"Why should we put up with this sort of treatment, it is not necessary??"
I agree but you are dealing with people here - not robots. People who have a dull, boring job tend to take their fun where they can - putting socks into cans of tomatoes, threatening innocent people with arrest, setting fires deliberatley so they can run down there in their fire engine, insisting ALL forms are filled out EXACTLY before you get a tax refund............