OT: How to Pays Bills

[Atrocities]

There ought to be a law.

[Baron Munchausen]

Cute, but not effective. Since the formula is effectively illegible (no ordinary clerk will be able to figure it out) they can claim you are refusing payment. A more effective older trick was to mess with the billing system by finding technical grounds for claiming small refunds (on the order of a few cents at a time) and then not cashing the checks. This forces the phone company to keep every increasing mountains of records. Of course, that was in the 1960s when "records" actually meant paper. Today I suppose it wouldn't do much damage to make them keep a few more entries in their computerized accounting records.

[Kamog]

The amount on the check is $0.002.

The second term, e^(i*pi) is equal to -1, which we can figure out by using Euler's formula e^(ix) = cos(x) + i sin(x), where cos(pi) = -1, sin(pi) = 0.

The third term, the summation, is equal to 1. Use the summation formula Sum = a / (1-r) for infinite geometric series where r = 1/2, a = 1, with the index n from 0 to infinity. Since the index starts from 1 in the expression, we need to subtract 1, so the term equals 1 / (1 - 0.5) - 1 = 1

Therefore the second and third terms in the amount cancel each other out, so the amount is only $0.002.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Baron Munchausen said:
...Since the formula is effectively illegible (no ordinary clerk will be able to figure it out)...

I don't think a court would agree with you on that. Or maybe what I should say is I have never seen a law on books in any state that effectively says you must word any form of business so an "ordinary clerk" can understand you. Besides who would define an ordinary clerk? What if Kamog was the clerk? What about me with a degree? Would you consider me ordinary? I couldn't make heads or tails out of the formula. Not trying to start an argument with you. I honestly could not figure out how what you said could be considered a "reasonable claim". Maybe I am just over thinking your observation.

[dogscoff]

I've discovered a great scam here in the UK with gas & electric suppliers.

They have developped a great new trick over the last few years called "estimated meter reading", which is a fancy way of saying "legalised theft". Basically they can't be arsed to send a monkey round to read the meter, so they just guess at he numbers! You get a bill through with a meter reading, but hidden somewhere on the bill is a little letter "E" that means "Estimated", meaning the meter reading bears no resemblance to reality whatsoever. And, surprise surprise, their 'estimates' always err on the side of "massively overcharging the customer".

My last bill was for £80, having just spent a similar amount a few months earlier. So I read my meter and found that I should have actually still been in credit after my last payment- but they were going to take £80 away from me, the theiving little ****es.

So I phoned them up and, using their automated phone service, supplied them with an accurate meter reading and they amended my account. However, it occurred to me that I could just as easily supply them with an 'estimated' meter reading every time I receive a bill. I wonder how low I could make the numbers before they came knocking on my door. Do you think they'd notice if my readings actually started getting *smaller*?

[Spoo]

dogscoff said:
I've discovered a great scam here in the UK with gas & electric suppliers.

They have developped a great new trick over the last few years called "estimated meter reading", which is a fancy way of saying "legalised theft". Basically they can't be arsed to send a monkey round to read the meter, so they just guess at he numbers! You get a bill through with a meter reading, but hidden somewhere on the bill is a little letter "E" that means "Estimated", meaning the meter reading bears no resemblance to reality whatsoever. And, surprise surprise, their 'estimates' always err on the side of "massively overcharging the customer".

My last bill was for £80, having just spent a similar amount a few months earlier. So I read my meter and found that I should have actually still been in credit after my last payment- but they were going to take £80 away from me, the theiving little ****es.

So I phoned them up and, using their automated phone service, supplied them with an accurate meter reading and they amended my account. However, it occurred to me that I could just as easily supply them with an 'estimated' meter reading every time I receive a bill. I wonder how low I could make the numbers before they came knocking on my door. Do you think they'd notice if my readings actually started getting *smaller*?

Around here we have a mix of "actual" and "estimated" readings, so everything works out when they do an actual reading (their estimates also tend to be fairly accurate). Also, when you move, the final bill is always an actual measurement.

[Renegade 13]

Heh...that math was beyond me, for the most part. Actually, I could probably decipher the third term, and then possibly the second if I consulted some resources. Damn, I really do hate math!

But it's an awesome way to get back at the bastards!

[mac5732]

Easiest way to pay bills.... just change the name and address on the bill to your neighbors or to just send it to one of the oil companies..hehehehehe or the local walmart