Un-F*cking-Believable!
Though it’s really not...
This Substack is about life in Việt Nam from the viewpoint of a 11-year expat who spent his first 60 years in a low-context culture.
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No way! I won’t pay!
Woke up Friday morning to an email informing me that I owed $5911.96 for the sessions it took to get me introduced to my new leg and that they were going to bill my credit card on file WITHOUT my authorization.
They have my credit card on file from previous payments. I NEVER gave an open authorization to charge whatever tf they want, and certainly NOT this charge.
I immediately deleted all of the various credit cards I previously used for payments to them and no longer have one stored in their system.
When I was still in the hospital, they told me that one of the reasons the leg would cost over US$68,000, was that this amount covered the “introduction” sessions.
Since I’m in Việt Nam,
I opened the email after the billing office had already closed for their Thursday, so I had to wait ’til my Friday night to ream them a new one.
Never a patient person, especially when being billed as a former patient1, I went to the web site and wrote them an email:
Do I have the money to pay it without searching between couch cushions? Yes.
That’s NOT the point.
I sent that message at 9:22 PM, EST, when the billing office is supposedly closed. Six hours later, when I thought of something to add to my above protestation, I found this:
Apparently, someone working “after hours” decided that they weren’t going to try to make me pay twice, after all.
They decided to include the fee in the final payment I made for the leg.
Cool!
But what if I hadn’t protested?
They’re like children, pushing to see how much they can get away with.
Speaking of children…
Walking Update
I’m down to using only one crutch to walk and it’s going well — on flat, level surfaces, like inside the house. It’s a bit challenging out in the world, because the infrastructure in Việt Nam is, at best, inconsistent. Even when the sidewalk is level and smooth, there are motorbikes blocking it randomly, forcing pedestrians to venture down the curb, out into the street, and eventually back up the curb. In a walk of 100 meters, this may be necessary five or six times.
I’ve even taken a few, very uneasy, steps without the crutch; inside and with the crutch in my hand, not touching the floor. I’m sure I look like an ancient “toddler” who’s about to lose it at any moment.
‘Cause I am… It’s going to be a while before I get very far doing this, mainly because of the constant pain in the stump. I’ll never stop trying, though, until I’m walking “normally” without aids, however that may look.
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Sorry, not sorry. I couldn’t resist.
Omg take care!