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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Software Problem

Software Problem

 

In March 1992 a man living in Newton, near Boston,
received a bill for his as yet unused credit card
stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it and threw
it away. In April he received another and threw that
one away, too. The following month the credit card
company sent him a very nasty note stating they were
going to cancel his card if he didn't send them
$0.00 by return of post. He called them, talked to
them, they said it was a computer error and told him
they'd take care of it.

The following month our hero decided that it was about
time that he tried out the troublesome credit card

figuring that if there were purchases on his account it

would put an end to his ridiculous predicament. However,

in the first store that he produced his credit card in

payment for his purchases, he found that his card had

been cancelled.

He called the credit card company who apologized for the
computer error once again and said that they would take

care of it. The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating

that payment was now overdue. Assuming that having spoken

to the credit card company only the previous day, the

latest bill was yet another mistake. So he ignored it, and

trusted that the company would be as good as their word

and sort the problem out.

The next month he got a bill for $0.00 stating that he had
10 days to pay his account or the company would have to take

steps to recover the debt. Finally giving in he thought he

would play the company at their own game and mailed them a

check for $0.00. The computer duly processed his account and

returned a statement to the effect that he now owed the credit

card company nothing at all.

A week later, the man's bank called him asking him what he was
doing writing a check for $0.00. After a lengthy explanation

the bank replied that the $0.00 check had caused their check

processing software to fail.

The bank could not now process ANY checks from ANY of their
customers that day because the check for $0.00 was causing

the computer to crash. The following month the man received

a letter from the credit card company claiming that his check

had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless he

sent a check by return of post they would be taking steps to

recover the debt.

The man, who had been considering buying his wife a computer
for her birthday, bought her a typewriter instead.

 

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