Getting the mail is one of the highlights of my day. I can't explain it, really. You would think that by now I would have learned that the mailbox rarely contains exciting surprises, but I can't seem to get over the fact that there might be something really great just waiting for me.
I saw the mail arrive today, and since I wasn't in the middle of anything too important, I went out and grabbed it from the box. I did the usual "flip through the stack" as I walked back up the driveway. Nothing jumped out at me. I continued inside, put the stack on the counter, and started opening. Hospital bill, insurance bill, magazine subscription renewal, notice from a collections agency. Hold on! What was that? I looked at it again. This had to be a scam. I don't have any overdue bills. The contents of the letter provide little help. They are collecting on behalf of a local entity to whom we owe a small amount twice a year. I start to panic. You see, I now feel like I've done something wrong. I hate doing things wrong. I hate getting in trouble. It's not just the consequences that I try to avoid - I really hate the feeling of knowing I've done something wrong. I can only remember one time in all my years of school that I was given a detention. I thought my life was over. Turns out, it was a misunderstanding. I didn't deserve the detention.Whew. Narrowly escaped that. So, back to the letter at hand. To calm my racing thoughts, I decided a call to the original billing party was in order. After all, how was I to know this was even legit? I didn't recall the bill, and I was being asked to blindly send my money to this third party. (Perhaps I should inform you that it was for a grand total of $47. Not the end of the world. But nearly the end of my world.)
A quick call brought some things to light, but left me shaking my head. Yes, I had missed a bill. It was a $10 bill, sent to us somewhere around February 2011. According to my calculations, I had a new baby in the house. I'm surprised that the only thing I overlooked was a $10 invoice! (No excuse though - still mad that I missed a bill!) What made me shake my head was the rest of our conversation. They claim to have sent the invoice. I don't remember seeing it, but I don't remember a lot from those early months of being a mommy. Chances are, it got thrown out by error. It happens. The thing is, this entity does not send a second bill. Or a notice of an outstanding bill. Or anything. One strike and you're out. When they send a new bill several months later for the next service, it doesn't reflect the outstanding amount. So, when I paid our dues in September, everything looked fine. Little did I know that I was already on the delinquent list. It appears to be a labor-saving effort - anyone who does not pay with the first notice will not hear anything about it again until a year later when the collection agency does the dirty work. Lovely.
It's only $47. It's not the money. I guess a $37 tip for being late on a $10 bill is reasonable. Or something. It's the fact that I'm on someone's delinquent list. This is worse than a detention. This is like being sent straight to the principal's office. I hope I survive.
I saw the mail arrive today, and since I wasn't in the middle of anything too important, I went out and grabbed it from the box. I did the usual "flip through the stack" as I walked back up the driveway. Nothing jumped out at me. I continued inside, put the stack on the counter, and started opening. Hospital bill, insurance bill, magazine subscription renewal, notice from a collections agency. Hold on! What was that? I looked at it again. This had to be a scam. I don't have any overdue bills. The contents of the letter provide little help. They are collecting on behalf of a local entity to whom we owe a small amount twice a year. I start to panic. You see, I now feel like I've done something wrong. I hate doing things wrong. I hate getting in trouble. It's not just the consequences that I try to avoid - I really hate the feeling of knowing I've done something wrong. I can only remember one time in all my years of school that I was given a detention. I thought my life was over. Turns out, it was a misunderstanding. I didn't deserve the detention.Whew. Narrowly escaped that. So, back to the letter at hand. To calm my racing thoughts, I decided a call to the original billing party was in order. After all, how was I to know this was even legit? I didn't recall the bill, and I was being asked to blindly send my money to this third party. (Perhaps I should inform you that it was for a grand total of $47. Not the end of the world. But nearly the end of my world.)
A quick call brought some things to light, but left me shaking my head. Yes, I had missed a bill. It was a $10 bill, sent to us somewhere around February 2011. According to my calculations, I had a new baby in the house. I'm surprised that the only thing I overlooked was a $10 invoice! (No excuse though - still mad that I missed a bill!) What made me shake my head was the rest of our conversation. They claim to have sent the invoice. I don't remember seeing it, but I don't remember a lot from those early months of being a mommy. Chances are, it got thrown out by error. It happens. The thing is, this entity does not send a second bill. Or a notice of an outstanding bill. Or anything. One strike and you're out. When they send a new bill several months later for the next service, it doesn't reflect the outstanding amount. So, when I paid our dues in September, everything looked fine. Little did I know that I was already on the delinquent list. It appears to be a labor-saving effort - anyone who does not pay with the first notice will not hear anything about it again until a year later when the collection agency does the dirty work. Lovely.
It's only $47. It's not the money. I guess a $37 tip for being late on a $10 bill is reasonable. Or something. It's the fact that I'm on someone's delinquent list. This is worse than a detention. This is like being sent straight to the principal's office. I hope I survive.
1 comment:
Hahaha...oh you make me laugh :)
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