Return to my Complaint Department
Go to my home page
© Copyright 1997, Jim Loy
I once heard of a man who bought something on time payments. He got a book of coupons with whatever he bought. He sent in his first payment with the last coupon. And the company's computer sent him a thank you note, thanking him for promptly paying the full amount.
I thought that this story was far-fetched. No computer programmer would be that stupid. Well, they would, actually. Checking for the last coupon is a trick that a programmer might come up with. But, it violates accounting principles. The books will not balance. The bbookkeeppeerr (sorry, bookkeeper) would have problems every time a check bounces, or a person writes the wrong amount on a check, or a person forgets to enclose the check. The amount payed is important. The number of payments is not as important.
Then, a few years later, I bought a set of Jacques Cousteau books. And, in the box of books was a coupon book. I sent in the full amount with the first coupon.
A few months later, I got a letter from them, saying that I had never made my second payment. I received similar letters every month or so. I never replied, as I didn't want to waste my time and a stamp on their stupidity.
Then I received a phone call from a man with a collection agency. He was very threatening, and he sounded angry. I told him that I had paid the full amount with the first coupon. He said, "Hold on." He came back about 30 seconds later, and apologized profusely. I was amazed that he could verify my statement while I was still on the phone.