I’d like to file a complaint, but I don’t even know where to begin. Here is what happened: Last month I received an invoice from a company called, um, let’s see, I’m not a big fan of getting sued, so let’s just say this company is called “Messed Diagnostics.”
Apparently, this firm has a near monopoly on drawing blood and doing laboratory testing. During the last 20 years, every time I’ve had to get my blood tested, I visited one of this company’s multiple locations with the big green “Q” on their logo. No wait, I mean the big purple “M,” which stands for Messed Diagnostics. Yeah, yeah, that’s it.
Anyway, I got an invoice in the mail last month for $188.39. At first I thought, “Well, this is probably the portion of the bill that my insurance didn’t cover,” so I was about to put the invoice with the other bills that have to be paid by the end of the month. But before I did that, I looked at the details of the statement and noticed the date when I had my blood drawn was in October, 2021.
“Hey, wait a minute,” I said. “That was almost a year ago. And they’re just sending a bill for it now? That seems pretty odd.”
So, instead of putting the invoice on the “pay this month” pile, I brought it to work with me so I could ask the guy who manages our company’s benefits plan why I got billed today for something that happened 11 months earlier.
My place of employment is a fairly small company, so the fellow who manages the health insurance and pension plans is also the same guy who handles accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and about 12 other tasks, including once in a while, when things are really busy out back, helping us unload tractor trailers of HVAC products.
This means our jack-of-all-trades Comptroller just LOVES to see me walking toward his office with medical invoices in my hand and a puzzled look on my face. This particular time, I was able to stick out my foot before he could slam his door on me, so he was forced to hear my tale of woe and put yet another annoying item on his extensive to-do list.
Anyway, I got an invoice in the mail last month for $188.39. At first I thought, “Well, this is probably the portion of the bill that my insurance didn’t cover,” so I was about to put the invoice with the other bills that have to be paid by the end of the month. But before I did that, I looked at the details of the statement and noticed the date when I had my blood drawn was in October, 2021.
“Hey, wait a minute,” I said. “That was almost a year ago. And they’re just sending a bill for it now? That seems pretty odd.”
So, instead of putting the invoice on the “pay this month” pile, I brought it to work with me so I could ask the guy who manages our company’s benefits plan why I got billed today for something that happened 11 months earlier.
My place of employment is a fairly small company, so the fellow who manages the health insurance and pension plans is also the same guy who handles accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and about 12 other tasks, including once in a while, when things are really busy out back, helping us unload tractor trailers of HVAC products.
This means our jack-of-all-trades Comptroller just LOVES to see me walking toward his office with medical invoices in my hand and a puzzled look on my face. This particular time, I was able to stick out my foot before he could slam his door on me, so he was forced to hear my tale of woe and put yet another annoying item on his extensive to-do list.
A couple of days later, he walked into my office — before I could slam the door on him — and he dumped a pile of paper on my desk. “The insurance company already paid this bill,” he said. “Here’s a copy of the check that Que–, er, I mean, Messed cashed last fall.”
Well, what do you know? The invoice was paid in full 11 months ago, and I have a copy of the check the insurance company sent, which Messed deposited into their bank account. And yet, they sent me a brand new invoice for that same service and I almost put it with the “pay this month” pile of bills. Hmm, I wonder how many other duplicate invoices they send out every month?
A cynical person might suspect that our friends at Messed have a nice little deal going here to boost their bottom line. Good thing I’m not cynical, so I’m sure it was just a computer error. Oh, those wacky computers! Always sending out extra invoices by mistake, but never, it seems, sending out extra checks by mistake.
Well, what do you know? The invoice was paid in full 11 months ago, and I have a copy of the check the insurance company sent, which Messed deposited into their bank account. And yet, they sent me a brand new invoice for that same service and I almost put it with the “pay this month” pile of bills. Hmm, I wonder how many other duplicate invoices they send out every month?
A cynical person might suspect that our friends at Messed have a nice little deal going here to boost their bottom line. Good thing I’m not cynical, so I’m sure it was just a computer error. Oh, those wacky computers! Always sending out extra invoices by mistake, but never, it seems, sending out extra checks by mistake.
I’d like to file a complaint, but on the other hand, if the Messed computer system flags me as a trouble maker, the next time I need blood drawn, the technician might accidently stumble and plunge the needle into my throat.
If you ask me, the whole thing seems kind of Messed up.
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