I had a good chuckle out of this one!
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NZ Telecom fines 'rudeness'
Christopher Niesche in New Zealand
FEBRUARY 14, 2002 KIWI James Storrie was a little surprised when he noticed the extra $NZ337.50 ($277) charged to his mobile phone account. But the Auckland businessman was stunned when he read the explanation printed on the bill: "Penalty for being an arrogant bastard."
Telecom New Zealand listed the figure under the "rental and activity" total of the bill and also charged him GST for his alleged personality defect.
"How can they speak to their clients like this?" asked Mr Storrie, a video conference technician. "It's downright rude."
Mr Storrie had previously rung Telecom to complain after the phone had been disconnected, only to be told it was cut off after it had been reported stolen.
He had not reported the phone stolen, and denied having an altercation with the company or shouting at the operator in the exchange.
Telecom said it was investigating the incident, but it appeared a disgruntled operator may have altered the bill and the charge had slipped through the regular checks.
"We take this very seriously and we will do our best to make sure that nobody else is treated in this rude way," a Telecom spokesman said.
It was not company policy to penalise or reward customers on the basis of their personalities, he said.
Mr Storrie - who denied he was an arrogant bastard - said he would be sticking with Telecom after they gave him some goods and services as compensation.
