Random Rants OA - I Have 71 Problems, But This Thread Ain't One

[Cutlass]

I just don't keep any files on the drive that has Windows on it. And then all the important files on more than one drive.

 

[Morty]

Moved house recently and discovered a fault on our phone/broadband line.
Our Telecoms company (I wont name them but they're British and deal with Telecoms ) said there'd be £130 charge if the fault turned out to be at our end.
Engineer comes out and discovers the fault....in the exchange box....300 yards down the road.
Engineer puts on system "fault not at property, fault at exchange box".
Latest bill comes along and magically includes a £130 charge!!
Long phone calls later and we're now awaiting a manager to return our calls, apologies and reimburse us the money.

 

[Arakhor]

When I had an account at said British telecom company, they kept insisting that (a) my name was Robert (it isn't) and that (b) they couldn't change it because customer records were always handled by someone else. It wasn't until (quite literally) the last conversation I was having with them when closing my account when the chap on the other end said that he was able to change my customer record, only to find out that of course he couldn't any more... as my account was now closed.

 

[Mouthwash]

You seem like a Robert.

 

[Arakhor]

BT apparently thought so.

 

[Snerk]

BT apparently thought so.

That's Robert for you.

 

[Gori the Grey]

When I had an account at said British telecom company, they kept insisting that (a) my name was Robert (it isn't) and that (b) they couldn't change it because customer records were always handled by someone else.

Refuse to pay the bills. You don't know who this Robert character they keep sending the bills to is, after all.

 

[Arakhor]

This was more than a few years ago now. Robert, the phantasmal brother I never had, has long been exorcised.

 

[Takhisis]

To use an 'Murican expression, just go Uncle Bob on them.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

When I had an account at said British telecom company, they kept insisting that (a) my name was Robert (it isn't) and that (b) they couldn't change it because customer records were always handled by someone else. It wasn't until (quite literally) the last conversation I was having with them when closing my account when the chap on the other end said that he was able to change my customer record, only to find out that of course he couldn't any more... as my account was now closed.

The electricity company once sent me a letter saying that because I was dead, they were cutting off my electricity unless they were paid $$$.

Some people said I shouldn't have to pay, being dead, but since electricity runs some of the necessary things in my life, I figured I'd better tell them I'm not dead. Besides, if one outfit thought I was dead, that could gradually infiltrate everything else in my life. It wouldn't be good, for instance, for the bank to think I'm dead.

It was a surprise to the agent who handled my call. Turns out they got me mixed up with my grandmother, as our names were very similar - and she really was dead (and had been for about 12 years at the time).

 

[JohannaK]

More political prisoners. More demonstrations.

 

[Arakhor]

Why on earth would they demand money with menaces if they thought you were dead?! After all, half the point of being dead is that you don't care about mortal considerations any more!

 

[Synobun]

Nothing's more important than settling past dues with the estate of a deceased.

 

[Takhisis]

Not even lemonade?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Why on earth would they demand money with menaces if they thought you were dead?! After all, half the point of being dead is that you don't care about mortal considerations any more!

Money matters more than anything to these companies. The Go Public articles on CBC.ca (investigative journalists getting to the bottom of problems customers have with companies that they've tried every reasonable way to resolve but don't get anywhere) are full of stories about people being harassed, overcharged, threatened, bullied, and defrauded by the utility companies, telecoms, moving companies, and banks (among others). When that letter was sent, the expectation was that my next of kin would open it and send money. The threat of services being cut off is standard.

I'm no longer with that company, and when I did my final calculations of things, it turns out they owe me 42 cents. I could have gone into the office and demanded to get it, but it's not really worth the effort.

Nothing's more important than settling past dues with the estate of a deceased.

Yep. The telecoms are especially nasty in this: Call them to cancel the account of a deceased person who has a cell phone and they'll tell you they can't or won't because the contract isn't up for X number of months or years... and then they'll try to get you to add internet or additional cable channels to the account.

For a dead person. No, I am not kidding. They couldn't care less if a person might be grieving and trying to cope with financial matters, arranging a funeral, and the dozen other things that have to be done when someone dies. All that matters to them is getting that money and upselling more.


Anyway, I eventually got everything straightened out. I told them I wasn't dead, and since there had been such an awful mixup with my account I wanted extra time to get the situation fixed. They agreed to do so.

And the moment I had a choice to leave them, I did.

 

[Arakhor]

At that point, I would simply threaten to cancel the direct debit (if you're paying) and not look back. That should get their attention then.

Either that or point out that when the deceased's will achieves probate, their bank account won't function any more and that'll be that.

 

[Cutlass]

At that point, I would simply threaten to cancel the direct debit (if you're paying) and not look back. That should get their attention then.

Either that or point out that when the deceased's will achieves probate, their bank account won't function any more and that'll be that.

I don't know about Canada, but in the US you can't even count on that ending the issue. They'll attack your credit for not paying.

 

[Arakhor]

I was more suggesting it to break through their script and get them to actually pay attention to what you're saying. That said, attacking the credit of a dead person is useless.

 

[Commodore]

Never thought I'd have to say this but: I hate my government and I hate the people that vote for them. Both Democrats and Republicans. You're all a bunch of two-faced, dishonest, unappreciative...words I can't say without getting banned.

Just heard some news that veterans are soon going to be treated even worse in this country than they already are due to a bill that is currently being debated in the House right now. I'm not going into details because it's one of those things that will cause a huge discussion and I'll save the mods the trouble of having to split it off into another thread. But for this country to continue to spit on those that volunteered to fight and die for this nation is...well...it just fills me with a sense of betrayal that I can't even describe. You people shove rifles in our hands and tell us to go fight the "bad guys" overseas, but then treat us like dangerous criminals when we come back due to the scars we bear from fighting the battles you asked us to fight. We gave everything to keep you safe and then you treat us like outsiders, like we don't belong in "your" society.

And yes, the people are to blame. Because while it might be the politicians who actually do the dirty work of screwing us over, it's the people that continue to vote for those politicians. So I don't care how many times you've thanked a veteran for their service, or even how much you've donated to veteran-oriented charities, if you have voted for a politician that has supported anti-veteran policies (which is pretty much all of them at this point), then every veteran that gets screwed over is your fault. You are to blame.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I don't know about Canada, but in the US you can't even count on that ending the issue. They'll attack your credit for not paying.

Exactly. Some people's credit ratings have been ruined by things like this, and their lives have been severely impacted - being denied an apartment (credit checks are standard for new tenants), being denied loans, students being unable to pay for tuition/books, and a long list of other issues that stem from these shenanigans.

I was more suggesting it to break through their script and get them to actually pay attention to what you're saying. That said, attacking the credit of a dead person is useless.

The problem is that they don't just do this to dead people. They harass people who are responsible for settling the dead person's affairs, and even people who aren't. When my dad's girlfriend died, she owed money on her credit card, and because she'd been using our address to get her mail, we kept getting calls and letters, and my telling them she was dead and to contact her next of kin in Ontario didn't seem to penetrate.

Then they tried threatening to repossess the stuff she'd bought. I told them I'd save them the trouble - I'd bundle it up myself and come downtown and dump it on the floor of their office, and when would it be convenient to do so?

Eventually they stopped with the phone calls and opted for letters. I took them to the post office and told the clerk to stamp them "Return to Sender" and put them back in the system. When the clerk asked for a reason, I said, "Because she's dead."

The clerk's next question was, "Did she leave a forwarding address?"



So apparently "she's dead" is something too complicated for even a local postal clerk to understand. I informed her that I had no idea where the body was, only that it was probably in Ontario - either cremated or buried, or for all I knew, stuffed and displayed in her son's living room.

Anyway, eventually the calls and letters stopped. Whether the son settled her debt or they gave up, I don't know and don't care.