Unfiltered Story #198726

I work in collections for town government, primarily taxes.

Customer: Hi, I just got this bill for excise tax that I’m not sure what it’s for.
Me: Okay, what’s the last name?
Customer: [Name]
Me: Okay, let me look it up… [first name]?
Customer: Yep, that’s me. What is this bill for?
Me: It looks like it’s for a trailer… Yes, it has a trailer plate. Did you recently register a trailer?
Customer: No, but I have a pop-up, could it be that?
Me: Sometimes. Does the registration number look familiar to you at all?
Customer: Not really. I don’t know the plate number. It’s kept over in [place], so I don’t see the plate often.
Me: Okay, well the bill is for a 2016 trailer registered on [date].
Customer: Yeah, but what does “Carry” mean?
Me: Sometimes for trailers, the RMV uses different makes, such as “Carry” or “Trail” or even “Homem” if it’s a homemade trailer.
Customer: Well, it’s a pop-up, and we bought it, so it’s not homemade. And it’s a 2004, so that’s wrong too.
*Conversation goes on another five minutes, her telling me about her pop-up, me telling her the registration is for a trailer.*
Me: Okay, well I can transfer you to the assessor’s office, and they can work to correct the bill…
Customer: I also have a trailer, do you think it could be that?
Me: … yes, it’s probably that. Do you recognize the registration number?
Customer: Yes, it looks familiar. But I only paid [$Amount], and this says it’s valued at [$OtherAmount]. And it’s a 2015, but this says 2016.
Me: Okay, let me transfer you to the assessor’s office, and they can have this bill corrected for you.