Billing and Cooing

Yesterday's post about the lack of customer service seems to have got all and sundry stirred up. In the words of Whatsitallabout, most of us prefer trade correctness to some colour and chaos Only Mr. Snag seems to equate it all with primary school (sekolah dasar) problems.

Today I'd like to recount a different billing problem in Jakartass Towers.

This concerns a bill I do not have but which I'd like to pay even though I don't know the total amount due.

Really.

Non-residents will probably not be aware that utilities bills are paid monthly, before the 20th, and you are informed of the amount due when you actually pay. Some accounts, such as for Telkom, can be paid via ATM. I am, incidentally, unable to pay my Indosat email account online through my account with Bank Permata.

Whatever, that is the somewhat chaotic system we generally cope with.

Last October, in Carrefour, I came across a pretty young lady who persuaded me to subscribe to Indovision, the satellite TV provider. It wasn't her considerable charms that convinced me but rather the thought of watching Charlton's matches live. And the wrestling.

Our Kid and I have enjoyed the service, both of us being fans of old Disney cartoons, and for the past couple of weeks we've been given a free taster of a few extra channels. Indovision are in regular telephonic touch with us and seem eager to boost their income.

Do we like the service?
Yes
Do we want to subscribe to extra channels?
Yep, it's a distinct possibility
Please pay at the beginning of March.
Okay. How?

And therein lies the problem.

You see, in the five months since we handed over a wodge of cash to the (six) guys who came by, with alacrity it must be said, to install the satellite dish and various lengths of cable, we haven't received a receipt for that wodge or an account/PIN number. The latter is needed in order to pay for further subscriptions by ATM.

Our recent phone conversations with Indovision continuing to press us for our channel choices have reiterated our inability to pay without the relevant information. We've been promised this, three times, along with details of the cost for further channels, by return of email. We are, naturally, still waiting.

So, will we continue to receive satellite TV? Or will yet another Indonesian monopolistic 'service' prove that it can't get its act together?
 

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¶ 4:00 pm