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On Thursday, 24 January 2006, Derek Guille broadcast this story on his
afternoon program on ABC radio:
In March 2005, a man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW) received a
bill for his as yet unused gas line stating that he owed $0.00.
He ignored it and threw it away.
In April he received another bill and threw that one away too.
The following month the gas company sent him a very nasty note stating
that they were going to cancel his gas line if he didn't send them $0.00
by return mail.
He called them, talked to them, and they said it was a computer error
and they would take care of it.
The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out
the troublesome gas line figuring that if there was usage on the account
it would put an end to this ridiculous predicament.
However, when he went to use the gas, it had been cut off.
He called the gas company who apologised for the computer error once
again and said that they would take care of it.
The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now
overdue.
Assuming that having spoken to them the previous day the latest bill was
yet another mistake, he ignored it, trusting that the company would be
as good as their word and sort the problem out.
The next month he got a bill for $0.00.
This bill also stated that he had 10 days to pay his account or the
company would have to take steps to recover the debt.
Finally, giving in, he thought he would beat the gas company at their
own game and mailed them a cheque for $0.00.
The computer duly processed his account and returned a statement to the
effect that he now owed the gas company nothing at all.
A week later, the manager of the Mudgee branch of the Westpac Banking
Corporation called our hapless friend and asked him what he was doing
writing cheque for $0.00.
After a lengthy explanation the bank manager replied that the $0.00
cheque caused their cheque processing software to fail.
The bank could therefore not process ANY cheques they had received from
ANY of their customers that day because the cheque for $0.00 had caused
the computer to crash.
The following month the man received a letter from the gas company
claiming that his cheque had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and
unless he sent a cheque by return mail they would take immediate steps
to recover the debt.
At this point, the man decided to file a debt harassment claim against
the gas company.
It took him nearly two hours to convince the clerks at the local
courthouse that he was not joking.
They subsequently helped him in the drafting of statements which were
considered substantive evidence of the aggravation and difficulties he
had been forced to endure during this debacle.
The matter was heard in the Magistrate's Court in Mudgee and the outcome
was this:
The gas company was ordered to:-
[1] Immediately rectify their computerised accounts system or Show
Cause, within 10 days, why the matter should not be referred to a higher
court for consideration under Company Law.
[2] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by the man.
[3] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by all the Westpac clients
whose cheques had been bounced on the day our friend's had been
processed.
[4] Pay the claimant's court costs; and
[5] Pay the claimant a total of $1500 per month for the 5 month period
March to July inclusive as compensation for the aggravation they had
caused their client to suffer.
And all this over $0.00!
Fact or Fiction, you tell me?
PS This is a copy of an email forwarded to me...
afternoon program on ABC radio:
In March 2005, a man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW) received a
bill for his as yet unused gas line stating that he owed $0.00.
He ignored it and threw it away.
In April he received another bill and threw that one away too.
The following month the gas company sent him a very nasty note stating
that they were going to cancel his gas line if he didn't send them $0.00
by return mail.
He called them, talked to them, and they said it was a computer error
and they would take care of it.
The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out
the troublesome gas line figuring that if there was usage on the account
it would put an end to this ridiculous predicament.
However, when he went to use the gas, it had been cut off.
He called the gas company who apologised for the computer error once
again and said that they would take care of it.
The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now
overdue.
Assuming that having spoken to them the previous day the latest bill was
yet another mistake, he ignored it, trusting that the company would be
as good as their word and sort the problem out.
The next month he got a bill for $0.00.
This bill also stated that he had 10 days to pay his account or the
company would have to take steps to recover the debt.
Finally, giving in, he thought he would beat the gas company at their
own game and mailed them a cheque for $0.00.
The computer duly processed his account and returned a statement to the
effect that he now owed the gas company nothing at all.
A week later, the manager of the Mudgee branch of the Westpac Banking
Corporation called our hapless friend and asked him what he was doing
writing cheque for $0.00.
After a lengthy explanation the bank manager replied that the $0.00
cheque caused their cheque processing software to fail.
The bank could therefore not process ANY cheques they had received from
ANY of their customers that day because the cheque for $0.00 had caused
the computer to crash.
The following month the man received a letter from the gas company
claiming that his cheque had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and
unless he sent a cheque by return mail they would take immediate steps
to recover the debt.
At this point, the man decided to file a debt harassment claim against
the gas company.
It took him nearly two hours to convince the clerks at the local
courthouse that he was not joking.
They subsequently helped him in the drafting of statements which were
considered substantive evidence of the aggravation and difficulties he
had been forced to endure during this debacle.
The matter was heard in the Magistrate's Court in Mudgee and the outcome
was this:
The gas company was ordered to:-
[1] Immediately rectify their computerised accounts system or Show
Cause, within 10 days, why the matter should not be referred to a higher
court for consideration under Company Law.
[2] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by the man.
[3] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by all the Westpac clients
whose cheques had been bounced on the day our friend's had been
processed.
[4] Pay the claimant's court costs; and
[5] Pay the claimant a total of $1500 per month for the 5 month period
March to July inclusive as compensation for the aggravation they had
caused their client to suffer.
And all this over $0.00!
Fact or Fiction, you tell me?
PS This is a copy of an email forwarded to me...
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