Digital’s not perfect, but at least I can track what I sent and when. Still, when the portal crashes mid-upload... that’s a whole different headache.
Yeah, tracking stuff online is a lifesaver—until it isn’t. I’ve had the portal time out halfway through an upload and then it just... disappears into the void. No confirmation, no error, just gone. Had to call the city to see if they got anything, and of course, they hadn’t. At least with paper, you can walk in and get a stamp or a receipt right there.
Curious—has anyone actually gotten their digital submittals “lost” by the city? Like, you uploaded everything, got confirmation, but then later they say they never received it? Or is that just a paper problem? I keep backups of everything on my end now, screenshots included, but it’s wild how both systems have their own ways of making things complicated.
Curious—has anyone actually gotten their digital submittals “lost” by the city? Like, you uploaded everything, got confirmation, but then later they say they never received it? Or is that just a paper problem?
I’ve had this happen once, actually. Uploaded all my docs, got the “success” email from the portal, and figured I was good. Two weeks later, I called to check on the status and they said nothing was in their system. Turns out their server had some kind of hiccup that day and a bunch of files just... vanished. They told me to resubmit and acted like it was no big deal. Super frustrating.
Honestly, I almost miss the days of walking into the office with a stack of papers and getting that little rubber stamp as proof. At least then if something went missing, you could point to your receipt and say “hey, I was here.” With digital, even with screenshots or emails, it feels like there’s always some loophole for them to say it didn’t go through.
But then again, paper isn’t perfect either. Had a friend whose plans got lost in someone’s desk drawer for three weeks before anyone realized. No system’s foolproof.
Has anyone tried using those third-party submission services some cities are starting to accept? Wondering if they’re any more reliable or if it’s just another layer where things can get lost in translation...
