Oh, you're just saying that...

I got a bit annoyed at an article in the paper which quoted a government official as dismissing a suggestion (about postal voting as a matter of fact, but that is immaterial) on the grounds that the evidence was "purely anecdotal". Now anecdotal evidence needs to be treated with caution, particularly when it is what is known as "friend of a friend" evidence ("I have a friend who knows somebody who..."), but when, as in the case in point, somebody is telling you what they personally have experienced, then to dismiss what they say as merely anecdotal is effectively to call them a liar. And when several people all tell the same story, then it deserves to be taken seriously.