From:
         Andrew Gordon <[log in to unmask]>

1:06 PM

>
>     --- Computer World ---
>
>In March 1992 a man living in Newtown near Boston Massachusetts
>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 he ignored it,
>trusting 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.
>
>(Thanks to Paul Gani for this contribution)
>
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>*****  P a r t y i n g   T h o u g h t   f o r   26/4/1999 ****
>
>"What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists?
> In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet."
> --- Woody Allen ---
>