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Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: djones5353 on April 28, 2011, 05:24:57 pm
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In March, 1999 a man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW) received a bill for his as yet unused gas line stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it and threw it away.In April he received another bill and threw that one away too. The following month the gas company sent him a very nasty note stating they were going to cancel his gas line if he didn't send them $0.00 by return mail. He called them, talked to them, and they said it was a computer error and they would take care of it.The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out the troublesome gas line figuring that if there was usage on the account it would put an end to this ridiculous predicament. However, when he went to use the gas, it had been cut off.He called the gas company who apologised for the computer error once again and said that they would take care of it. The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now overdue. Assuming that having spoken to them the previous day the latest bill was yet another mistake, he ignored the bill, trusting that the company would be as good as their word and sort the problem out.The next month he got a bill for $0.00. This bill also stated that he had 10 days to pay his account or the company would have to take steps to recover the debt.Finally, giving in, he thought he would beat the company at their own game and mailed them a cheque for $0.00. The computer duly processed his account and
returned a statement to the effect that he now owed the gas company nothing at all. A week later, the manager of the Mudgee branch of the Westpac Banking Corporation called our hapless friend and asked him what he was doing writing cheque for $0.00.After a lengthy explanation the bank manager replied that the $0.00 cheque had
caused their cheque processing software to fail. The bank could therefore not process ANY cheques they had received from ANY of their customers that day because the cheque for $0.00 had caused the computer to crash.The following month the man received a letter from the gas company claiming that
his cheque has bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless he sent a cheque by return mail they would take immediate steps to recover the debt.At this point, the man decided to file a debt harassment claim against the gas company. It took him nearly 2 hours to convince the clerks at the local courthouse that he was not joking but convince them he did and they subsequently assisted him in the drafting of statements which were considered substantive evidence of the aggravation and difficulties he had been forced to endure during this debacle.The matter was heard in the Magistrate's Court in Mudgee and the outcome was this:The gas company was ordered to:[1] Immediately rectify their computerised accounts system or show cause, within 10 days, why the matter should not be referred to a higher court for consideration under Company Law. [2] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by
the man. [3] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by all the Westpac clients whose cheques had been bounced on the day our friend's had been. [4] Pay the claimant's court costs; and [5] Pay the claimant a total of $1500 per month for the 5 month period March to July inclusive as compensation for the aggravation they had caused their client to suffer.
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great story
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That's funny! Yep I wish that would happen to me as well! It would be a pain in the butt to have to deal with it at the time but if they paid me that much for the aggravation I would take it!
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For me, that would sound like a major headache. I guess he should have gotten paid for dealing with a company that is not quite sure how to do their job. How sad this is that it comes from an utility company, who should know what they are supposed to do.
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That is something i'll never see on my bills! Are you sure this is a true story? It's hard to believe.
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Some guys have all the luck??
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Here's one: I get a phone call everyday (sometimes 2) from the same number in San Francisco. I know the area code of San Francisco so I recognize the call from there. It's a recorded call asking for a certain person's name that is not known to me. It then gives me an option to press 1 if I'm that person or 5 if I'm not. I always choose option 5 hoping they will not call me back. No luck, as the next day, there is another call with the same recorded request. I called the company and while explaining the problem to a customer service Rep., they hang up on me, or I'm disconnected. I called again and the same thing happens. I call again and state that we got disconnected, which the lady informs me that all I have to do is choose option 5 and the calls will stop. I told her that I have chosen option 5 repeatedly at least for a week, and every single day a recorded call is made to my number again. She becomes a bit rude and tells me that they are not in the habit of harassing people for no reason and the number they are calling was given to them by said person. I reiterate that the person does not live in my home, and my number is unlisted so please stop calling it. The next day, you guessed it, another recorded call asking for the same person. Something else; when they answer the phone, they use call letters instead of the company name. When I ask what the company actually is and their full name, I'm refused since the call is for another individual and not me. Okay, then stop calling me already! It's almost like "who's on first".
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That is something i'll never see on my bills! Are you sure this is a true story? It's hard to believe.
This is a cool story, but it's another one that gets passed around even though it is likely false.
http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/zero.asp (http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/zero.asp)
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Lo yea that is a cool story. I hate dealing with customer service and errors on bills I always hope for something like this to happen to me also lol
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lol, im writing a check for $0.00 right now...
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I would get very ticked off if that kept happening to me, but hey, free $7500. chuck ching.
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Here's one: I get a phone call everyday (sometimes 2) from the same number in San Francisco. I know the area code of San Francisco so I recognize the call from there. It's a recorded call asking for a certain person's name that is not known to me. It then gives me an option to press 1 if I'm that person or 5 if I'm not. I always choose option 5 hoping they will not call me back. No luck, as the next day, there is another call with the same recorded request. I called the company and while explaining the problem to a customer service Rep., they hang up on me, or I'm disconnected. I called again and the same thing happens. I call again and state that we got disconnected, which the lady informs me that all I have to do is choose option 5 and the calls will stop. I told her that I have chosen option 5 repeatedly at least for a week, and every single day a recorded call is made to my number again. She becomes a bit rude and tells me that they are not in the habit of harassing people for no reason and the number they are calling was given to them by said person. I reiterate that the person does not live in my home, and my number is unlisted so please stop calling it. The next day, you guessed it, another recorded call asking for the same person. Something else; when they answer the phone, they use call letters instead of the company name. When I ask what the company actually is and their full name, I'm refused since the call is for another individual and not me. Okay, then stop calling me already! It's almost like "who's on first".
A mans magazine company did that to me and the subscription was a gift subscription to my husband from an acquaintance of his. They wouldn't talk to me at all. I didn't know who it was until they called one day when my husband was off work. They were trying to sell him magazines. I thought it quite ignorant actually. They hung up on me and everything. They kept calling after I told them to stop. Now I would just report them to the do not call number.
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I would love to get that money lol. But i think i would also be very happy if all my bills read $0.00 lol. Either one would be awesome. Thats a great story and great the the company had to pay for their lack of care for their customer!
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Gosh I would love to have bill from our gas and electric company come with with a balance due of 0.00 I would so be doing the happy dance. It seems every year the bills are going up and up and up. its just crazy how much we spend.
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I am convinced we have lost all common sense in this world.
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I cannot pay my electric bill on the electric company website because their system claims I am submitting the wrong SS #. I phoned them and after a good half an hour it was supposed to be straightened out. That was 4 months ago and I still can't pay my electric bill at their website for the same reason. I can't mail them a check because they don't send me a bill. I can only pay them thru MyCheckFree and that sometimes takes several days for them to process it. Even when MyCheckFree states "processed" the electric company sometimes says it hasn't been processed yet and they want to be paid again. They are very difficult to deal with.
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You have to wonder if stories like this are really true. I do know some companies do stupid things and make stupid mistakes but this sounds too made up. I think even with technology the default would be automatically set that nothing is to sent out under $1.00.