Not an isolated case

Readers report: ORF odyssey is not an isolated case

As expected, there was no reaction from ORF to the Tyrolean couple's fee odyssey. The Küniglberg seems to have been mistaken for a high horse.

(Bild: APA/Herbert Neubauer)

"Month-long odyssey in the ORF fee swamp": The report about the Tyrolean couple who are desperately fighting against the double ORF fee has triggered numerous reactions. Admittedly not at the state broadcaster itself.

As expected, the odyssey of a Tyrolean couple in the ORF fee jungle has triggered numerous reactions - from similarly or even identically affected citizens who are almost desperately trying to proclaim their "innocence" to the ORF. The ORF Contribution Service (OBS) has not responded. But that's not really surprising!

A brief flashback to the "Krone" report from Sunday: In it, a couple from the Innsbruck area, who have lived under the same roof for 20 years, describe how they are suddenly being asked to pay double ORF fees. All attempts - emails, sending the registration form, etc. - were not only unsuccessful, but also largely without any response from ORF.

"When I saw the report, I had déjà vu"
But, believe it or not, it gets even better: a married couple who have lived together for 40 (!) years and have never lived in different apartments for a day have also been trying to clear up the ORF error for a good six months. "When I read the story in the 'Krone' on Sunday, my husband and I had a déjà vu experience. Only: we've been married for 40 years. Apart from that, we feel the same as the couple you report on. We wrote a letter to the ORF, an email and have already called them twice."

We have always paid the former GIS. And now we have to be afraid that the executor will be at the door.

Die Leserin gegenüber der „Krone“

The person concerned describes a rather unbelievable detail from the last phone call: "I asked whether I was talking to an AI voice or a real person. You hardly know these days. The lady assured me that she was a real person, that she would now take care of everything and that the matter was settled for us. Unfortunately, nothing happened, apart from the fact that we suddenly received a notice in our letterbox with the title 'Enforceable arrears certificate'. We have always paid the previous GIS. And now we have to be afraid that the executor will be at the door. Something is simply not right anymore," the person concerned sounds almost desperate during the phone call with "Krone".

"Enforceable certificate of arrears" was sent along with the reminder.

(Bild: zVg)

The possibility that the executor could be at the door cannot be ruled out. The ORF does not forget to point this out. The reminder letter literally states: "We would like to point out that a renewed delay in payment will inevitably lead to legal fees and court costs for you, up to and including execution (seizure/attachment of wages)." Perhaps the ORF sees this as an "additional service".

Neos: "Odyssey proof of citizen unfriendliness"
There were largely no political reactions on Sunday. Except from the Tyrolean NEOS, who are known to be anything but friends of the "ORF compulsory contribution happiness". "The months-long odyssey of a Tyrolean couple in the ORF fee system impressively shows how dysfunctional and citizen-unfriendly the handling of the ORF compulsory fee is," said LA Susanna Riedlsperger.

It is an impertinence how the couple is sent from one authority to the next without their justified objections being heard. A functioning administration should support citizens, not harass them. "If simple administrative errors cannot be resolved, the problem is not with the people, but with the system. That is completely unacceptable."