[[Still A Girly Girl: Jumped the Gun on That One... Can We Say "False Sense of Security"?]]

Feb 11, 2005

Jumped the Gun on That One... Can We Say "False Sense of Security"?

My fucking phone company pisses me off sometimes.

When i had my big exacerbation this summer and wasn't working, i couldn't pay my phone bill. So they shut it off and it just kept racking up charges, which is what i expected. After a few months i got a bill that said, "We waived $160 of your phone bill! Pay us $35 and we'll turn it back on!" This, i was not expecting.

I called them and asked them what the catch was. They said there was no catch, they just weren't going to charge me for usage for months my phone had been disconnected. Pay the $35, we'll turn your phone back on. That's it.

So, i paid them $35 and they turned it back on. But, within two weeks, they shut it off again because when the new billing cycle hit they had charged me to reactivate everything on my phone. So my monthly bill was twice the normal amount (the normal amount being $70), and if i go over $125 they shut me off until i pay enough to get back under $125.

I've been struggling to get caught up since Christmas, and have been sending them $50 a week for the last month. You would think that would get me squared away.

Last night i called to get the balance on my account. The automated system told me it was $64, that my last $50 had been received on the 9th, but that new charges from the last 48 hours may not have been posted yet. I thought, "Sweet! I haven't made any long distance phone calls or downloaded anything.. So no new charges. And i just sent them another $60, so i'm in the clear until next month."

I just tried to make a call and phone's been shut off. When i called them to ask why, i was told that my current bill is $134.

Now, the billing cycle ends on the 7th day of every month. In the past they have always updated my bill on the 8th, so if my bill for the month is over $125 that's when it gets shut off. I'd been waiting for the text message telling me that my phone was going to be shut off, but i didn't get it on the 8th, the 9th, or even the 10th, so i thought i was ok. No such fucking luck.

The $60 i mailed yesterday will take me down to $74 when they get it, so my phone should be back on by Wendesday of next week. If i send them the remaining $74 on Tuesday when i get my unemployment check, i'll be caught up. But that means i'll have to go another week without TV and i'll be deprived of bidding on Clinique skin-care products on eBay. :(

Posted by erynthenerd @ 7:32 AM

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