30.8.06

AN UNPAYABLE BILL

No inspiration help came from Pookie this morning as she was busy running around and putting upside down all carpets in the house. And it's not even springtime !

Anyway I experienced something very surprising. I got an invoice. That's nothing special because that's the only mail most of people get. The invoice showed an amount to pay : 0,00 €. (1 € is a little more then a $) I started to doubt about the mental health of this hospital, as it was a hospital invoice. This was quite stupid, even the paper was worth more + the stamps that's more than one € isn't it ? I am not a genious in math have never been, but that I could find out. I dropped it in the wastepaper basket, told my friends as it was quite funny and then forgot about it.

One week later or so, I got a reminder to please pay the outstaning invoice of € 0,00. Again by mail and with stamps. Now this was really ridiculous, I told again my friends and threw it away.

After a while I got another reminder telling me that I had already had one reminder but still not payed and I should do this immediately. That's nice how can I pay 0,00 € ? The bank will take me for mad and I didn't intend to spend the rest of my life in a mad house. Sighing I threw it away.

Then I got another letter, this time encircled with red and a menacing text, all in red, that I still had not payed and that this was the last payment request. I got so scared that I threw it away.

Another week went by and another letter arrived. This time with registred mail ! The postman looked suspicious at me ... did I commit a crime ?

The letter was rude informing me that this would be the last (underlined, red, exclamation mark) reminder before taking juridical steps ! My goodness I thought, should I take a lawyer ? I saw myself alreday sitting in a nicely decorated cell with computer and flowers around me (but sadly without my personal cat) and my husband bringing me oranges.

Now, I thought, I should call them and asking for an explanation because honestly I did not have a 0 € coin or bill. That really was a big problem. Otherwise I would have driven over there and paid it.

I called, explained my problem. From service to service to service who all were not responsible finally I ended up with the Accounting department. So I explained for the X time my problem. Ah ! and finally I got the concerned person on the phone. She declared me that this is the fault of the computer, he was the culprit ! And the best thing I could do was to send 0,00 € per bank transfer.

On my timid statement that this would be absurd, she informed me that not at all, as the computer only understands when he gets a transfer. Then I could live in peace again. But, I dared to say, the computer does only with what people had fed in it, she looked at me contemptously, not saying loud but thought it inside, that I was again one of these stupid people who really don't understand anything about computers ! To assure this oh so clever woman I promised her to make a transfer of 0,00 € right away. I hang up the phone and .... did it.

This was the first time in my life that I had to pay such an enormous and almost unpayable amount ! But it was good, I never got a reminder again and the Hospital only spent 5 € in stamps. All's well that ends well !!

And this is the truth, when a mistake is done, it's always THE COMPUTER. Didn't you know that ?

Meanwhile I've also put the carpets in their right place, where Pookie had worked on and told her that I finished my text without her, but she didn't listen she sleeps (once again) !

1 comment:

Marci said...

Thanks for stopping my blog. Thank you for your kind words. I am going to see if I can find some of your paintings. You are probably an artist. I am just a country gal that does country type painting. Nothing fancy.

God bless.