me:
<ring>
automated: Thank you for calling DTE Energy. Please say your 12 digit account number.
me: 0 .. 0 .. # .. * .. # .. 0 .. 0 ..
automated: I’m sorry, I didn’t
me: <dialing> 0 .. 0 .. 0 .. 0 .. # .. # .. #
automated: I don’t understand. Let me send you onto one of our associates.
lady: Hello, DTE Energy.
me: Hi. I have a billing issue, can you please help me?
lady: Yes I can. <gets account info> Ok, what’s your question?
me: My online banking this morning showed two pending charges for $170* this month. Can you verify that only one of these will go through and the other will be removed?
lady: <few minutes of silence> Oh, we have a news bulletin — the billing system is charging people twice. What will happen is, once the second one goes through, we will automatically refund that amount to you.
me: I guess that’s a problem, then, eh?
lady: Yes, you are among many who will get charged twice. We are having trouble with our auto-pay system.
me: You don’t say. This is the third time in 6 months I’ve had to call in and correct your billing mistakes. How about you take me off of auto pay. Your auto-pay system sucks.
lady: Ok, I’ve removed you can I do anything else?
me: Nope. Bye. <click>
* Jackie likes to be as cold as a penguin. Or eskimo.
For two non-consecutive months in the past year, DTE Energy auto pay has decided to send me a $0.00 bill, and then follow it up the next month with both months bills combined in one. After fixing it once, it took 2 months for it to come back again. They were able to fix it .. or did they? Grr.