'I was prepared to fax more than 10,000 pieces of paper, just for funsies': Perfectly petty ways to expose the inefficiency of bureaucracy, getting back at the system one fax at a time

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 6, 2025 8:00 PM EST

Bureaucracy got you going bureau-crazy? We've all had our short-fused moments when dealing with government offices. Whether you're a frequent flyer at the DMV or you've had the misfortune of being your office's errand boy for in-person paperwork deliveries, you've likely experienced the common feeling of going bonkers because of asinine policies, archaic processes, and pretty much the worst "functioning" office you've ever seen. 

So while many of us become slaves to our bureaucratic bummers, others find power in malicious compliance. 

Because when a tenured desk attendant demands 40 different forms for a simple registration renewal, by-golly she's going to get all of those forms—forcing her to do her job with equal efficiency. Keep scrolling for a couple of perfectly petty ways that customers got back at the system. Even if that means sending a 10,000-page fax to your local property tax collection office. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10464480768
    via Endo

    (The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.)

    So I married a man who is not from my country, and let me tell ya, the paperwork situation has not been a simple one. Immigration paperwork is intentionally tedious, forcing applicants to either pay up with a lawyer or quit their full-time job in order to dot all of their I's and cross all of their T's, which has made many folks in my position start pulling their hair out at an archaic system. 

    Fax machine? Have any of you heard? It's 2025, we can just scan a PDF…

  • "Oh, You Want All the Forms? Sure, Lemme Drown You in Paperwork"

    So yeah, figured I'd share another one of my MC stories, but this time, it's about dealing with everyone's favorite place-the gov office.
    via Agyaani_
  • Had to update my address on some official doc. Nbd, right? Had my lease, utility bill, ID copies, all set. But nah, the lady at the counter (we'll call her Ms. Forms) was determined to make me regret my life choices.
    via Agyaani_
  • I hand her my papers, she barely looks at em n goes, "Sir, you need to attach Form 27B-X." Me: "Aight, where do I get that?" "You'll have to go to Section D. Also, Form 19A-Y is required."
    via Agyaani_
  • Cool. I hike over to Section D, grab the forms, fill em out, get back. She gives em like 0.2 seconds of attention before hitting me w/ the classic, "You'll also need Form 33-K, notarized."
    via Agyaani_
  • At this point, I knew she was just making me do the paperwork Olympics for fun. So I flipped the script. Went home, printed every single form from their site-seriously, like 15 of em. Some had zero connection
    via Agyaani_
  • to my request, but hey, she wanted forms, right? Got everything notarized, attested, double-stamped-heck, I even got a signature from a guy who looked official just for the vibe.
    via Agyaani_
  • Next day, I show up w/ a stack of papers thick enough to break a desk. Drop it in front of her, all polite: "Here ya go, ma'am. Every possible form you might need. Please check thoroughly."
    via Agyaani_
  • She blinks. Flips through it. Sees how deep the rabbit hole goes. "Uh... okay, this is... more than needed." Yeah, no kidding.
    via Agyaani_
  • Five mins later, request approved, no further questions. Turns out, following all the rules can be more painful for them than for you.
    via Agyaani_
  • Moral of the story: Sometimes, the only way to beat the system is to over-comply. Ever had to deal w/ this kinda gov nonsense? Drop your stories below.
    via Agyaani_
  • Cheezburger Image 10464480000
    via francescoridolfi

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Flashy_Watercress398 Several years ago, I was handling some paperwork for my disabled husband. One bureaucrat wanted ALL of my husband's medical records faxed, in spite of already having official summaries from all of the providers. No, those things couldn't be sent electronically, I need a fax.
    via Flashy_Watercress398
  • Aight. Have someone stand by with an absolute sh ton of paper and ink, and don't anticipate receiving any other faxes today or tomorrow. Let's go! Literally, just from the orthopedic practice, there were almost 5000 physical pages of records. (Husband
    via Flashy_Watercress398
  • apparently still holds the record for the largest patient file at that office. Not really a distinction one wants to hold.) Another 800+ from the neurologist. 2000 or so from pain management. Almost a thousand from one physical therapy practice, and that many again from the other two. Reams and reams from various imaging centers and whatever.
    via Flashy_Watercress398
  • I was perfectly prepared to fax more than 10,000 pieces of paper, just for funsies. But when I mentioned that it would literally be that much? Madam Efficiency decided suddenly that maybe, just maybe, she could accept electronic records in the interest of not using her entire annual office supply budget on a single ticket.
    via Flashy_Watercress398
  • Cheezburger Image 10464481024
    via DragonImages

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Hootblack... An actual true story: I bought my daughter a new car as a gift for her being awarded a PhD, with the intent of handing over the title so that she would be the outright owner.
    via Hootblack
  • She moved out of state for her post- doc fellowship and needed to register her car in that state. So I signed over the title, and sent it along with all the purchase documentation. She went to the local DMV in Seattle, WA, where the clerk asked her for a notarized statement
    via Hootblack
  • from the "gifter" - me - that I had actually gifted the car to her. They had a little back and forth since my daughter had a signed-off title and all the purchase docs under my name. But the clerk said, "Look, I have this box to check on my screen and if I don't check it, I can't register the car for you. But the software only asks for this for another 4 weeks and if you come back then, I can register it."
    via Hootblack
  • So my daughter got a temporary parking waiver for her out-of-state plates, went back to the DMV a month later, and got Washington tags with no issue. SMH.
    via Hootblack
  • Fromanderson Our local county clerk's office handles vehicle registrations, taxes, transfers and other DMV type stuff. From the time I started driving until about 10 years ago there was an older lady there who did this sort of thing every time I came in.
    via Fromanderson
  • I'd come in to pay taxes renew my tags, transfer a title, etc. I'd hand her the paperwork go through the motions and she'd give me the total. For a lot of years they would only accept a check. They refused to accept cash or debit cards. You can
    via Fromanderson
  • use debit cards these days but that wasn't a thing then. I'd fill out my check hand it over and she'd suddenly find some other charge, then refuse to renew the tag on any of my vehicles unless I paid for everything at once.
    via Fromanderson
  • The first time it happened I only brought one check as I never carried a checkbook. I had to go home get my checkbook and come back. Waited in line again, wrote a new check and she found some other charge. I think I wrote 4 checks that day before she finally accepted my payment. By then I was biting my tongue pretty hard, but I remained polite.
    via Fromanderson
  • Fast forward to the next year. I get in line and of course when it's my turn I end up in front of the same lady. (There were never more than 2 or 3 at any time) I gave her the paperwork, she gave me a total. I asked her to please verify that is indeed the correct total. She doesn't
    via Fromanderson
  • so much as look at her screen but insists that's it. It wasn't. Ruined 3 more checks. Not the end of the world but still frustrating. Every time I went it, it was a variation on that theme. One year I went to pay taxes on an old truck I didn't
    via Fromanderson
  • have tagged for on road use at that time. I got there and was told that I'd junked it out. Um... nope, that requires a signature and I most definitely hadn't done that. It took a trip to the county tax office and multiple phone calls to finally get that resolved. I'm not sure, but I suspect a certain old lady's involvement.
    via Fromanderson
  • The next year I come in with my paperwork, my checkbook and wait in line and of course end up with the same old lady. Nope. I let the person behind me go ahead. They do their thing and I still get stuck with her. I wait outside the door for a bit but it becomes clear that the only other person working is dealing with something that will take a while. I gave up and went in.
    via Fromanderson
  • This time she wanted paperwork for a vehicle I've never owned. I'm not sure how it works in other states but in mine, "County Clerk" is an elected position, and the people working the desks are county employees. I happened to notice the actual County Clerk walking by. I got his attention and he came over.
    via Fromanderson
  • Thankfully he was willing to listen to the situation. He clicked around on her computer for a few seconds and confirms that no, I don't own the vehicle in question. and walks away. She glares daggers at me then gives me my total but reverses the last two digits so I ruined the first check. After that I had her write it down.
    via Fromanderson
  • I live in a smallish town but I honestly never had any interactions with this lady other than when doing dmv type stuff. I really can't recall ever doing anything that would have caused such animosity. I talked to other people and none of them ever
    via Fromanderson
  • seemed to have trouble with her. Whenever my wife would go, she'd have no trouble. My wife took over DMV duties for years until the old lady was gone. I've never had any trouble at the Clerks office in all the years since.
    via Fromanderson

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