NI Number Woes

The equivalent to the Australian Tax File Number (TFN) is the National Insurance Number (NI). It is not easy getting one either.

I spent a morning trying to find a phone number to call to make a booking for an NI interview. Got the round-around so much I tried the net. The website was broken. I found the local office who gave me the correct office to go to and 3 phone numbers to make an appointment and was told they never answer so just turn up with the appropriate documentation.

We turn up. We do need to make an appointment. They give us a 4th phone number. argghhh!!!

Atleast this number is correct and we're able to make an appointment. Apparently they ask questions like "when you arrived in England how did you get home and did you stop on the way". Maybe it really is relevant given all the extra security for terrorism, but I don't exactly see how. Any self respecting terrorist would lie anyway.