Tuesday 19 August 2008

Ethical Dilemmas of the Monetary Sort

I am not really certain what to do about these two things.

1. Before I went on my holiday I rang my cable company to cancel my television but keep my internet. I was talked into a package that was cheaper than just keeping broadband and phone and in fact combined the three: cable, broadband and phone. It did mean that I would have less channels, but that was what I wanted in the end really-to watch less television. While I was gone they phoned me and left a message saying they couldn't complete the change as there wasn't a phone line in my area. I came home wondering if my cable and broadband would still be working. They are. However, I haven't received a bill for the last 2 months. I looked on-line at my bank details today and their direct debit has been cancelled. I didn't cancel it. They did, but I still have the service. Should I tell them?

2. This next one is a doozy. One of my US Credit Cards (I have 2 US ones and no UK ones-avoiding that at all costs, and trying to pay off the US ones) was near its limit at the end of my holiday. I was a bit worried that it would go over the limit once the interest and periodic rate went through, so I made an extra payment online. I checked today to see what the status is. My balance is $0.00 and I have the full amount of my credit available to me. It's as if someone paid off my balance, but when you look through the transactions it's not there anywhere. Apparently it has been $0.00 for the last 4 days. Should I tell them?

When I tell people about these recent pitfalls of fortune for me, the general response has been to not say anything. The justification for this is that both companies make more than enough money (especially the credit card) so I should just relax and enjoy this windfall.

What do you think?

Oh and, let me take a moment to apologise for not posting in a while. It's been a bit crazy since V Fest what with school starting up and me finishing up my course. Our welcome Pizza party is tomorrow, and I get to meet all my new little ones. They will be walking in like deer-in-headlights since they are the youngest in the middle school. The first full day of school is Thursday.

1 comment:

KrisMrsBBradley said...

I would tell the cable company. When they catch it, and they will at some point, you might end up owing a big wad of money at once. And gosh forbid if you were accused of "stealing" cable or internet service. Not good.

On the credit card bill...I'd stay quiet on that one. You've probably paid them for what you bought two times over already. I'd wait for them to find the mistake, and claim ignorance if they do. ("Dang it! I thought I'd paid that off! Sorry!") I'd so print out a copy of the zero balance statement for your records.