Twenty-Eight Days

He put in his application for a replacement bin as his current one had been stolen for some reason. His neighbours blamed the local kids who had nothing to do, but the bin disappeared after the last pick-up.

The local council did not accept online requests, but he had to write a letter to the council, and they would send a form out within twenty-eight days. He was without a bin so he had to fill bin liners with daily rubbish. The bin collection company would not collect bin liners so he had to find public bins to drop them in, but if he got caught doing that he could be prosecuted and fined so he had to do it at night. He hoped there were no cameras.

Since the Tory council had been elected, they were voted in to reduce costs, but they had outsourced everything to their cronies, costs had rocketed, and everything was more difficult for people who lived in the borough.

After twenty-eight days he had recieved nothing back so he sent another letter.

A week later he got a reply saying that as he had made a complaint about not receiving the form for the new bin, this would go to the complaints department to be evaluated and dealt with and his original request was now put on hold and the complaint would take twenty-eight days to process. After that his original request could be resubmitted.

He thought of this, that would mean that he would have been without a bit for three months, and he still might not even get the form to apply and if he did that would be another month.

He decided that he would go to the council and see somebody in person and get this sorted.

He got to the coundcil offices and the doors were locked with signs saying "STAFF ONLY"

He wasn't going to stand for this so started banging on te doors.

Immediately two uniformed men came and grabbed him. They dragged him to a side door, down a dark corridor, to a metal door which they opened and threw him in.

Him: "What the hell are you doing? You can't do this, I just want a form to get a new bin"

Them: "You were disturbing the peace and threatening the security of the council. You will remain here until an application is made for your release".

Him: "An application for my release? Who makes that and how long does it take?"

Them: "You must make it, but you will have to send a letter to the council to request a form. That will take twenty-eight days"

Him: "How can I send a letter to the council, I have no pen or paper, can you give me some?"

Them: "Again you will have to submit an application to the council for a form for a pen and paper"

Him: "Don't tell me, that will take twenty-eight days to process, and the I have to fill in a form. How the hell can I do this? I have no pen or paper and you won't let me out to post the letter, and even if I did where would they send the form to?"

Them: "You are correct sir. You have a problem, but it is yours, not ours. You will have to sort it out. It's not our responsibility".

Him: "This is ridiculous, you have to let me out. This is false imprisonment"

Them: "Those are the rules, sir. You should have considered them before you applied for the form"

The door slammed.

There was not even a light.

He screamed, but no-one heard or was bothered.