I only want to pay my tax

Here is some advice, if someone is offering, never miss the opportunity to take someone’s money. 

It was a Sunday morning, I had a corporation tax bill and I was happy to pay it. I went online to transfer the money and this is where the fun began.

I had the link, my unique code and went to the site to be presented with three options: pay directly from my bank; pay by direct debit; or pay by card (though this would incur a charge).

Now, who wants to pay money in order to pay money and so I started with a payment from the bank? The site kindly connected me to my bank site which asked me for my login details, including my memorable word. Having entered the word several times I was told that the details were wrong. I gave up with this option and moved on to the next.

I tried to set up a direct debit only to find I had to log in to the Government Gateway, something that I had avoided when first connecting to the site. I had logged in before and had saved the login details. As a security precaution I was required to enter an access code,which was sent to my phone. Despite entering the code three different times, with three different codes I got nowhere. I gave up with this option which left me with only one left.

What the heck! By now my ire was growing and my patience was wearing thin. Paying the charge was starting to look attractive and, in the end, the payment went through with an additional charge of £1.53. Whilst I think this is an unfair charge, in effect a tax on your tax, if someone had offered to save the twenty minutes or so that I had wasted for such a measly sum, I would have gladly paid up front. As they say, time is money.

Perhaps Gov.uk should change its site to say you have three options: pay directly from my bank; pay by direct debit; or pay by card (though this would incur a charge but it is much easier and will save you money in the long run).