I Paid for Microsoft’s Mistake | Hacker News Reader

I Paid for Microsoft’s Mistake

blog.whitepeaksoftware.com

33 pointsflapjack13 comments

I did follow up with emails and even a phone call. When there was no response to my follow ups I assumed the problem had been resolved.

As for not taking the time to find a reader, according to the file type, it is a Word HTML file. I am a Mac user and Word for the Mac will not open the file. And yes, I could probably spent more time searching for a reader, but come on, an invoice from Microsoft should be in a more common format. Heck the Word standard doc format would have been helpful. And there is no excuse for not responding to my request to re-send the invoice. The collection agency had no problems sending the invoice to me in a PDF.

-KIRBY

True story: I owned a small business in the late 90s. At some point we had a billing dispute with Sprint long distance. Briefly, we required our (large) telephone bill to be sent to us electronically (diskettes at that time) so we could rebill our customers. For some reason which I don't recall, we only received the paper invoice for a month or two.

Every time Sprint called looking for payment, we told them to just send us the electronic data and we'd pay the bill. They never did, and eventually it got turned over to a collection agency, which began hounding us.

When that happened, I created a fictitious lawyer working for our company and had him author a sternly worded letter to Sprint. It reiterated the facts, firmly stated that we have no intention of paying, and demanded that they remove (I recall using the word 'extirpate') all traces of this obligation. The amount in dispute was much more than $100, so the time involved was worth it.

I mailed the letter and we never heard anything more about it.

Kirby, I just sent you an email. I'd like to try and help you if I can. (The same goes for anybody else on HN by the way.)

Hey, I have a bill here that says you owe me $1 million. It may be a mistake and you could argue about it, but I'm not answering your emails. I'm not going to send you a readable copy of the invoice, either. If you don't pay me today, I'm sending this to a collection agency, so you have no choice but to pay.

Paying was a very poor move. Often times companies will sell their debt very cheaply to these agencies. The burden of proof is on them, not him. In my experience, these small agencies don't report to the big three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Check http://annualcreditreport.com to get your free report. I'm not saying that they won't report, but he could have resolved this in a different manner. He has just validated their business model and have encouraged this type of thuggish behavior in the future.

Never, ever, ever "assume" that the matter is settled, when it comes to money. Always follow up and ensure that all bills are paid or at least any misunderstandings are cleared up.

It's clear that there was a mix-up between this guy and Microsoft, and it's very, very likely that the initial error was on Microsoft's side. But he compounded that error by repeatedly not following up, not investigating the invoice (I'm sure that he would have been able to find a reader for the invoice, had he really tried), and finally by actually paying the amount.

The last, though, is the least of the problems. Settling for $150 is probably way, way easier than actually pursuing and correcting the matter years too late.

Despite the error by Microsoft, I have no choice but to pay the outstanding invoice.

There's the other choice: continue to not pay it. Your obligation is to Microsoft, not the collections agency. Microsoft mistakenly sold your account to the collections agency; that is Microsoft's problem, not yours.

Consulting a lawyer would also be helpful.

Consulting a lawyer over $99 is not worth it, unless it's for the principle of the thing.

The simplest is to tell them "It's a mistake", and then ignore them utterly.

Especially if they don't have your SSN.

Not sure what country you're in, but here in the UK the law is on your side.

* Get everything in writing. Keep copies. Inform both MS and the collection agency that they're in error. Send it recorded. Make them sign for the letter.

* Next, ignore them until they either take you to court, or put something on your credit record. Only a court can force you to pay a debt like that.

* If they take you to court, you have a period of time to respond. You don't need to physically go to court in most cases.

* If they put something on your credit record, take them to court to have it removed. That costs about £70. The record comes off in a matter of days.

* Any court judgements issued can also be overturned, if you have a good reason for not responding in time.

* Any costs (eg that £70 above) can then be reclaimed through small claims. A small claims filing costs about the same, but you just add it to the claim you're making. Add on postage, travel, etc.

* Remember the judge will recognize the sleazy agencies. (They will probabaly deal with several such cases every day). If you have the proof in paperwork, they will find for you.

* Once overturned, they cannot take you to court again for the same amount. If a judge decides the amount is wrong, you cannot be harrassed again for the same amount. End of story.

You've probably now lost the money however since you've essentially admitted fault, but you may be able to put it through small claims. Not sure.

mkturner, bitter experience teaches me that I (you in this case) should've been more aggressive about getting the situation resolved. A little goodwill on your part i.e. attempting to find a reader would have gone a LONG way to closing this case. I empathize, but not doing your legwork is inexcusable.

I've had a similar experience with Comcast, which took tons of frustration and hours on the phone escalating through Customer Service to get it resolved. Mistakes happen and the little guy is at a disadvantage, but in this case I think your problems were compounded by your strong bias against Microsoft. If your beef would've been with, say, Apple, then I think you would've pushed harder into having it solved.

I's send you invoices in Microsoft Reader format. Good luck.

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