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RECENTLY, my bank advised me it had been appointed by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) to collect my outstanding tax. Then, I received copies of letters from Iras, which it had sent to three other banks in Singapore, indicating the same. I was shocked. I called Iras. After many unsuccessful attempts, I spoke to an officer who realised there had been a lapse in communication, and acknowledged I was not at fault.
I was insulted that Iras would write to virtually every local bank in Singapore, yet not make an effort to contact me to clarify the matter first.
As a measure of goodwill, I suggested Iras offer me a tax credit of the same value it intended to charge me as penalty. The assistant manager then called me to explain what had happened. When I asked, 'Don't you think you at least owe me an apology?', she refused to tender one. I asked for the manager to call me.
The manager who reviewed the matter and found a Giro error, promised to send me a new form. When I received it, I was amazed to see only the standard 'This is a computer-generated letter...' form, with no covering letter on my case, and certainly no apology.
What is wrong with this organisation? There is no comprehension of the words 'customer', 'service', nor, it appears, even simple courtesy, respect and professionalism. I even asked, 'Have you all been trained never to say sorry, even when you're wrong?'
To prevent trigger-happy officers imposing penalties and the like without proper checks, I propose a policy that government agencies which levy erroneous charges and penalties should offer the same amount to whoever is wrongly charged. Hopefully, they will check before clicking or allowing computer-generated letters to be sent blindly.
In the private sector and the service industry, when a customer is wronged, companies go out of their way to win him back. For example, some restaurants waive an entire dinner charge when food or service is not up to par.
Cheah Chew Kuan (Mdm)
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