My company's "scam"

[AquaGirl]

My company now stops water delivery service when your balance reaches 60 days past due. Once this happens, payment of the entire past due balance. (30+ days and 60+ days) is required to continue.

SC: If I pay $50, can I get a delivery?!
Me: Unfortunately ma'am, we would need a payment of $100 to resume service.
SC: $100!?
Me: yes ma'am. Your full balance is $125.40 of which $100 is past due.
SC: When I paid last month you said if I paid $50 more you would deliver to me! You mean you lied!?
Me: no ma'am, but that was April 1. This is May 3. The balance ages each day and that increases you past due amount.
SC:What!? You add a day to my past due amount every day!? That's crazy! How can you do that, it'll ruin my credit! Why didn't you take my payment last month from what I owe now.
Me: because your balance was higher last month. You owed $175, you paid $75 and your balance has increased by-
SC: (laughing) Ohhhh, see, I figured out your little game.
Me: ma'am, this isn't a "game"; we simply expect payment for services already rendered and we do apply payments to the oldest open balance but by making partial payments and paying 30 days apart, your past due balance is increasing. I am sorry for the inconvenience but-
SC: I AM ON DISABILITY!YOURE USING BIG WORDS TO CONFUSE ME! STOP LYING! YOU'RE ALL CRAZY DO YOU HEAR ME! IM CALLING FOX 5!
click
Me: (to supervisor) it is waaaay too early for this (it was 7 am)

[trailerparkmedic]

When I worked for the credit card company, the worst callers were the ones who yelled about being on disability or a fixed income and why were we expecting so much money from them when they lived on so little? How dare we expect them to pay what they spent! It really gave normal people on disability/fixed income a horrible name.

[Jester]

I believe her when she says she is on disability.

It must be very difficult going through life without a brain.

[AquaGirl]

When I worked for the credit card company, the worst callers were the ones who yelled about being on disability or a fixed income and why were we expecting so much money from them when they lived on so little? How dare we expect them to pay what they spent! It really gave normal people on disability/fixed income a horrible name.

Oh yeah, i didnt even add that she said some other gibberish about her situation. I am sorry and I understand fixed incomes but her excuse was hat she moved and couldn't pay her bills. That's understandable-still not our problem. You dont want to pay for water you already drank so we should bring you more? And she tried saying that since she paid 30 days ago she couldn't be 100 days past due. Nice try.

[Betweenshades]

To the ignorant mind it does sound like a scam: she was told that it was $X the last time she called and now it's $Y without understanding late fees, interest, etc. I feel bad for such people. I feel worse for those who must deal with them.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Oh yeah, i didnt even add that she said some other gibberish about her situation. I am sorry and I understand fixed incomes but her excuse was hat she moved and couldn't pay her bills.

I understand fixed incomes too. Pretty much everybody's on one, if you think about it.

So that excuse gets nowhere with me anyway.

[chainedbarista]

That's crazy! How can you do that, it'll ruin my credit!

well, ma'm, we have a simple solution to keep your credit to the good: PAY YOUR DAMN BILL IN FULL AND ON TIME.

see how easy that is?

[HappyFun Ball]

I understand fixed incomes as well, but I also understand living within your means.

[underemployeed]

The worst ones are vets with entitlement issues that have it in their mind that they deserve special treatment, because "I defended your freedoms!!!!!", Sure, I will thank them for their service BUT, we give no sort of special discount and I'm sorry you ran out of gas and have a giant American flag on your van but I'm unable to comp you $10 in gas, and have my own bills to pay.

Now I have no problem with people asking "I'm on a fixed income do you have any sort of payment plans of ability to wave certain late fees?", I know in our area especially when it comes to electric and gas they can't shut them off on you during the winter if you try to make out an arrangement.

But at the same time it comes down to living within your means, we have one older woman that I feel bad for because she goes through our trash looking for soda cans to get some extra money.

It just gets annoying that because many companies have special discounts or abilities to help the vets/disabled/elderly/etc that those groups have come to EXPECT handouts and get offended if you establish your a business and they need to pay the same as everyone else!

[sirwired]

If this lady is that hard up for money, why would she have a water delivery service at all? There are very few parts of the country where 100% safe water does not flow out of the tap for essentially no cost. (In quantities used for drinking anyway.) Even if it isn't tasty a cheap-ass Brita will take care of that.

[AquaGirl]

If this lady is that hard up for money, why would she have a water delivery service at all? There are very few parts of the country where 100% safe water does not flow out of the tap for essentially no cost. (In quantities used for drinking anyway.) Even if it isn't tasty a cheap-ass Brita will take care of that.

Don't tell my job but I have a Pur water filter on my faucet. Even with employee discounts heir prices are too high for me...and I am not on anything like the fixed income this woman appeared to be on so...

[Frantic Freddie]

My 73 year old mother's on a fixed income too but she knows how to (mostly) live within her means & she wouldn't dream of pullin' the "I'm old/handicapped/on a fixed income!" crap.If she screws up then she can damn well just eat the cat food that month.







I'M JOKING!!!! she lives 200 yards away,I bought the house for her & she's got a full fridge,a small freezer that's full & a bunch of canned & dry stuff.My wife & I'll pick up the water or electric bill sometimes over her protests

[Raveni]

I deal with people with past due balances all the time... They never seem to understand that the amount they owed over a month ago is much larger today because they didn't pay it off.

SC: "But I was out of the country for 3 months! Why is my bill so large now!"
ME: "Because you haven't paid for 3 months."

[Dips]

What!? You add a day to my past due amount every day!? That's crazy!

That is pure SC comedy gold right there. The stuff that passes for logic in their pointly little heads just kills me.

[Primer]

My husband's fixed income is more than I bring home every month working! I sometimes think that he is of the mindset that he will get that amount again next month, so may as well spend what he has now, whereas if I don't work, I don't get paid, so I try to save anything I have left over.