The Magic Words Magically Appearing

(I’m the caller in this situation, having just been told by a collections agency that a mobile account from 2011 has an outstanding balance. After a day or two of getting bounced around I finally get this representative:)

Representative: “So what I’m seeing here is that you there was a system error that made us think you were still on contract when you cancelled the number, and we billed you a $300 dollar cancellation fee. This fee was invalid.”

Me: “Oh, so we’re clear?”

Representative: “Not quite, sir. In Canadian law, you have only 90 days to dispute charges or they will stick. I cannot change the account now. What do you think of that?”

Me: “Oh, so I’m stuck with the charges?”

Representative: “Let me restate, sir. I cannot change the account. What do you think of the situation?”

Me: *starting to catch on* “Well, it doesn’t seem all that fair to me, but the law is the law…”

Representative: “I sympathize, sir. And I cannot change the account. What might you ask?

Me: *eureka moment* “Well. I suppose I would need to talk to someone who could change the account.”

Representative: “For example, sir?”

Me: “Well, someone higher up, perhaps a supervisor of yours?”

Representative: “So you would like to escalate to a supervisor?”

Me: “Yes, I suppose I would.”

Representative: “Those are the magic words, sir. Just a moment.”

(Everything was taken care of within five minutes. Thank you for putting words in my mouth, representative bro.)