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

[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.

[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 . . .

[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.

[IlovemyGeek]

Two Permits do NOT equal a license!

[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.

^-.-^

[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...

[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"

[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.

[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.