My wife's mother passed away in June. We've been trying to go through her things, pay bills, etc. The bill for her long distance carrier came, and it was $7.50. Wife called them, told them the situation, and that she wanted to cancel the service and write them a check for the balance (small bills we can take care of through mom's bank account; bigger cc bills will have to wait until the estate is liquidated, etc.). The kid that answered the phone said, oh no, you can't do that! You have to have a certified original copy of her death certificate (We had just ordered these from the funeral home for all of her large credit card bills, etc., and they are 15 bucks a pop). My wife told her that she wasn't sending a certified original copy but would be happy to photocopy an original and mail with the last payment. The clerk again interjected that this wouldn't work even after my wife explained to her she wasn't going to send a $15 piece of paperwork to pay for a bill of $7.50. My wife then told the clerk that she and her company could stick their bill then and not get paid and hung up.
Sometimes it is better to talk to a computer than to get a nitwit with no critical thinking skills. Heck, people who have just lost a parent are not usually the most mentally stable, and they aren't going to stand for too much chit on the phone. Wouldn't it have made more sense (especially since the bill is so small) to accept what my wife proposed and be cordial than to act in this fashion. I mean, how hard would it be for this company to call the residence and realize that the regular phone service was disconnected thus making the long distance carrier moot???
Sometimes it is better to talk to a computer than to get a nitwit with no critical thinking skills. Heck, people who have just lost a parent are not usually the most mentally stable, and they aren't going to stand for too much chit on the phone. Wouldn't it have made more sense (especially since the bill is so small) to accept what my wife proposed and be cordial than to act in this fashion. I mean, how hard would it be for this company to call the residence and realize that the regular phone service was disconnected thus making the long distance carrier moot???
