13/11/2025
Seems like a fair solution and being able to reply with “didn’t you get my message?”
At least IRD sometimes have good hold music 🤣
📰 IRD Customer Resorts to Message in a Bottle After Hours on Hold
“At this point, Poseidon’s got a better chance of replying than Inland Revenue,” says Greymouth woman.
GREYMOUTH — After spending more than three hours on hold with Inland Revenue, local resident Anne Gilgrinda decided to bypass technology altogether — opting instead to contact the tax department the old-fashioned way: by sea.
“I just wanted to tell them I changed banks,” Gilgrinda said, standing on the edge of the Grey River with an empty Woodstock bottle and a biro. “After hearing that same flute loop for the 58th time, I thought, nah, the tide’ll do a better job.”
Witnesses report seeing Gilgrinda hurl the bottle into the current near the old wharf around 2 p.m., muttering something about “letting the dolphins sort it.” The bottle, containing a handwritten note reading ‘Dear IRD, please respond before I retire or die,’ was last spotted drifting toward the Tasman.
An IRD spokesperson, Maree McCousin, said the department was “open to alternative communication methods,” including “messages in bottles, smoke signals, or deep sighs carried on the wind.”
“We value taxpayer engagement,” McCousin said. “Whether it’s through MyIR, our helpline, or marine correspondence, we aim to respond within 10 to 15 business years.”
Locals applauded Gilgrinda’s initiative.
“Bloody genius,” said Greymouth café owner Layna Caybull. “I emailed them once in 2019 — still waiting. Might try a pigeon next.”
The IRD has since confirmed it’s reviewing Gilgrinda’s approach as part of a new pilot scheme called the Offshore Correspondence Initiative, which encourages sustainable, ocean-based communication.
When asked if she’d heard back yet, Gilgrinda shrugged.
“Not yet,” she said. “But the bottle washed up again this morning. It had a note inside — said, ‘Your call is important to us.’”
