Louis Rossmann
4 HN mentions · mentioned in 3 months, 2021–2026
16:21 · 459K views · Apr 26, 2021
Louis Rossmann recounts calling NYC's Department of Consumer Affairs after his repair business was fined, only to find the agency staff could not explain what the law required. The call starts around 3:14.
HN cites it as a concrete example of bureaucrats not knowing the rules they enforce on small businesses.
4 comments from Hacker News
The author's pinned comment: To answer some common questions: a) I have already emailed & called, and I patiently await a reply... b) You can't re-renew with a 13 month old PIN if you already renewed. c) You can't show up in person without an appointment. d) Appointments are only granted by means of contact that don't reply. e) Yes I have two other licenses that AREN'T expired, but those are useless, they are for selling laptops, not fixing laptops, which I don't do anymore anyway after the city was unable to give me a straight answer on how to do so without being fined: this video - I need this license in the video to be able to actually do repairs. f) Just listen to this. this video This is what I am dealing with. After 15+ minutes and being transferred to two people, they can't answer a basic question about a rule they fined me for breaking that they can't even explain. They never emailed or called me back, which has been the behavior I have come to expect over the past nine years. I am serious, if you work for the city and have any way of applying my 13 month old payment to this license renewal, you have the gratitude of myself & 14 of my employees who will get to continue paying their rents, mortgages, & food bill for their kids. In spite of what people think, I am not a millionaire. If I'm forced to close - I can't afford to pay these people. I do not want that to happen. I am not meming, I never get responses to DCA emails - not 3 months ago, not for NINE YEARS, and I don't
Here is a summary from the Louis Rossmann YT comment: To answer some common questions: a) I have already emailed & called, and I patiently await a reply... b) You can't re-renew with a 13 month old PIN if you already renewed. c) You can't show up in person without an appointment. d) Appointments are only granted by means of contact that don't reply. e) Yes I have two other licenses that AREN'T expired, but those are useless, they are for selling laptops, not fixing laptops, which I don't do anymore anyway after the city was unable to give me a straight answer on how to do so without being fined: this video - I need this license in the video to be able to actually do repairs. f) Just listen to this. this video This is what I am dealing with. After 15+ minutes and being transferred to two people, they can't answer a basic question about a rule they fined me for breaking that they can't even explain. They never emailed or called me back, which has been the behavior I have come to expect over the past nine years. I am serious, if you work for the city and have any way of applying my 13 month old payment to this license renewal, you have the gratitude of myself & 14 of my employees who will get to continue paying their rents, mortgages, & food bill for their kids. In spite of what people think, I am not a millionaire. If I'm forced to close - I can't afford to pay these people. I do not want that to happen. I am not meming, I never get responses to DCA emails - not 3 months ago, not for
I think the most frustrating aspect of California is the capricious interpretation of laws. There isn't a clear way to ensure compliance. Louis Rossmann did a pretty good job demonstrating a similar issue with New York and the LeadsOnline reporting requirements. Often the people responsible for enforcing the laws, don't even know what the laws are and will often err on the side of fining people. this video
> Why did NYC release it in the first place? Did they not QA it? Considering Louis Rossmann's videos on his adventures with NYC bureaucracy (e.g. [0]), the QAers might not have known the laws any better than the chat bot. [0] this video