on UK local government tech incompetence: I received a ticket “Failing to comply with a prohibition on certain types of vehicle” from Hackney council. Initially I thought my car had been cloned as I haven’t driven for months, but either a person or an AI had misread my car number plate. It was all just such a waste of time, especially navigating the Ai designed to annoy you into paying.

Re: The UK government's Low Value Purchase System is a waste of time

#19

Post by petcat »

fg137 wrote: post #8

> So the GCA are wasting everyone's time and do not track how annoying it is. I am 80% sure that someone is aware how much waste there is, but nobody wants to / is able to change the process. Just like many other organizations.

I think civic workers are generally aware of how much waste exists in their departments, but what is the motivation to change it? Any attempt at "efficiency" could very well backfire and mean the end of their own job.
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