A Tale of Two Tolls

[Perry]

A Tale of Two Tolls

The toll on the tenant and the toll on the PI.

I had a tenant move out, a while ago. The reason was unusual and unprecedented. Teenage daughter
had run up about $1k in voice toll calls from land line to cell phones. Broke the tenant's financial back,
so she had to go to what she described as a horrible housing corp hovel. She was on the brink of tears,
every day I spoke to her. She said she loved being in the cottage. Good tenant, too. Quite a shame.
Anyway . . .

I've heard a rumour that this is happening a bit, around the place, as a sort of peer-pressure dare
at some high schools. "How much can you run up your parents' toll bill, before they find out?"
Anyone else heard/had the same?

I did a little more inquiring . . . . Although only one source, it does appear as if it's going on in
the Taradale area. Nothing said about the nearby cities of Napier and Hastings.

I know that the tenant - solo mum, working 2-3 days a week - has been really struggling, so I can
understand her anguish. I've helped her with her CV and offered to help with her laptop problems,
although that offer was never taken up. I gave her a little food parcel, as she left.

Her rental's location made her a near neighbour, so I probably got a little closer as a consequence.
It can be quite a tricky 'relationship juggling' act, at times. Help, my car has a flat battery . . .

Being a PI does not stop one being a neighbour!

However, I do feel really sorry for her - she's always given the impression of trying to do her best by all,
including the damned daughter! She'll miss cropping the broad beans, celery, lettuce and parsley, etc., in
her garden and she's left her small amount of firewood behind, too.

We had a big hug as she left, her eyes brimming with tears. I'd lent her a fridge and I saw that she'd
left a bottle of champers in it, when I started the post move-out, ritual clean-up, later.

Sad, so sad. I'd volunteer to hold the daughter down while someone paddles her backside, none-
too-delicately. (Bugger-off, Bradford)

Life dishes up some doozies, does it not?

What a tenant runs up as a toll bill, one would imagine it was not a concern of the PI. Yet, the
back lash of this incident was the loss of a fairly good tenant.

A warning is pointless, because how could a PI see this coming? But I tell the tale nonetheless,
just in case it alerts/helps anyone.

[PC]

Its scary to have a contract for services with uncapped liability.
I wonder if it is possible to have a fixed line phone contract that states max $ per month - once reached suspend all services.

Be nice to apply something similar to rates, taxes...

[drelly]

If it were my kid, they would learn the true meaning of "child labour" in the process of paying it off themselves!

[Wayne]

get a pin put on the toll side of things and DON'T give it out to ANYONE.

[Perry]

I inquired: Telecon have changed their toll bar
service to make it much more difficult to use.
Used to be just a voice prompt for a PIN, before
allowing the toll call to proceed, all in the process
of one call. Now, in order to make a toll call on
a toll-barred residential line, one must make
three calls!

• One to turn the toll bar off.
• Two to make the toll call
• Three to turn the toll bar back on.

May the worms of a thousand camels infest
their management's personal computers.

[donna]

The book "The Richest Man in Babylon" is such a good read as it teaches you to 'manage your creditors' - open up the communication lines to negotiate payments rather than 'throw in the towel' when faced with a huge bill.

I wonder if your tenant panicked Perry? She may have got a payment plan - (pay some each week till debt paid off) had she spoken to Telecom and then of course it may have meant she could have stayed at the cottage and you keep your tenant.

Of course by paying a bit off the huge bill may have meant she needed to negotiate with you too - but if she's an outstanding tenant - then you'd more than likely listen and probably also come to the party so to speak. I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Donna

[Jumpin]

A Tale of Two Tolls


I've heard a rumour that this is happening a bit, around the place, as a sort of peer-pressure dare
at some high schools. "How much can you run up your parents' toll bill, before they find out?"
Anyone else heard/had the same?

Well to be honest if you bring up kids so uneducated and stupid, the parent must take some responsibility for that.

[Viking]

Nah, some teenage girls are the worst little brats you could wish to meet. Got a tenant with a brat problem as well except that the brat is 23. Won't front up with her share. Mum struggles so brat got piece of my mind the other day. No dad at home, ran off with someone else and probably just as well.
Brat no 2 won't go to school either. Mum is struggling to cope.

[flyernzl]

I have a good tenant who has a similar problem - $700-odd dollars.
I didn't want her to go, so we did a deal.
I paid the bill, and she's paying it back at $30 per week (no interest).
I figured the deal was worth it as an average vacancy period of 2 weeks in that flat would end up costing me more than the interest.
We documented the deal, and so far she has kept up the regular payments for over two months.

[HermanZ]

I have a good tenant who has a similar problem -
We documented the deal, and so far she has kept up the regular payments for over two months.

Sounds like a win win deal if she pays it off.

Its hard being a grumpy landlord with you softies around!

HermanZ

[Pants]

Just a point about toll bars - i recently inquired about getting one, and the helpful people at telecom advised me that it costs $2.50 per month to get a pin, or $50 stop them altogether, or something like that.
I remember thinking at the time that it seems unfair. i know it doesn't sound like much money, but many of the people who need toll bars will be the very poorest families who need to stop their kids being idiots, and they are also least about to afford it!

[Wayne]

Just a point about toll bars - i recently inquired about getting one, and the helpful people at telecom advised me that it costs $2.50 per month to get a pin, or $50 stop them altogether, or something like that.
I remember thinking at the time that it seems unfair. i know it doesn't sound like much money, but many of the people who need toll bars will be the very poorest families who need to stop their kids being idiots, and they are also least about to afford it!

details here http://www.telecom.co.nz/callrestriction

[Perry]

Beware of Stereotypes

Closing Chapter

When the tenant departed, there was some
rent in arrears. A cheque arrived in the mail
today, with a wee "Thank you" PostIt note
attached. The cheque is for $10 more than
the rent arrears. Just goes to show, eh . . . . ?

[captaincrab]

Well done Perry. Nice empathy.
On Telecom, we are coming to the view that we just dont need a land line for either phone or internet.
Everyone calls us on our mobiles anyway and the web can be accessed other ways.