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I received a bill in the mail yesterday from my ISP. Since I'd just paid the full balance of my account two weeks ago, I was confused, and so I called the billing department to sort it out.
I bet you can't guess.
Apparently, the company to which my ISP is contracted to deliver subsidiary service decided to switch service carriers because the new carrier provides "better billing detail". So now the new carrier is billing its new customer base one month in advance. So, even though I just paid the old service provider in full, the new one wants me to pay again and be reimbursed on the next bill for the double payment. You know, as assurance that I'm not a deadbeat.
I am not amused. The service representative with whom I spoke was very nice and extremely apologetic, but that doesn't change the fact that the company is asking me to pay twice in the same billing cycle and hope they make nice later. You know, because folks on fixed incomes have such a flexible budget that they can absorb an unexpected expense of several hundred dollars.
I have an emergency slush fund, but it's for emergencies--doctor's fees and car maintenance and "Oh, my God, my wheelchair broke in half.". It's not because the cable company decided to switch horses in mid-stream and failed to announce the change to its customers until the bills turned up in the mail. I can pay this, and I will, but I'm pissed that I have to, and there's no guarantee that I'll be so lucky if they switch again. If this had been the month the car insurance was due, I would've been screwed and sans TV, phone, and Internet for a month.
Way to fail, ISP.
Speaking of fail, I realized last night that what I thought was a balaclava was actually a cowl. My lack of fashion knowledge, let me show you it. As a consequence, I have to edit the first few chapters of Die Sprache der Blinden. I'm fortunate that I caught it early, but it's still an embarrassing pain in the ass.
I bet you can't guess.
Apparently, the company to which my ISP is contracted to deliver subsidiary service decided to switch service carriers because the new carrier provides "better billing detail". So now the new carrier is billing its new customer base one month in advance. So, even though I just paid the old service provider in full, the new one wants me to pay again and be reimbursed on the next bill for the double payment. You know, as assurance that I'm not a deadbeat.
I am not amused. The service representative with whom I spoke was very nice and extremely apologetic, but that doesn't change the fact that the company is asking me to pay twice in the same billing cycle and hope they make nice later. You know, because folks on fixed incomes have such a flexible budget that they can absorb an unexpected expense of several hundred dollars.
I have an emergency slush fund, but it's for emergencies--doctor's fees and car maintenance and "Oh, my God, my wheelchair broke in half.". It's not because the cable company decided to switch horses in mid-stream and failed to announce the change to its customers until the bills turned up in the mail. I can pay this, and I will, but I'm pissed that I have to, and there's no guarantee that I'll be so lucky if they switch again. If this had been the month the car insurance was due, I would've been screwed and sans TV, phone, and Internet for a month.
Way to fail, ISP.
Speaking of fail, I realized last night that what I thought was a balaclava was actually a cowl. My lack of fashion knowledge, let me show you it. As a consequence, I have to edit the first few chapters of Die Sprache der Blinden. I'm fortunate that I caught it early, but it's still an embarrassing pain in the ass.
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