An article in today’s Toronto Sun tells of a Malaysian man who received a surprise from the local phone company in the form of a $218 trillion US phone tab.
“Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father’s phone line in January after he died and settled the bill for 84 ringgit ($23), the New Straits Times reported yesterday.
But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a bill for 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit ($218 trillion) for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.”
— Toronto Sun
Where the hell were these phone calls to? Alpha Centauri?
“It wasn’t clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya’s father’s phone line was used illegally after his death.“
— Toronto Sun
Of course it was a freaking mistake! What gave it away? The fact that the phone bill is twenty times the U.S. Gross Domestic Product for 2005? Even if I called Perth, Australia—which is incidentally the city furthest away from where I live on the planet—and left the phone off the hook for an entire year, I doubt my phone bill would reach that total.
I love how Telekom Malaysia is acting like there is a possibility this may be legit.
<my best impression of Telecom Malaysia’s PR deparment>
<supressed giddiness>
“We are looking into the possibility of an error. In the meantime, you have 10 days to settle the account.”
</supressed giddiness>
</my best impression of Telecom Malaysia’s PR deptartement>
I wonder if Accounts Payable—upon seeing the total—didn’t do a little happy dance wondering what his/her year-end bonus was going to be once collection was made on the account. If I was Telekom Malaysia, I’d close up shop and retire if I got that payout.
This just goes to further show you that intelligence is not a requirement for wealth. In fact…if you go by this example it may actually be an impediment.
For not recognizing the obvious mistake of billing half the planet’s wealth on one phone bill; for taking advantage of a dead man and his son; and last, but definitely not least, for only offering 10 days for repayment instead of the usual 30, SHAME ON YOU Telekom Malaysia!
That will be C.O.D. please.
What are you thinking?