idiot bureaucrats in sparkling form

[Ken Gargett]

This happens to be a true story indeed!!!! Sometimes the impossible happens

even in Australia . As we Australians would say: "Serve the bastards right!"

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 dishonor fees incurred by the man.

[3] Pay the bank dishonor 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.

[MatthewB]

Yep! Not suprised at all.

Not a bad way to earn $7500...

[OZCUBAN]

Unfortunately these sorts of occurances are happening more and more frequently as more and more company's Buearocracy up.

OZ

[Coolio]

I reckon it can be put down to automated systems being set up by highly paid consultants who claim that the system can be managed by 2 staff on $50k salaries. Back in the old days an actual person would have sent out late payment notices, now they're sent out by a computer system that hasn't been properly maintained.

[Cletus]

Looks like this one has been around for a while

Zero Dollars and Zero Sense

[Scdalak]

The same mentality as the idiots behind the plain packaging Bill... They will get thiers too......

[ramon_cojones]

hilariously ridiculous

[Blakes]

The same mentality as the idiots behind the plain packaging Bill... They will get thiers too......

Hear, hear!

[winelover]

Thanks for sharing Ken - unbelievable.

[gostgost]

This is a great story and doesn't surprise me at all. Thanks for the laugh. Dave.