Lifestyles of the not-so-rich

Ok, so I'm studying an advanced degree in Computer Science. And so what if I am living in the twenty first century. I didn't choose any of that! At least the backward and ignorant can rant and rave when someone takes there money away!

But me, no! I'm too well aware that it wasn't anybody's fault. I know how the system works, its strange quirks and the tricks it can play. And I can't even hide the fact that I know, if I want to prevent another condescending word of layman explanation from leaving the customer care official's lips. And I know I can't really blame anybody for it. So I can't shout at them for taking my money. Because, as he explains (condescendingly), they haven't really taken my money after all. It just disappeared somewhere midway between the bank and their bill payment portal. It never reached them at all. But it did leave my bank account. So where did it go? Some electrons suddenly decide to stop moving and wham! my money disappears.

I try to tell the guy that I know there was an error in the transaction and he doesn't even hear me. I guess they have a habit of tuning out of the frequency of an irate customer. I guess they just see a short mass with flashing eyes and flailing arms as I explain my problem. I guess they don't even try to guess what the customer is really saying. They can't solve your problem anyway, whatever your problem is. They're just looking for the closest approximation to a legitimate excuse for not being able to solve it.

At the end of the day, every power is in somebody else's hands. The payment didn't reach them, so its still with the bank. Sorry, ma'am. There's nothing more we can do. There is something you can do, though, if you want your outgoing call facility to be reactivated. Pay the bill.