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Comment by adwww | Hacker News Reader

There are a few services that seem almost deliberately bad though.

Tax Free Childcare is a scheme that allows you to pay for daycare and get a 20% discount applied via the government.

It works quite well, but I'm convinced there is a deliberate attempt to frustrate people and stop them using it to save money.

For example, you cannot bookmark the sign-in page, you have to search for it from the gov.uk homepage each time and go through several intro pages. And then you have username + password + 2FA + 3 security questions.

And you have to login every 3 months to re-declare your eligibility.

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> There are a few services that seem almost deliberately bad though.

The UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency takes this to an extreme by not offering online versions of some key services, such as re-applying for a driving license after a medical suspension. If your re-application involves a fee, you have to send them a (paper) cheque or postal order. I do understand that a postal order is a valid form of payment, even in the year 2022 (it can be used by people without a bank account), but not to offer credit card payment or bank transfer is amazing.

I can confirm that the DVLA treats everyone it deals with as a liar and criminal, even if no crime or deception is involved. It took me a decade to get my driving licence back after it was confiscated; it needed renewing, and the renewal form required me to state whether I had received treatment for alcohol problems. I told the truth - I had received treatment a few years back, I was clean, and I could prove it. Snatch - licence revoked. Cue ten years of legal and medical hassle and cost.

[Edit] I didn't own a car, I'm against private vehicles on the whole, and especially ICE private cars. I wanted to be able to hire a car occasionally. And a driving licence can be a requirement for certain jobs, even if they aren't "driving" jobs. A driving licence is the standard ID here; if you have neither a passport nor a DL, you will have to jump through hoops to prove your ID. So I'm angry that the DVLA can administratively deprive you of rights for ten years, without the matter ever coming before the judiciary.