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The bitter taste of victory

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  • The bitter taste of victory

    Here's an interesting one. This customer actually "beat" us.

    She calls in wanting to know how to get her service restored. She had a $386 past due balance. She said she was supposed to get a credit for something she had been disputing since October, and demanded we take care of her. Ok, so I research the account and find that she called in back in October throwing a fit about going way over her minutes. Oh, she knew she had been going over, but made no effort to contact us within that same bill cycle (when it would have been appropriate) to ask us to help her out. She was told that the charges were valid, sorry but what's done is done. She could have just as easily called us to ask for help at the time and we could have given extra minutes or changed her to a higher plan, but she assumed we would take care of it later. And we all know what happens when you assume. Fast-forward to last month, she calls in and fights with a supervisor, telling her that we promised in October we'd credit her overage, and since the supervisor had the amazing ability to read, she could see that we never said we would do this. So the customer said she would dispute the charge through American Express (because she had already paid it). She won the dispute with AMEX and they charged the amount back to us and refunded her card.

    And what did this "victory" earn her? By reversing a payment that was made 5 months ago, it created a past-due status on her account. Now she's suspended and has to pay that amount before her service will be restored, and she's in imminent danger of going to collections. Way to go!

    Oh, she also said she'll dispute this all the way to collections (those people don't have souls so she won't get anywhere with them, guaranteed). She also said she's going to seek legal action with her attorney general. Yeah, I'm sure the $2000 in legal fees for him to tell you there's no case against us will be more than worth it, but you go girl!
    "You are loved" - Plaidman.

  • #2
    See, sometimes it pays for the SC to get their way
    I don't go in for ancient wisdom
    I don't believe just 'cause ideas are tenacious
    It means that they're worthy - Tim Minchin, "White Wine in the Sun"

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    • #3
      Originally posted by BookstoreEscapee

      See, sometimes it pays for the SC to get their way
      Literally!
      The New Orleans Saints are your 2009 NFL champions.

      Believe dat.

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      • #4
        Quoth Kara_CS View Post
        Oh, she also said she'll dispute this all the way to collections (those people don't have souls so she won't get anywhere with them, guaranteed).
        We start out with souls, but they slowly get eaten away by majority of the people we have to deal with.

        ----------------------------------------
        Whoever said there is no such thing as a stupid question has never worked in customer service.

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        • #5
          Quoth Lyse View Post
          We start out with souls, but they slowly get eaten away by majority of the people we have to deal with.
          No offense intended.

          I actually envy you. You don't have to play nice. By the time customers reach collections, "nice" is long gone.
          "You are loved" - Plaidman.

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          • #6
            Trust me, no offense taken. When I started I was all nice and everything - but after a while you get fed up. This is the first place I've ever worked where the managers gave me a round of applause when I finally snapped one day and shouted to the debtor to be quiet and let me speak if he wanted this taken care of.

            ----------------------------------
            Nothing says friendship like a bag of shaved weasels. Really.

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            • #7
              Civil servants are usually not civil. And that's because the people who try and get service from them are even less civil.

              I am frankly glad that at least someone gets to stand up to people who are obviously all about entitlement and getting their own way (my uncle refers to this type of person as a "Pretty Pretty Princess," a term that still cracks me up). If I could say what was on my mind half the time, I'd probably have been fired the first week at most places.
              "Oh, you hate your job? There's a club for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet down at the bar." ~Drew Carey

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              • #8
                Quoth Lyger View Post
                Civil servants are usually not civil. And that's because the people who try and get service from them are even less civil.
                AHMEN TO THAT!!!

                try getting the word "change" with a blank stare and coins thrown across your desk a few dozen times a day and you begin to want to throw the coins right back

                bonus points if you get one in the mouth!
                I wasnt put on this earth to make you feel like a man ~ Mary Bertone

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                • #9
                  Quoth Kiwi View Post
                  bonus points if you get one in the mouth!
                  Has anyone else ever had a coin in their mouth and thought, "Hmmm... that tastes like electricity"?
                  I swear, I used to, all the time, when I was younger...
                  Okay, it was last week.
                  "I call murder on that!"

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                  • #10
                    I want to apologize in advance for going off topic to such a degree but this is a comment I cannot bite my tongue on. If you feel that you must respond about the validity or decency of collections in general please let me know to come to fratching with you about that. The following comment is not directed at any person, agency or company.

                    Sorry to say that but some times the wheat gets burned with the chaff when dealing with collections. I know its a hard job but not everyone winding up in collections is a lying worthless jerk trying to shirk their bills. And sometimes the collections agents forget this fact of life and treat everyone who calls like they are trying to scam the company. Or even worse that the money they are trying to collect is their own personal money or something.

                    Just playing devil's advocate here. And not meaning to be offensive to anyone here who does work collections. Just kinda venting a bit about collections in general. And yes had a bad experience with that once before that was a pain to get worked out.
                    Last edited by Rahmota; 03-08-2007, 06:57 AM.

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                    • #11
                      Quoth Rahmota View Post
                      I know its a hard job but not everyone winding up in collections is a lying worthless jerk trying to shirk their bills. And sometimes the collections agents forget this fact of life and treat everyone who calls like they are trying to scam the company.
                      I've had a collection agency phoning me SEVERAL TIMES a DAY, leaving messages on my answering machine for the last TWO YEARS. The kicker? I'm not the droid they're looking for. I did actually speak to them one day, and told them that... would you believe, the collections agent said she DIDN'T BELIEVE ME. So the calls continue.

                      I'm not gonna change my number, but I have disconnected the answering machine. They were the only ones leaving messages anyway
                      GK/Kara/Jester fangirl.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth tollbaby View Post
                        I've had a collection agency phoning me SEVERAL TIMES a DAY, leaving messages on my answering machine for the last TWO YEARS. The kicker? I'm not the droid they're looking for. I did actually speak to them one day, and told them that... would you believe, the collections agent said she DIDN'T BELIEVE ME. So the calls continue.

                        I'm not gonna change my number, but I have disconnected the answering machine. They were the only ones leaving messages anyway
                        Tollbaby, I read something once that someone in your situation did to stop the calls (if it was on this forum somewhere then I apologize as you've probably already read about it). Anyway, they got the fax number of the collection agency, told them they'd fax them some info, then put a ream of blank paper in their fax machine and just started sending. Pretty soon the collection agency called back begging them to stop as their fax machine was spewing out sheet after sheet of blank paper. I don't know if that would really be helpful but it does sound like kind of a neat idea. Really though, I think you might be able to report them for harassing you since you are not the right person. You should definitely check that out w/local law enforcement.
                        "Full price for gum?! That dog won't hunt, monsignor." - Philip J. Fry

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                        • #13
                          Quoth CurlyLocks View Post
                          Tollbaby, I read something once that someone in your situation did to stop the calls (if it was on this forum somewhere then I apologize as you've probably already read about it). Anyway, they got the fax number of the collection agency, told them they'd fax them some info, then put a ream of blank paper in their fax machine and just started sending. Pretty soon the collection agency called back begging them to stop as their fax machine was spewing out sheet after sheet of blank paper. I don't know if that would really be helpful but it does sound like kind of a neat idea. Really though, I think you might be able to report them for harassing you since you are not the right person. You should definitely check that out w/local law enforcement.
                          You'd be better served by sending in an actual letter. Bonus: If you have a modem, you can print from your PC to the modem as a fax. Harassing them back only brings you down to their level.
                          Bears are bad. If an animal is going to be mean it should look so, like sharks and alligators. - Mark Healey

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                          • #14
                            Right - it's a funny idea, but as I said I don't know if it would be helpful!
                            "Full price for gum?! That dog won't hunt, monsignor." - Philip J. Fry

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                            • #15
                              When I got my first cell phone, I had just turned 18, and was WAY excited. Then, I started getting all these calls from collectors... I nicely told them that I was not the person they were looking for, I'm sorry, but I just got this phone number. Most of the agencies got it pretty quick, but one just would not give in. We finally had this conversation:
                              Collector: I'm looking for Ricardo Gonzales (may or may not be the exact name, but it was very Hispanic, and definitely male).
                              Me (tragically whitebread and female, last I checked): Sorry, he doesn't have this number anymore, I just got this phone a little while ago.
                              C: Don't play games with me, Ricardo!
                              Me: Do I sound like a Ricardo to YOU, buddy?
                              C: ........
                              Me: Now quit calling me.
                              C: *hint of a southern accent coming out, apparently under duress* Yes'm. Sorry ma'am.
                              Me: No big deal. Have a good day *click*
                              I guess it worked, because they didn't call anymore. I kind of felt bad for that guy. I know he was just doing what his bosses told him to...
                              Haikus are easy
                              But sometimes they don't make sense
                              Refrigerator

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