Not Getting Your Subtext

(I’m on the phone trying to deal with a three-year-old phone bill debt of my husband’s that was only so high because he didn’t know it had existed. I’m arguing that after my husband paid the initial debt he thought he’d finished with the company and didn’t need to do anything else.)

Representative: “We sent him plenty of communication.”

Me: “He didn’t receive any communication.”

Representative: “Well, we sent SMS notification.”

Me: “Wait, you sent him an SMS?”

Representative: “Multiple.”

Me: “You sent him SMS notifications… to his mobile phone?”

Representative: “Yes, that’s how we communicate that there is a new bill. All he had to do was read the SMS and then go online and access his bill.”

Me: “And how was he meant to do that?”

Representative: “By opening and reading the SMS we sent.”

Me: “The SMS you sent to the phone number that you disconnected due to non-payment.”

Representative: “YES!”

Me: “Do you not see a problem with this?”

Representative: “No. That is how we communicate that people have a bill due.”