Threaten 'em with postage stamps

This year submitting the income tax forms was done entirely via computer. Forms were received via a web page, and submitted via a web page. A little too quickly on my part. (Next year I won't try to be first.) I should have reacted at the print-out my bank gave me; it showed me owning stock. I don't.

The tax return was published this week, and I was notified via e-mail and SMS. Since I was a little too quick, and my bank's global correction came a week after I submitted my tax forms, I decided to file a complaint last night. Electronically, of course.

Well, after a frustrating evening of being locked out of my own account (which may not have been my fault) and not getting passwords to my right e-mail account, I finally sorted out passwords, e-mail addresses and password codes, and merrily filled out the online complaints form. It protested when I neglected to check off the box for being within the complaint deadline.

I checked the deadline box off. The numbers 108 appeared in the box where the year goes. I tried writing 2008 every conceivable way I could think of, in both Firefox and Safari. I finally submitted an error report, which included what browsers I had tried and my operating system.

I got a pleasant reply the following day, suggesting I try Internet Explorer because they knew the form worked in IE.

How 1990's!

I told them that Microsoft no longer makes Internet Explorer for the Mac so that was no help, nor did every PC user use IE so had they really made a system that depended on one browser? If so, could they please tell me what my options were for filing a complaint electronically or did I have to resort to paper, envelope and postage stamps?

That got me the prompt reply: "We have been able to find and duplicate your error and expect to have a corrected version online by the end of the week. Please try again then."

Oh, so it wasn't my choice of browsers. How about that.