Sometimes Bureaucracy Makes Me Want to Growl!

My ID was stolen and used to obtain fraudulent credit.

My SIN number was one of the pieces of ID used.

Therefore, I have to replace my SIN card.

Immediately upon learning that my SIN number had been stolen I went to the Government of Canada website to see what I needed to do. Here is what it said:

If you suspect someone is using your SIN to obtain credit, contact your local HRDC office immediately. A HRDC investigator will help you address your concerns related to your SIN.

1. Notify your bank and creditors immediately by phone and in writing.

2. Call credit reporting agencies and obtain a copy of your credit report. With this document, you can identify any discrepancies.

3. Gather proof that your SIN was used by someone other than yourself, this may be the original credit application filed by the person using your SIN.

4. Obtain a letter from the creditor or agency that indicates you are not responsible for debts incurred by the person who is using your SIN fraudulently.

See the part in bold where it says contact your local HRDC office immediately? I went to the local office (in Winnipeg because that's where I was at the time and was not going home for weeks and thought I should report it asap) the woman there had me fill out a new application, and said a fraud investigator would be contacting me soon. That was on or about December 14, 2005.

Today, February 3, 2006, the fraud investigator finally called to say that I had to go in person to an office in the city in which I live. She went on to say that nothing had been done and I should have been told that I needed to do this when I went to the office in Winnipeg.

Grrrrr......I'm supposed to report the problem immediately...so I did...I'm told someone will contact me....a month and a half later they do to tell me that nothing has happened.

This is federal government stuff but apparently they don't work between provinces. Grrrrrr.....

So, now I have to trek down to the local office, with the kids of course because the office is only open Mon-Fri, 8:30am-4:00pm, to fill out the same freakin application form I filled out in Winnipeg 1.5 months ago. Blahhhh! I asked her on the phone about this and she said I had to go down and fill out another one.

What a waste of my time!!!! What a waste of my tax dollars come to think of it. What a waste.