Scary government

We moved into our current house in 1995. It's now 2012. For those not good at maths it's now 17 years since the previous occupants moved out.

That didn't stop the Department of Work and Pensions sending a letter to our house addressed to the previous occupants this week to advise them about claiming winter fuel payments.

Here's the thing. Firstly, it's summer, so why write now? That seems a bit daft. Secondly, how old is the database they are working off and how few checks do they run? It's not as if the government has an easy-to-access database of where everyone lives in the country, oh wait, yes they do - in fact they have several, council tax details, the electoral roll, the two census forms I've completed since moving here, the land registry.

Sometimes people expound ludicrous theories of government conspiracies, but given that some government departments seem unable to post a letter correctly, I think we're safe. The really scary thing is that government agencies can be so ineffective and useless.

(And, yes, I know, it's impolite to open other people's mail, but when you pick up the post you don't think it's going to be for somone who moved out nearly two decades ago.)