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rockzilla · 01-16-2004, 04:59 PM

I've got an amusing story about bill collectors.

A couple of years ago, I was abandoned by my roommates, and stuck with (among other things) a $350 electricity bill. The bill was sent to a collection agency, but I was only told this after calling the power company to find out how exactly much I owed, since I had to take a loan out to pay everything. They told me they didn't know the amount, but gave me the number and extension of the collection agent who was handling my account. I called the guy and he told me he'd get back to me with the amount I owed, since I needed to know, as I was taking a loan out to cover everything. He never called back, and after at least a dozen calls, I gave up, deciding that they must not want my money that badly, and I had to get that loan out for all the other, more diligent collection agencies that were calling for my head on a spike. This was a year and a half ago.
Just before this christmas, I got a call from the power company, they told me that were shifting my 'extremely delinquent account' over to my mother's account, and her account would be shut down if they didn't recieve full payment within 2 weeks. We both made vicious protests, saying that I was ready, willing and able to pay them 18 months ago, but nobody would give me the time of day. After a few phone calls, things were worked out, the bill got paid, and everybody's happy.
Utilities will gladly bend you over at any chance they get, especially if they're monopolizing whatever it is they provide.

At the same time, I owed the cable company $500 for a stolen digital cable reciever. I was able to retrieve the cable box a year after paying them back (with the loan I took out), I called the cable company, and explained my situation, they told me I could return the box for a full refund. I brought the box back, and was told that I could expect a cheque within the next 2-3 months. I couldn't understand how it could take that long since they knew the serial number of the box I had, and the one I returned matched this, how could it take that long to cut a cheque?

Wow, this is quite a rant. The moral of the story is, utilitity companies are the devil.

01-16-2004, 04:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
rockzilla Junkie Location: The Kitchen	I've got an amusing story about bill collectors. A couple of years ago, I was abandoned by my roommates, and stuck with (among other things) a $350 electricity bill. The bill was sent to a collection agency, but I was only told this after calling the power company to find out how exactly much I owed, since I had to take a loan out to pay everything. They told me they didn't know the amount, but gave me the number and extension of the collection agent who was handling my account. I called the guy and he told me he'd get back to me with the amount I owed, since I needed to know, as I was taking a loan out to cover everything. He never called back, and after at least a dozen calls, I gave up, deciding that they must not want my money that badly, and I had to get that loan out for all the other, more diligent collection agencies that were calling for my head on a spike. This was a year and a half ago. Just before this christmas, I got a call from the power company, they told me that were shifting my 'extremely delinquent account' over to my mother's account, and her account would be shut down if they didn't recieve full payment within 2 weeks. We both made vicious protests, saying that I was ready, willing and able to pay them 18 months ago, but nobody would give me the time of day. After a few phone calls, things were worked out, the bill got paid, and everybody's happy. Utilities will gladly bend you over at any chance they get, especially if they're monopolizing whatever it is they provide. At the same time, I owed the cable company $500 for a stolen digital cable reciever. I was able to retrieve the cable box a year after paying them back (with the loan I took out), I called the cable company, and explained my situation, they told me I could return the box for a full refund. I brought the box back, and was told that I could expect a cheque within the next 2-3 months. I couldn't understand how it could take that long since they knew the serial number of the box I had, and the one I returned matched this, how could it take that long to cut a cheque? Wow, this is quite a rant. The moral of the story is, utilitity companies are the devil.