when i was a junior in college, i received a student loan check that was way too substantial. i called the financial aid office and the bursar, and both assured me that the amount was accurate. two months later, a financial aid officer called to explain that i'd inadvertantly been given someone else's funds (in addition to what i'd been offered).
predictably, the financial aid officer asked whether or not i'd noticed anything amiss when the bigger-than-appropriate check showed up, and why i hadn't called to ask what had happened. never an apology for failing to notice their mistake when i had suggested that they might have made a mistake. in fact, they demanded that the excess amount be repaid by the end of the semester, terms they insisted were more than fair.
once, in grad school, i was promised summer work study, told i couldn't have summer work study, and then promised summer work study. etc.
one unit, for whom i taught, accidentally identified me as one sort of employee when i was actually another. as a result, i wasn't paid over three periods, as is customary, but instead with one lump-sum paycheck several weeks after the term had ended. of course, taxes were withheld at the rate that would be appropriate if i had made that lump sum every two weeks.
later, my benefits were cancelled because i moved from one office to another. same pay scale, same employer, same provider. no benefits.
the latest: somehow, my position (which is very much still my position) somehow was not renewed. no paycheck. after some panicked phone calls to a number of people, i'm "back in the system." little comfort, that. i'm assured i'll be paid as if no lapse ever happened.
and now... just got a letter saying my benefits will be cut if i don't pay the full premiums (not just the regular withholding amount, but the whole premium) for the pay period during which i wasn't paid because someone neglected to pay me for work i was supposed to be paid for doing.
there are other stories. details fade, though, so they'll just have to stay in the closed file cabinet of frustration-with-getting-screwed.
yes, yes. this is all pathetic self-pity. wah. bad things happen only to me, the world's martyr. at least i get a paycheck every once in a while.
Posted by dave at June 22, 2005 4:46 PM | TrackBackso dood. today, i paid $46 for a tank of gas. ever attentive to those in line behind me, i moved my car to another patch of asphalt on the service station premisis while waiting for the air pump which was in use. i walked into the convenience mart to peruse the goods for sale, only to return to my car and find a $65 "parking notice" under my windshield wiper. failure to stay with my parked vehicle was the reason given for this ticket-of-sorts. nothin' like a $100 trip to the gas station. that's God telling me never to drive a car again. ever. yeah, yeah. this is all convenient group therapy. bad things happen only to the members of my support group, the world's group of people who pay full price for premium. at least i have a car to drive every once in a while.
Posted by: fritz at June 23, 2005 2:02 AM | Permalink to Commentdamn!
i'm going to open a gas station and fine people for leaving their cars to buy things from me. that way, i'll, like, quadruple my profits! you figure 65 bucks for someone buying a pack of cigarettes and some mike n' ikes has to leave his car unattended, right? hell! i'll make 10 times more money!
you and me, fritz, we bear the world's troubles.
Posted by: dave at June 23, 2005 8:47 AM | Permalink to CommentForget opening a gas station... too much overhead. Get your "heating/cooling specialist" certification. When our air conditioning broke 2 weeks ago, we had to call a repair person to come out. He was so busy that he worked on our unit and talked to "private clients" the entire time on his cell phone. By the end of the hour he was there, he'd determined.... the air conditioner was broken. He broke the news to me, and I responded with what was, apparently, a ridiculous question to ask in 90+ degree weather... Can you install a new one now? It was such a shocking question, the poor man dropped the pen he was using to write a $145 bill ($90 for the first half hour and $55 for every 1/2 hour after that). Complaining that he had too much work to do and that it wasn't his problem ("sorry about the kid, lady"), he called the "main office" to see what he could be done. Determining that nothing could be determined, he added an extra $15 to the bill for the extra 5 minutes he'd stayed and said "Someone will get back to you."
The lesson? We should all be AC techs. Sure, no summer vacation and long hours during the warm months... but you'd make enough to live off of for the rest of the year without lifting a finger!!!
Fitz... a $100 bill at the gas station without having any repairs done... there's got to be some sort of record in that!
dave... not that this is any consolation, but the health benefits thing happened to me once. Your benefits officer should be able to get it fixed retroactively.
Posted by: cj at June 23, 2005 11:17 AM | Permalink to CommentI went through the same *exact* problem last summer with my pay and health insurance and, although I'd like to tell you it's easily remedied, for me it wasn't. Many calls to both Blue Cross and the Human Resources office were required and I never was fully reimbursed for what turned out to be a clerical error.
On top of that, only about a month ago I came across a stack of 10 letters [finally] forwarded from my old apartment from a collection agency trying (and eventually succeeding) to get money for a doctor's visit I had in the time between my coverage being subsudised and me paying in full. Watch out for that one-- a smaller bank account now is a small inconvienience compared to trying to get a collection notice off of your credit report.
So go ahead-- sulk and drink-- I sure as hell did. But stay on these people until it's resolved.
Posted by: dave at June 23, 2005 12:07 PM | Permalink to CommentWow. And stay away from people who sign the name of the blog author to their comments.
Posted by: marc at June 23, 2005 12:08 PM | Permalink to Comment