It's been a stressful banking morning, but it turns out it's all my fault.
See, on July 8 I paid my internet/phone bill. Wrote down the confirmation number and everything, as I always do.
Yesterday, I got a polite "you haven't paid your bill" notice, which I opened BEFORE making my morning coffee today. Freaked out inside. Called them, because of course they certainly HAVE received my payment. No, they said, they have not.
Freaked out a little more (still inside - this story only contains implosions, not explosions).
Phoned my bank. Oh yes, they said, you certainly did pay that amount on July 8, but not to your internet/phone company. To your property taxes.
????!!!!!!
I said but this is the account number for my internet/phone company. No it isn't, they said.
(Insert mental implosion here)
Phoned back to my internet/phone company again. No, they said, your bank is right. That is not your account number.
After a number of questions and explanations, I finally realized my account number CHANGED recently, and I missed it. So I had tried to make a payment to a NEW account number, which my bank didn't recognize, but which freakily coincided with my property tax account number, so they sent the payment there.
(sighing)
Apologized profusely to my internet/phone company, who assured me that they could see that I DO normally pay my bills, so I could stop freaking out about what they must think.
Then I phoned City Hall. Told them I made an extra payment to my property taxes, and I would like it back please. No, they said, you did not. Yes I did. No you didn't.
Pause. But this is my account number! No it isn't, not even close.
(insert nuclear-size mental implosion)
Think, Patti, think.....
"Um...could you check my old address, that I moved away from over three years ago?" Certainly, they said. Oh yes, there it is.
I TRIED to pay my internet/phone bill. Instead I paid a property tax bill for a house that someone else owns now. That's a pretty impressive screw-up, I think.
City Hall is sending me a cheque, in about 2 weeks.
And that's an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back.
The moral of the story is: No matter how good you are at paying your bills, always listen to the annoying "are you sure" questions of the automated system. They are there for a reason!!!
Also - always make coffee before opening the mail.
