Who employs these idiots.

[padi56]

WHO EMPLOYS THESE IDIOTS - - A TRUE STORY!!!

A man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW, Australia )
Received a bill in March 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 apologized 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 had 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 computerized 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

This story can also be viewed on the ABC website - Who employs these idiots??

Remember, these "people" walk among us and breathe the same air we do.

[Kevin B]

Thats too much!

[Route 66]

Stranger than fiction!

[subtona]

Great stuff, can't make it up!ï

Looks like this story dates back to march of 1999, sounds like a Y2K glitch.

[tranny]

Originally Posted by padi56

Who employs these idiots??

Remember, these "people" walk among us and breathe the same air we do.

Computer programmers? My employer is one culprit! Want their number?

I love stories of weird bugs like this, though... I'm gonna share it with people at work. They'll love it!

[tranny]

Originally Posted by subtona

Looks like this story dates back to march of 1999, sounds like a Y2K glitch.

Not likely Y2K related. First of all, that would have come after 1/1/2000. Second of all, it would have probably affected all (or at least many) billable accounts, and not a singular new account with $0 balance. If I had to guess, I'd say there was probably some combination of poor programming and human error involved... someone probably manually put the account into a billable state even though it had no balance, and the system wasn't designed to handle that.

[NicoleP]

Wild story

[tranny]

PS - a little research shows it's not a verified legend: http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/zero.asp

Seems the actual cause of $0.00 billables is poor programming... failure to round fractional pennies when determining if an account has a balance due, but then rounding the amount due when printing the bill. So a balance due of $0.001 would cause this type of scenario. Another cause could be the use of floating-point decimals in the database.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by subtona

Great stuff, can't make it up!ï

Looks like this story dates back to march of 1999, sounds like a Y2K glitch.

Of course it's made up.

A whole banks system crashes because someone deposits a $0.00 check?

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Of course it's made up.

A whole banks system crashes because someone deposits a $0.00 check?

I saw we all give it a try tomorrow at the same time, just for fun you know?

[subtona]

Originally Posted by transio

Not likely Y2K related. First of all, that would have come after 1/1/2000. Second of all, it would have probably affected all (or at least many) billable accounts, and not a singular new account with $0 balance. If I had to guess, I'd say there was probably some combination of poor programming and human error involved... someone probably manually put the account into a billable state even though it had no balance, and the system wasn't designed to handle that.

my company (not in banking or finance) experienced many problems in the year leading up to 1/1/01, 1 reason was they like many companies used a 6 digit year... xx/xx/xx, in preparation for the unknown, they converted to an 8 digit year xx/xx/xxxx, this didn't fit into existing programs and wreaked havoc at the operational side. it is not corrected to this day and the software was rendered useless & has been scrapped. it was a simple fix but the costly inefficient route was chosen by the powers that were().

[bewithabob]

good read even if not verified.

[MoBe]

I wouldn`t give you $0.00 for that story !!

[Andad]

I'm going GAS.

[mitchy]

[2th Dr]

Good God!

[eric23]

[77T]