I’m
a creature of habit.
I like to pay my
bills at the same
time each month.
Usually the same
checks go out to the
same people month
after month, very
boring.
My handwriting is
terrible, I can’t
recall how it got
that way, but most
people have a very
hard time trying to
make any sense of
any thing I write by
hand. Thank God for
computers. I write
my checks for my
bills using a
computer program
which makes keeping
up with things a lot
easier.
All of my paid bills
go into a folder for
that month. I staple
a copy of the
invoice together
with the bottom half
of the check. Nice
and neat. Then I
print out a copy of
the checks I’ve
written and put it
in the front.
I know this is
boring, but I’m
coming to the point.
Our bills are
generally so
predicable, I can
tell if I haven’t
paid something and
start to look for
either a lost or
misplaced invoice.
But, over time you
start to see a
pattern emerge that
makes me wonder.
My local cable
company tends to
send me an invoice
maybe once every two
months. I started
noticing this was
happening couple of
months ago due to
the fact that I
hadn’t gotten an
invoice for the
current month and
wanted to pay for
the service. Several
years ago, we
stopped getting mail
at our house and
switched to a post
office box since
someone was stealing
mail out of the
boxes in our
neighborhood. Of
course we notified
everyone of this
change. All the
other vendors
managed to get the
message, except…you
got it…the cable
company. For about a
year they would send
the invoice to the
wrong address, I
wouldn’t get it,
have to call them
and either give them
a credit card
payment over the
phone or send my
wife to their office
to make the payment.
This is a real pain.
Finally, I got
someone on the phone
to make the change.
Next month, no
invoice. I called
again….this time
they sent it to the
correct address but
the wrong zip code.
Now mind you each
time you have to
call this company
you must be prepared
to sit on hold for
at least forty five
minutes and listen
to their commercials
as well as some
elevator music that
no one has ever
heard before. It is
not what I would
call a pleasurable
experience.
Last week I paid all
the bills as usual.
Once again, no
invoice. This time I
just made a copy of
the last one I paid
and send a check for
the same amount to
the address on the
invoice. Over this
past weekend we kept
getting calls from
the cable company,
but they would never
leave a message. I
began to suspect
why.
This morning my wife
called them, very
early, spoke to
someone and told
them that a check
for the previous
balance had been
paid and why were
they calling?
Now, here’s where
the rubber meets the
road. Whoever was on
the line talking to
my wife tells her
that if I sent the
check to the address
on the envelope as
directed, then it
will take anywhere
from fourteen to
twenty-one days to
be processed. In
other words, one to
three weeks.
The check is not
considered on time
even if postmarked
three weeks earlier,
it’s considered on
time once they
process it and
credit your account.
So, if the date they
process the check is
past the date the
invoice was due,
even though you sent
it to them in plenty
of time, then they
tack on a five
dollar ‘late’ fee.
Isn’t this lovely?
Their answer to this
problem is to give
them authorization
to draft the balance
due for your
checking account
each month to
eliminate the
possibility of being
late and to avoid
the late fee.
I don’t know about
you, but I like to
see what I am paying
for and don’t feel
comfortable letting
someone just deduct
amounts from my
accounts without my
approval. But these
people seem to have
it coming and going.
They get the late
fee if they don’t
process your check
in due time. They
probably have one
person opening the
mail and posting the
thousands of checks
coming to them on a
daily basis, but hey
who cares since they
make more by not
being efficient?
It seems to me that
the old adage… ‘The
customer is always
right’ has gone by
the wayside in this
country in the past
few years.
I think it’s kind of
sad.
