Truly Dumbfounded

Here's the thing. Whenever possible, I like to pay my bills. And be polite. I do, really.

So, back at the end of October 2013, I got a bill saying my balance due was $76.44. Ok, a bit more than I expected, but that's fine. I sent off a check and figured, all done, all square. Isn't that what anyone would have assumed? Now, to be honest, this particular vendor is not very good with his billing. I think he hasn't quite got the software down yet. Nor has he acceded to my request to send me a monthly bill (I got them very sporadically) that details not only what he has charged, but what payments he has received. I don't think that is too much to ask, is it? Anyway, all paid, all done, waiting for next year and more sporadic bills.

Fast forward 5 (Five!) months later and I get a bill saying that my account is over due to the tune of $218.63. What? Where the hell did that come from? Did the man do stealth work for me at some point that he didn't tell me about? Or didn't bill me for in those months? No breakdown of what the $218.63 beyond "Balance Forward." I'm sorry, but my last bill that I received from him said that my total Balance Due was $76.44. If that wasn't the case, why didn't it say that my balance due in October was $295.07 instead of $76.44. What ignoramus can't print out a bill that shows accurately what is owed on an account? I mean, really? Seems pretty straightforward and simple to me.

If the amount due was from a previous year - say 2012 - why wasn't the matter addressed earlier? Why didn't any of the previous sporadic bills show this amount as being due? What. The. Fuck!

I don't want to pay him this money. It isn't that much, really, in the greater scheme of things. It is more the principal of - hey bud, you snooze, you lose. You told me the balance due, I paid the balance due, you don't get to just say, "Oops, I made a mistake and you actually owe me another $218.63. And I just couldn't be bothered to ask for it in November, I had to wait five months."

I sent him an email and he wrote back and said he didn't want to alarm me. Really?

Oh, this is the letter I sent him in response:

Hi Xxxx,

I am alarmed. I am alarmed that there is any balance due. I am alarmed that you have sent me incorrect bills before this. I am alarmed that it has taken you four+ months to bring this to my attention.

As I mentioned, when I got the last bill, it said my balance due was $76.44. Are you telling me that at that time that was in fact not true? That the balance due was actually $295.07 ($218.63+$76.44)? That is simply inconceivable to me. Why would you send me any bills that didn't reflect the actual balance owed? I am dumbfounded. Truly dumbfounded. What sort of accounting software doesn't send a true balance due? Or was it simply user error and oversight on your part?

Please send me a detailed accounting of all our business together - from first to last, what work you have billed for and what payments you show we have made. I will do the same on my end if I can. I don't know that I have retained all of the bills that you have sent me.

Truly, Xxxx, I am disappointed and dismayed that this is happening. If a balance was due, especially such a large one, why not send me a bill in November? Or December. Or heck any month between the last bill and now? Why wait 4 months to send me a bill? You do know that my mom is on a fixed income and that she can't pay large lumps at one time. Heck, if I had known about this in October, I could have sent a little each month over the winter and we would be all caught up. Also, why would you send a statement that doesn't back-up what you are saying. Or a note included saying something like " Hi Augustus, I am so sorry, I just now realized that I had somehow forgotten to carry a balance due forward from 2013." (Or whenever the balance due is from). An envelope containing a bill for $218.63 5 months after my last bill (which showed I only owed $76.44) is simply rude and inconsiderate.

Thank you for your updated email address.

Looking forward to the complete detail of all the work you have done for us and all of the payments you show as having been received.

Happy Friday!

So, what do you all think?