HMRC mistakes and more, freelancers meet up on 4th September 2024
Posted by Paul Silver
On Wednesday 4th September, twelve freelancers got together in the Battle of Trafalgar pub in Brighton to talk all things freelancing and tech. This is some of what we talked about:
- HMRC mistakes are a massive pain as you can’t easily get hold of them
- WordUp Brighton – WordPress Interactivity API
- Brighton Fibre vs Hyperoptic for internet in the Marina
- AI phone scams, or… can I get AI to take my calls?
- Electrical problems
- Working only from your phone (and AR glasses)
- Writing very big SQL queries
- Salesforce price gouging
- Streaming podcasters
- Helping rescue sunsetted Google projects
- Chaining together side hustles
- Internet nostalgia – when was the internet “edgy”?
- Liminal horror and the YouTube video The Oldest View
- Organising your time better
- Portland Road closures
- Parenting in a post-lockdown world
Highlights
HMRC mistakes
Although rare, HMRC do make mistakes. If you think they have made a mistake on your account, you will have to get hold of them and potentially chase them to get it sorted out. The best way to do that is to call them, although they suggest talking to their chat bot.
When you do get a chance to talk to someone, try to remember they’re not the one who has made the mistake or programmed their online system. Since cutbacks at HMRC a few Prime Minsters ago, the call centre is understaffed so it takes everyone ages to get through and the staff there are jumping from problem to problem. It’s frustrating for you and them.
WordPress Interactivity API
This is an interesting way to write the Javascript you might need for some interactive elements in your WordPress driven site using a little PHP, rather than lumps of PHP and Javascript. I was introduced to it at a recent WordUp Brighton talk.