It was enough to cause an anxiety attack: a German taxpayer received 1,700 identical letters from the tax authorities in one go! These letters, sent by post, were sent because of a “technical error” caused by the change to winter time, regional authorities explained on Wednesday.
He just wanted an access code
The victim is a resident of Quickborn, near Hamburg, in northern Germany. He had requested access to the online tax portal, and was to receive an access code by post, as with many administrative procedures in the country, regularly singled out for its delay in digitalization and telecommunications.
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His request was processed by a computer system during the transition to winter time, between 2 and 3 a.m. – local time – on the night of October 27. The system processed it repeatedly, like in a time loop. The processing of applications on the online portal is “fully automated in a uniform manner throughout Germany” and without human control, a spokeswoman for the regional authorities said.
Ten crates left in front of his door
Result of the bug: the man received exactly 1,700 times the same letter containing his access data, delivered to his door in 10 yellow boxes, the Schleswig-Holstein regional newspaper reported. After his initial fright, the stunned user understood that it was a mistake. “The Ministry of Finance has contacted the taxpayer and apologized,” the spokesperson explained. The ministry did offer to collect the mail for the man, but according to the media, the mass of paper will be used to fuel his wood pellet heating.
