Electricity

The man on the other side of the line sounds friendly, happy and a little concerned:
“I wanted to tell you that we are planning to visit you at home.”
I am thrilled!: “Why?”
“There are some bills you haven’t paid.”
“I can’t recall any unpaid bills or reminders. Besides, I’m not at home.“
“Well, you haven’t paid your electricity bills for four months. You’ll probably be shocked, but I have to tell you that we are considering to pass your case to a collection agency.”
“I’m rather shocked that you haven’t sent me any reminders.”
“We did. One. And then the second one. So now you have to pay €600 plus €25 reminder costs. Would you like to contact the debt relief authority?”
“Why? Do they need financial help?” I was amused and annoyed at the same time. Very strange mix of feelings. “Ok, I’ll check my account tonight and pay if I haven’t done so.”
“That would be very nice!” The man sounded relieved.

Back home I transferred €625 (just to make sure I don’t get visits from the collectors because that’s really annoying) and checked my administration. Guess what? The electricity company didn’t send me any bills for the past four months! No wonder I didn’t pay a cent.

Now really annoyed I called the customer service. I told them they had the first letter of my name wrong in their records. I told them they’ve forgotten to send me the bills. I told them they haven’t sent any reminders. I told them I am going to switch to another electricity company. I told them I have no trust in their service. I kept them busy for 17 minutes. The result? I got my €25 back. And if I don’t receive the bill for March I will switch back to my old electricity company.

Now I feel a little bit like a winner!

Time for some music: Kettel - Toen