But nobody reminded me or called me that I have to pay my bill on time!

[greensinestro]

When I lived alone, I had at least four or five utility bills, plus my rent and my car payments. Can anyone imagine someone like myself expecting a phone call or a letter to be sent to my home every month reminding me to pay these bills on time? Isn't that why these places send out a bill to begin with?

I have actually dealt with that though. One call went something like this:

Me: Thank you for calling ********........

SC: My phone was shut off and I want to know why.

Me: Well, sir, it appears the bill has an unpaid balance and therefore was shut off.

SC: What? Nobody sent me a reminder that I had to pay that bill.

Me: Sir, we sent you a bill with the amount due and the date it was to be paid.

SC: Yes, I am fully aware of that , and don't patronize me. The fact is that nobody called me or wrote me a letter telling me this.

Me: We don't send reminder notices, nor do we make personal calls. That is what your bill is for, and it says right on it when it is due and how much it is.

SC: But last month when I paid it late, someone called me first before shutting it off.

Me: Yes, I see that has been done for the past three months. However, we are not required to call and remind you of this. Again, your bill has this information already on it and it even states that failure to pay could result in the interruption of your service.

SC: But, I've been called or sent a letter every month. I should not have had my service shut off if you all did not call me to remind me.



At this point, I firmly told him that he needed to speak to collections, since that department was who handled this matter. He got mad and hung up, but later on had paid his bill. Apparently the next rep he got was not so cordial and immediately connected him there.

[Boozy]

I get a reminder in the mail every month to send my phone company money.
It is called a bill.
It has sufficed for ten years now, and will continue to do so, for I am able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

[IlovemyGeek]

That reminds me of a scene from Clueless..

"Second notice for an unpaid parking ticket....but I don't remember get a first notice"

[BookstoreEscapee]

That reminds me of a scene from Clueless..

"Second notice for an unpaid parking ticket....but I don't remember get a first notice"

The TICKET is the first notice!!!

I love that movie...

[Andara Bledin]

I had a warrant out on me for an unpaid fixit ticket.

Problem is that I had sent in a money order and heard nothing more about it, so I figured it was taken care of.

Thankfully, the officer who pulled me over for expired tags (they took forever to arrive in the mail, something like a month after I sent the payment in) let me go with a warning.

It's good that I'm a decent person, 'cause they always let me go with a warning. That fixit ticket was my only ticket ever and it was my mom's car with three running lights not working. *sigh*

Although I did get a parking ticket once because the community college wouldn't let anyone park in the faculty spaces, even at 8pm when most of those were empty but the rest of the lot was full and you had to pay on the way in regardless of whether there was space.

^-.-^

[IlovemyGeek]

Two Permits do NOT equal a license!

[TNT]

I once had a non-pay disconnect go totally ballistic on me: "This happens every month. And every month I call in and ask that someone send me a fax a week before the bill's due, and then call me two days before it's due. Is that too much to ask?"

Yes. Yes it is.

We also get a lot of customers who think that "shut off date" and "due date" are the same thing. So, instead of sending out shut off notices, we now put something like this on the bill that has already has a 60 day past due balance. "Your bill is seriously past due. Please pay immediately. Your services may be interrupted at any time. No further notices will be sent." Which always leads to:

Caller: I never got a shut off notice.
Me: It was on your bill that you need to pay immediately...
Caller: But I never got anything with an exact date for shut off.
Me: You can't get much more exact than "immediately."
Caller: If you'd have given me an exact date, I would have paid it then.
Me: Should have paid it immediately.

Straying slightly, there's the ever popular:

Caller: Okay, since I've been cut off, that means I qualify for new subscriber promotions.
Me: No it doesn't. Let's move on.

[karma_gypsy]

I always figured the bright red lettering on the bill framed in bright red with the words, "Warning, this is your last chance" or whatever with lots of bold lettering and due date and shut-off and pay your bill immediately was always a good reminder . . .

[braindead]

I get these people periodically, not because they get a bill but because we send them a letter letting them know that we will be setting them up on auto pay. They go ballistic. And yet the people that don't want that option are required to remember to send in their payment. Surprise they don't.

[greensinestro]

Straying slightly, there's the ever popular:

Caller: Okay, since I've been cut off, that means I qualify for new subscriber promotions.
Me: No it doesn't. Let's move on.

Whoa! Hold it right there now! When I worked for Adelphia, now Comcast, they actually did allow this crap to happen. One night we had this meeting on restart customers, which are deadbeats who were turned back on after the bill was paid. The manager told us that from now on, when you get one of these and put in an order to restore them, you are also required to offer them the latest promotions, such as free HBO for three months, or free DVR service for six. If you could have seen the looks on people's faces in that meeting. The manager even said "Yes, I see the looks on your faces, but we need to retain as many customers as we can." Now that Comcast is in charge, I do not believe they are that generous anymore.

[Kara]

Ah, I love it. I get these calls consistently.

SC: It's your company's fault for not sending me a notice to pay the bill!
ME: The due date is clearly printed on the bill. If you forget the due date, you can look on the bill again.

SC: I want a credit for the minutes I went over. I can't believe you let me go over my minutes! You knew I was about to go over, but didn't send me any notice at all!
ME: We only provide the service and the tools to check your minutes and services on your own. It's up to you to use them.

[Mark Healey]

Online banking has saved me hundreds of dollars. I was always forgetting to pay bills. Once I hear someone rustling papers at my front door. When I open it is is my landlord posting a "Pay Rent or Quit" notice. I then smacked my head, reached over to the little table by the door and hand him the stamped and unmailed envelope with my rent. I still had to write him another check for the late fee.

[CrazedClerk]

How about these people that think if they stop paying their bill and just let their account default for a few months that afterwards they will magically not owe anything anymore AND will not have pay the early termination fee?

Sorry folks, it's not that easy.

[XCashier]

SC: I want a credit for the minutes I went over. I can't believe you let me go over my minutes! You knew I was about to go over, but didn't send me any notice at all!

What are these people, toddlers?! I suppose they want you to wipe their backsides for them after they go to the bathroom, too.

Or maybe they expect you to appear out of thin air and hold a gun up to their heads when they are "about to go over". Personal responsibility is part of being an adult, folks. It's a Good Thing.

[JuniorMintz]

I get a reminder in the mail every month to send my phone company money.
It is called a bill.
It has sufficed for ten years now, and will continue to do so, for I am able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

HAHAHA! Quoted! (slightly edited to fit space limitation)