America The Buttonful

(I work for an insurance company that offers several different auto-pay options. Many people choose to use their routing and account numbers, which means a break on installment fees. We can stop or postpone extractions, but, we need three to five business days’ notice.)

Customer: “Hi, my payment’s coming out tomorrow and the money’s not in the account. I need it to be postponed.”

Me: “I apologize, ma’am, but it looks like the debit tape has been sent to the bank. Once that happens, it’s an automated transaction that I cannot cancel or postpone.

Customer: “What do you mean, you can’t postpone it? This is America! You CAN and WILL postpone it!”

Me: “I’m very sorry. I’d recommend checking with your bank. They may be able to stop the transaction. A non-sufficient funds fee may be applied to your account on our end, though. Generally, we need three to five days’ notice to postpone these transactions.”

Customer: “NO, THIS IS AMERICA! All you have to do is press a button or flip a switch or something!”