MidnightReign.org

I posted the following complaint at our local consumer complaints site (Hello Peter):

I had minor sinus surgery in November 2003. Today I receive a final demand for payment in the mail (17th Feb) full of threats about being listed in credit bureaux, and having summons issued and summary judgements, etc.

How about sending me a statement first?!

My wife received a phone call at the end of last week from the Glynwood, querying our postal address, since they had a returned mail containing a statement. Turns out they had addressed the envelope incorrectly. But then today I get a final demand (postmarked the 13th) that is perfectly addressed, with the letter inside correctly addressed as well. Strange indeed that the debt recovery agents have my address. Stranger indeed that the hospital hands me over when they KNOW that I have not yet received a statement. It’s not my fault they can’t address an envelope correctly, despite the correct information being supplied on their forms.

It gets my goat that these companies are so quick to hand people over and have them listed for debt defaults for no fault of their own.

In future, I will not deal with this hospital if they can’t do their administration properly. I would rather die. I’m so tired of companies like this being so quick to judge. Since we (as the customer) are always required to sign forms and contracts/agreements etc before we are helped, so should the companies be made to sign agreements with us, stating that if they do not follow the agreed procedures, they will be liable for nuisance fees and/or a fine.

South African companies need to catch a wake up.

Not everyone you deal with are crooks. You are driving legitimate customers away. The above mentioned hospital is The Glynwood, in Benoni.

Something that I didn’t add (I didn’t have the space), was that I had a similar incident after the birth of my daughter, Megan, but with an entirely different hospital (different management group too). When I called the hospital accounts department to complain, the woman I spoke to said, “Oh, just ignore it. We don’t send statements, we just send final demands, it’s company policy”

What?!?

To be honest, the nursing staff at both hospitals were great, and I have no complaints about the actual care received. It’s just a pity that their administration blows fucking chunks. It’s them that leave the bad taste in your mouth.

I try to be courteous towards other people on the roads (except taxis). All I would expect from other road users in return, is that courtesy returned in kind. But no. It’s the general ‘Fuck You’ attitude of the South African driver that is bringing society down.

God, it pisses me off.

I just love the level of driver education in this country.

The law says that if a traffic light is not working properly, there are certain things you should do. For example, if a traffic light is flashing yellow, you should treat the intersection as if a yield sign was posted. If the traffic light is flashing red, or not working at all, you should treat the intersection as if a stop sign was posted.

Now that’s basic information during driver education. You learn that when you get your learner’s license.

From what I’ve seen, I don’t think many people have licenses at all. Or if they do, they were probably purchased from some unscrupulous individual, because there are so many people who do not appear to know this basic information.

I often see non-working traffic lights on my route to work. Every few months, the same ones break down, and it usually takes a week or two to repair them. It never fails to amaze me when I see how drivers treat non-functioning traffic lights: The lights just don’t exist for most people; They don’t even slow down.

One day I’m going to be rewarded by witnessing two like-minded individuals navigating the same intersection at the same time. I’ll stop my car, walk up to each smoking wreck, and laugh at each driver in turn. Then I’ll get in my car, and drive away. Emergency services be damned. A Darwinian ending is all that those gene-pool rejects deserve.

And I’ll just laugh… and laugh…