The Cellar - View Single Post - Creative vengeance against a chronic annoyance

vsp · 02-21-2003, 07:37 AM

I thought about confronting the church, but a few thoughts struck me:

* I'm about 95% sure that I have the right church, from context provided by the collection agents, but there are more than one in the Philly area with the same name. Getting the wrong one and raising a public stink would be most embarrassing.

* In a weird way, the church itself isn't the problem. They're not the ones calling my apartment; they're not the ones who promised to STOP calling and then resumed without cause. If they want to be deadbeats, that's their option; I've certainly had bills from time to time that I disagreed with and refused to pay on principle. I'm not happy with the church; I'm FURIOUS with the utility company.

* How do I know that the utility company is accurate with their charges towards the church? Their records were certainly wrong when it came to phone numbers. For all I know, they may have switched the billing records of the church and the Nantucket Volunteer Fire Department.

I don't know how much is owed; that, they haven't said. I probably don't want to know, as if it was some piddling amount my thirst for vengeance would increase exponentially.

My main notion is that if there's one thing public companies hate, it's bad publicity. TV-news consumer advocates, letters to the editor, radio call-ins, and that sort of thing might raise some hackles at the utility company, but much of my evidence is hearsay at this point (phone conversations), so I don't know if Herb Denenberg would be ready to run with this yet.

I have a web page that I whipped up detailing the whole sordid affair, with both parties' names in big capital letters throughout and keyworded enough times to be Google-friendly... but I chmodded it back down after a moment's consideration, until I decide whether I want to go that route or not.

02-21-2003, 07:37 AM	#5
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	I thought about confronting the church, but a few thoughts struck me: * I'm about 95% sure that I have the right church, from context provided by the collection agents, but there are more than one in the Philly area with the same name. Getting the wrong one and raising a public stink would be most embarrassing. * In a weird way, the church itself isn't the problem. They're not the ones calling my apartment; they're not the ones who promised to STOP calling and then resumed without cause. If they want to be deadbeats, that's their option; I've certainly had bills from time to time that I disagreed with and refused to pay on principle. I'm not happy with the church; I'm FURIOUS with the utility company. * How do I know that the utility company is accurate with their charges towards the church? Their records were certainly wrong when it came to phone numbers. For all I know, they may have switched the billing records of the church and the Nantucket Volunteer Fire Department. I don't know how much is owed; that, they haven't said. I probably don't want to know, as if it was some piddling amount my thirst for vengeance would increase exponentially. My main notion is that if there's one thing public companies hate, it's bad publicity. TV-news consumer advocates, letters to the editor, radio call-ins, and that sort of thing might raise some hackles at the utility company, but much of my evidence is hearsay at this point (phone conversations), so I don't know if Herb Denenberg would be ready to run with this yet. I have a web page that I whipped up detailing the whole sordid affair, with both parties' names in big capital letters throughout and keyworded enough times to be Google-friendly... but I chmodded it back down after a moment's consideration, until I decide whether I want to go that route or not.