Technology Doesn’t Always Make Life Easier

My electric bill is automatically pulled from my bank account on the fifth of each month. On the seventh, I get an email saying I have a past-due balance of $0.70 and will be charged a $5.00 late fee with my next billing cycle. I call the company.

Employee: “Thank you for calling [Electric Company] billing department. This is [Employee]. Could I have your account number and the account holder’s name?”

Me: “I am [My Name], and the account number is [number].”

Employee: “Thank you. How can I help you?”

Me: “I got an email saying I had a past-due balance, but—”

Employee: “Yes, I see that. Would you like to pay now?”

Me: “I was billed for [amount]; I paid [amount] through automatic billing. Where is this extra $0.70 coming from?”

Employee: “You must have paid less.”

Me: “Okay. I’d like to talk to someone else.”

Employee: “I can do that, but they’ll only tell you the same thing.”

Me: “I’ll hold.”

I listen to ten minutes of hold music.

Supervisor: “Hello, thank you for holding. How can I help you?”

Me: “Yes. I was billed [amount], which I paid by automatic withdrawal from my banking account, but now I have an overdue bill of $0.70 and a fee of $5.00.”

Supervisor: *Heavy sigh* “I understand. Our system went through an update around the time the automatic billing was drafted. I am so sorry. I can’t give you any credit for future billing, unfortunately, but I can erase this issue.”

Me: “That’s good enough for me. Thank you for fixing this.”

Supervisor: “Thank you for being so understanding. You’re not the first to have this issue, and I’m sure you won’t be the last.”

Me: “Well then, good luck with the rest!”

The next billing cycle came around, and I was credited $10! I don’t know how the supervisor made that happen, but I’m glad he did.