I have mentioned my landlady here before.
A few months ago, she came down and was in a flap (as my mother would say when she meant “flustered”). Eventually, we got around to the gas bill being twice as much as it usually is, and she didn’t know why. I looked at the bill: it hadn’t been paid last month. (Her written English is such that she didn’t get that.) She was adamant that she always pays them when they come.
She takes the bills to the bank and pays them there. I didn’t even know you could do that. It’s like Internet bill payment without the Internet. Crazy. (My mother always sent cheques.)
She had the receipt and we realized that the $144 had been sent to BC Hydro, not Terasen Gas. So, she decided to go to the bank and have them fix it. Great.
Of course, that didn’t happen and the flap continued. She asked me to go over to the bank with her today and help her figure it out. What we finally figured out made perfect sense (poor teller).
The next Hydro bill was for exactly $144. So, her Hydro account balanced and they didn’t send a bill the next month. So, she paid all the bills she got, and never had a credit.
Sigh. I think we’re good now. As long as she really didn’t get a bill from BC Hydro in December.