Census 2021

[MoominPapa]

2 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

There is a help page for people not living at a fixed address but a cursory glance suggests it's about much use as a chocolate teapot for liveaboard boaters.

 

https://census.gov.uk/help/types-of-household-or-accommodation/people-not-living-at-a-fixed-address

This looks more relevant, but doesn't actually answer my questions.

 

https://census.gov.uk/help/types-of-household-or-accommodation/boats-caravans-and-other-mobile-homes/boats-vans-or-other-mobile-households-not-in-a-permanent-location

 

MP.

[TheBiscuits]

2 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

There is a help page for people not living at a fixed address but a cursory glance suggests it's about much use as a chocolate teapot for liveaboard boaters.

 

https://census.gov.uk/help/types-of-household-or-accommodation/people-not-living-at-a-fixed-address

 

That's the wrong one.

 

https://census.gov.uk/help/types-of-household-or-accommodation/boats-caravans-and-other-mobile-homes/boats-vans-or-other-mobile-households-not-in-a-permanent-location

 

Boats, vans or other mobile households not in a permanent location

Mobile households include continuous cruisers and campers. Accommodation includes boats, vans, tents, yurts and any structure that can be moved from place to place.

 

You should contact us to order an access code. This will allow you to open your online census form.

 

So make sure to use the important keywords: "continuous cruiser" and "Boats, vans or other mobile households not in a permanent location" as that should be an option for the operator on the computer.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

This looks more relevant, but doesn't actually answer my questions.

 

https://census.gov.uk/help/types-of-household-or-accommodation/boats-caravans-and-other-mobile-homes/boats-vans-or-other-mobile-households-not-in-a-permanent-location

 

MP.

 

Ah, I just stuck in 'census with no fixed address' and that was the one that came up.

[frangar]

16 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

How are people getting on with this? I spent 20 minutes this morning on hold and when I got through explained that I live on a boat and have no fixed address. "Do you have a postcode?" I can give you the postcode of where I am now, is that OK? "Yes". Give postcode, get access code. Type in access code to website, and it comes back with an address in the area. Is this the correct address? No. What is your postcode, with option for "I don't live at a fixed address". Click that. Please contact us by calling <number> back to square one, except that the call centre is now so busy they won't even let you into the queue. Temped to give up, but I want to register one of my nationalities as "European".

 

So do you just have to camp on a local address, or is there a proper traveller identity that I've failed to find?

 

MP.

 

They do seem very geared up around postcodes....as I said in a previous post I had to call several times even with a marina postcode to get my own C/o address with my boat name rather than someone elses.....its not geared towards those of us that don't live at a fixed abode despite what any blurb says....there also seems quite a lot of disparity in the advice given and action taken by the call centre staff.

 

Whats more my boat could equally be a portacabin given the questions asked! Not that impressed at all....in fact Id be surprised if many who dont have a house actually bother to complete it!....

 

I dont agree with European being a nationality either but that's a whole other argument....I was proud to put English!!

[mrsmelly]

8 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

This looks more relevant, but doesn't actually answer my questions.

 

https://census.gov.uk/help/types-of-household-or-accommodation/boats-caravans-and-other-mobile-homes/boats-vans-or-other-mobile-households-not-in-a-permanent-location

 

MP.

All this is why there will be many people again not on census forms. Its not rocket science with todays pooters for an easy online form to be accessed by anybody. I can log on to my hmrc account in a couple of seconds just using my ni number and given code.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

All this is why there will be many people again not on census forms. Its not rocket science with todays pooters for an easy online form to be accessed by anybody. I can log on to my hmrc account in a couple of seconds just using my ni number and given code.

 

We are as a society though increasingly moving towards one where everybody has to fit in a nice little box and if you don't you will struggle with stuff like this and things like getting car insurance.

 

If there isn't a postcode you can be conveniently tied to then it seems you don't count sometimes.

 

 

[TheBiscuits]

32 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

I spent 20 minutes this morning on hold

 

Have you tried a clearly worded SMS to 86677 ?

[frangar]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Have you tried a clearly worded SMS to 86677 ?

I tried the text system yesterday....It sent me back a text saying to call as the text system was broken! I found a webchat page in the end which worked....well on the third attempt!

 

[mrsmelly]

12 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

We are as a society though increasingly moving towards one where everybody has to fit in a nice little box and if you don't you will struggle with stuff like this and things like getting car insurance.

 

If there isn't a postcode you can be conveniently tied to then it seems you don't count sometimes.

 

 

You are so correct. Funnily enough though I have no problem paying income tax without a post code.

[MoominPapa]

Done it. Called again and got someone clued up enough to drive the system. What you need to do is give the postcode of where you're going to be on the 21st and explain that you're not in an address in that postcode, but in a boat which moves around. They will then add a new address to the postcode which is the name of the boat and give you a census code linked to the name of your boat, in the postcode where it will be. It seems that most of the phone drones don't know this, and the one I talked to worked it out and had to pass the actual task of adding the new address to the postcode up the chain of command. With that access code, you go to the website and put it in, and it comes up with the boat name! It is possible, but it takes some perseverance to manipulate the system.

 

We're all filled in, and registered as British and European. You have to select "other" and fill in the box for the later.

 

MP.

 

ETA. In other news, their computer system for the phones was down for 2 hours today, so getting though has been rough. You need to keep trying.

 

EATA. We're in Lapworth, which us quite posh. Suspect we have reduced the average bedroom count and increased the proportion of residences heated by coal in this area......

Edited March 12, 2021 by MoominPapa

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

Done it. Called again and got someone clued up enough to drive the system. What you need to do is give the postcode of where you're going to be on the 21st and explain that you're not in an address in the that postcode, but in a boat which moves around. They will then add a new address to the postcode which is the name of the boat and give you a census code linked to the name of your boat, in the postcode where it will be. It seems that most of the phone drones don't know this, and the one I talked to worked it out and had to pass the actual task of adding the new address to the postcode up the chain of command. With that access code, you go to the website and put it in, and it comes up with the boat name! It is possible, but it takes some perseverance to manipulate the system.

 

We're all filled in, and registered as British and European. You have to select "other" and fill in the box for the later.

 

MP.

 

ETA. In other news, their computer system for the phones was down for 2 hours today, so getting though has been rough. You need to keep trying.

Well done for navigating your way through the tortuous system, and helpfully telling everyone else how to follow you ?

[Machpoint005]

26 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

>>They will then add a new address to the postcode which is the name of the boat and give you a census code linked to the name of your boat, in the postcode where it will be. It seems that most of the phone drones don't know this<<

 

But at least the people who set it up actually thought of it as an issue!

 

 

[TheBiscuits]

7 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

But at least the people who set it up actually thought of it as an issue!

 

 

In charge of delivering the census is the ONS’s deputy national statistician, Iain Bell – himself a boater. Based in south Wales, he spends part of his time living on the Mon & Brec Canal with his partner.

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

22 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

In charge of delivering the census is the ONS’s deputy national statistician, Iain Bell – himself a boater. Based in south Wales, he spends part of his time living on the Mon & Brec Canal with his partner.

 

 

I wonder what he put down for being away from home for more than 30 days

[Mike Todd]

I ran into a quirk that the fist line telephone staff had not been briefed on: the property where we will be living on census night was, until early in the pandemic, technically a registered care home, a fact this known to their system. Hence when I put in the po9stcode it took me to an entirely distinct part of the website for that purpose, with no obvious way of over-riding it. So I rang - the wait was not as bad as I anticipated but the person who took my call had not come across this before and agreed that the designation needed changing for me to complete the form. However, the front liners are not given a facility to do this so she had to put me on hold whilst she consulted a more authoritative person. But the upshot was that this other person had to make a manual change but first needed more info. We then to and fro'd several times before I was able to be sent an access code - which they were geared up to send to the calling phone. (Something that they had thought about) That all took over half an hour, longer than it took to complete the form. At first it was a bit repetitive, checking that I really meant the answers I had given but then later they just took what you entered. Interestingly, having declared that there were two of us and that we were married it did seem to assume that we were married to each other and when it came to where we had been before (as we have only been here months - long story) it gave as a default that we had both been at the same previous address. I suspect that today's relationship patterns are a tad more complex than that simple model. In fact it must have been quite a nightmare balancing the need to be reasonably short and simple with collecting accurate and comprehensive data and not have too many people complaining that they did not fit into any boxes. I was a bit sad about the court case that was brought a couple of days ago about gender. But gender re-assignment is a political hot potato and certain groups (both for and anti) tend to the litigious.

[sueb]

I will have to look at mine. Our small bungalow has two postcodes. The council uses one nearly everyone else uses another. We also have several addresses each used by differing organizations. The sat nav takes people to a completely different place.

Sue

[Mike Todd]

12 hours ago, sueb said:

I will have to look at mine. Our small bungalow has two postcodes. The council uses one nearly everyone else uses another. We also have several addresses each used by differing organizations. The sat nav takes people to a completely different place.

Sue

We have had that too. When we bought the property here, some 30 years ago, the main entrance (former farm) was on the main road (or what passes for such in these parts!) and had a post code accordingly. However, the planning permission for our conversi0on required us to move the entrance to a side road on the opposite side of the property and was given a new post code.

 

Not really a problem but it does emphasize what the central purpose of the post code is (to assist sorting mail delivery in to walks) but so many other organisations have made use of it in ways that it assumes that it is a constant identifier of a property, to within a few locations). No everyone updates their data consistently and when we moved back in, last autumn, for a temporary period, we had to change the utilities accounts from the former tenants to ourselves. This proved quite an exercise, especially for the electricity - British Gas (sic!). It eventually turned out that they still had the post code from 30 years ago and were addressing bills to a similarly (but different) named property on that road! It was only when a kindly young post person noticed it that she came and brought one letter round to us!

[sueb]

14 hours ago, sueb said:

I will have to look at mine. Our small bungalow has two postcodes. The council uses one nearly everyone else uses another. We also have several addresses each used by differing organizations. The sat nav takes people to a completely different place.

Sue

I have now had a look as I got two letters to two slightly different addresses, but same post code. I've completed one, luckily the address we usually use so I have a spare code.

[Tony Brooks]

31 minutes ago, sueb said:

I have now had a look as I got two letters to two slightly different addresses, but same post code. I've completed one, luckily the address we usually use so I have a spare code.

 

I hope for your sake they know what their system has done otherwise you may well be £1000 lighter.

[Mike Todd]

42 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I hope for your sake they know what their system has done otherwise you may well be £1000 lighter.

Why? Census web site says:

 

Received more than one code

Whichever code you use, make sure you use the same code when returning to an online form you've already started. Destroy any others.

If you've received a letter that has a different address to yours, please put it in a postbox so it can get to the right address.

[sueb]

15 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

Why? Census web site says:

 

Received more than one code

Whichever code you use, make sure you use the same code when returning to an online form you've already started. Destroy any others.

If you've received a letter that has a different address to yours, please put it in a postbox so it can get to the right address.

Unfortunately the second address is ours as well. Same bungalow

[David Mack]

4 hours ago, sueb said:

Unfortunately the second address is ours as well. Same bungalow

Well you coul still put it in a post box.... and get it back again!

[sueb]

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

Well you could still put it in a post box.... and get it back again!

Presumably I could fill it in  :-))

[Rambling Boater]

As a live aboard, I requested an access code 5 days ago via the web form, still not received it. I've now sent another request. Anyone else having the same problem?

[mrsmelly]

2 hours ago, Rambling Boater said:

As a live aboard, I requested an access code 5 days ago via the web form, still not received it. I've now sent another request. Anyone else having the same problem?

Leave em to it