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So, this morning starts with a "Matthew, did you not pay a bill and forget to tell me about it???". Hmm, not that I remember. "It's about a bill for WakeMed". Ahhh, now that I remember!

So, I'm feeling smug, because I know I've paid it. The bank statement says I paid it, the receipt from WakeMed says I paid it, I remember paying it.... why the !@#!@ did it go to collections? I remember seeing a bill on it and thinking "are they really that dumb? surely they'll figure out that I've paid this". So the morning goes... I now have to fax a copy of this payment receipt to the collection agency and they'll be happy, but in the meantime I decide to phone up WakeMed.

Me: "Hi... you sent my account to collections. An account that I PAID OFF. An account that has a zero balance. Can you explain that please?"

WM: "Account info please..."

Me: <provides the info>

WM: "Sir, it appears you owe $152."

Me: "I have a receipt, from WakeMed, stating I have a zero balance dated in July. I have a bank statement that shows you withdrew the money, dated one day previous to the mailing of the letter in July. If you don't have the moeny then where the @!#@ is it??"

WM: "Sir, you'll need to prove to us that paid it"

Me: "Great I'll send the receipt you sent me"

WM: "Sir, you're going to need to provide a copy of your bank statement"

Me: "????"

And on it went. They still cannot answer to me where the money is and why they can't locate it. They claim that the transaction was tried four times and was declined(uh... what? There was more than enough for it there). The fact remains that the money STILL LEFT MY ACCOUNT! And, I made another payment on a separate account that same day to them for a larger amount. That one went through just fine. Both payments are on the bank statement, and both cleared on the same date. I'm really, really unhappy that I had to send them a copy of my bank statement. I'm not comfortable sending this information to anyone, let alone someone who lost the money to begin with.

So, tomorrow begins my quest to hunt down a manager and raise merry hell. Does anyone know if this is standard practice, the whole "provide a copy of your bank statement" crap? Yes, I did let this go on too long, but their excuse just doesn't make sense.

This is why I tryto always pay by check. There is a paper trail.

The whole bank statement? Could you get a copy of just the relevant transactions, or make a copy that blanks out all the stuff that isn't their business?

For expense reports on short deadlines, I've managed to get online displays showing only the credit card transactions in question. For older statements on paper, you should be able to copy the statement, black out information they don't need to see, and re-copy so they can't hold anything up to a light to read through the marker.

Can't help with the collection agency. My only dealing with one was to inform them that their client ignored our inquiries, ignored the published legal notice, and missed all the probate court deadlines. And it was their problem to figure out which court district and reopen the estate. The client couldn't claim they didn't know the customer was dead, as he expired in one of their own facilities.

Not a peep from them ever again.