Random Thoughts

I Am NCN, Lord Of The Idiots

September 17, 2008

Hello, I’m NCN and I’m supposed to know better.

I’m always suggesting that readers contact businesses with which they do business and ask for discounts.  Once a quarter, I’ll call my cell phone provider, just to check if there are any discounts or promotions.

Well, guess who JUST noticed that he’s been paying $20 a month, for five months, for unlimited text messaging – for a phone from which he never sends text messages?!?

Yes, I am NCN, Lord Of The Idiots.

I don’t know how it happened.  I guess, when I logged into my account and was picking and choosing the features I wanted, I inadvertently checked a box that I meant to leave unchecked.  Or, I unchecked a box that should have been checked.  I don’t really know.

I called my cell phone provider, and they agreed to give me a $40 credit towards next month’s bill.  They really didn’t have to do even that, considering it was my own silly mistake.

So, for all of you out there who read personal finance blogs and wonder – Are these folks for real?  Do they make mistakes, forget things, spend to much, and goof up?  Well, in my case at least, the answer is YES, YES, YES, YES, and YES!

Bow before my stupidity and bask in the glow of my ineptitude.  Rock on.

Side Note – I did manage to reduce my satellite bill by $6 a month.  It’s not much, but I feel a little better.

16 thoughts on “I Am NCN, Lord Of The Idiots”

  3. Hey, we all make financial mistakes. Some much bigger than others. Hate to say I purchased a Kirby vacuum for more than I care to admit. All we can do is just move forward and learn from our mistakes.

  4. We all make mistakes – today I found out I was accidentally paying a canceled account – thankfully I’m only getting dinged for a couple dollar late fee and a bit of shame. We’re all human and make mistakes. At least you got the money credited to a different account.

  5. We don’t text either. The salesman kept assuring us that we’d find the unlimited texting so useful. The one thing I wish I could do, though, is prevent people from sending us texts. It costs money since we don’t have a plan and it’s not normally more useful than an e-mail or call. I don’t know how to block them, though.

    We’ve only told FIL he can’t text us because he got so excited by his unlimited texting that he texted us 5 times in a single day.. $0.50. Not much, but $15.00/month, etc. We might as well pay for the package in that case and it was stuff like “we’re going to the movies!”

  7. Indeed, this only proves that you’re human! Actually, you fixed the issue, which would still probably put you in the top few percentages.

    Personally, I text but do so rarely. Of course it doesn’t have to be an all or none thing. I choose to pay 25 cents per text vs. $5 for unlimited. I may get five or six a month and send even less. Of course my brother has begun to text me monthly with a brief note that says “this just cost you 25 cents.” Since he’s not related to you, you should be all right.

  8. We all make stupid mistakes occasionally. I once paid freecreditreport.com for about 6 months before I realized it wasn’t free. Go figure. They should be shot just for having FREE in their name.

  9. OUCH! I don’t like the name-calling…even if you are refering to yourself! If you wish to call names…how about some positive ones….like “responsible”, “wiser”, or just plain “normal” !t is normal for we humans to be imperfect…at least you are trying !!!

    Thanks for sharing….I am goingto check my cell phone bill a lot closer!!!

  10. Good thing that you noticed this before it added up to more! We text message and saved $5 by moving from ‘unlimited’ to a capped amount that is within our means, so in addition to calling to see if there are discounts, make sure you look at plan options and add-on options, because these vary as well.

  11. Hey NCN,

    While it is possible you inadvertantly did something, I am convinced that the cellphone companies also ‘inadvertantly’ make these changes for you, then sit back and hope you don’t notice it. Without exception, any time I make any change to my plan the company has screwed it up, never in their favor.

  14. Dang! And here I thought you were SO perfect. But I think you ought to climb back up on the pedestal–one wrong-headed decision does not a fool make. Well, unless that decision was to invade Iraq!

  15. The bright side is that you will most likely NEVER make this miistake again.

    The brighter side is that none of your readers will make this mistake in the first place.

    Learning from our mistakes or someone else’s mistakes is something the absolute best means for lessons. These tend to stick with us for a lifetime.

    Thanks for sharing your vulnerabilities with us!

  16. I always thought an idiot never learns from his mistakes. Looks like you are certainly no idiot. And well done for shaving off the $6 and tracking down this damn text thing.

    Cheers

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