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#1
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Brampton Flying club funnies
I got a phone call today from a collection agency - for the first time
in my life. The gentleman said I owed the Brampton, Ontario flying club CAN $16.00 and how would I like to settle that. I rented from them several times in 2003 when I visited a cousin who lives in Toronto. At first, I was terrified at the thought that I somehow never paid for these flights. Then the amount sank in - sixteen dollars, not a hundred and sixty, not sixteen hundred, and Canadian dollars at that. Terror gave way to surprise at why the club didn't contact me directly. I called the club and asked what was the deal. When I tried to phonetically spell my last name, their accountant asked if I could use "letters" because she did not understand "that pilot thing". She said the charge was a landing fee at CYOW which I thought I'd paid for (I also bought fuel there), but I didn't have receipts from 2 years ago and didn't want to argue over such a ridiculous sum, so I just paid. This story has left me utterly bewildered. Naturally, an FBO should not pay renter pilots' landing fees. There is no disagreement there. But how Brampton chose to go about collecting this fee was... erm... surprising. Ari. -- Elections only count as free and trials as fair if you can lose money betting on the outcome. |
#2
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In a previous article, (K. Ari Krupnikov) said:
I got a phone call today from a collection agency - for the first time This story has left me utterly bewildered. Naturally, an FBO should not pay renter pilots' landing fees. There is no disagreement there. But how Brampton chose to go about collecting this fee was... erm... surprising. Well, if you're not local (and I'm assuming you're not) a flying club doesn't have the resources to go looking for you. Our flying club hasn't turned over any outstanding debts to collections in my tenure, and instead we've wasted HOURS of volunteer time tracking down people who've moved. I think next time we're going to try the collection agency. -- Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/ "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." --Editor of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957. |
#3
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There goes your credit rating for the next 7 years!
"K. Ari Krupnikov" wrote in message ... I got a phone call today from a collection agency - for the first time in my life. The gentleman said I owed the Brampton, Ontario flying club CAN $16.00 and how would I like to settle that. I rented from them several times in 2003 when I visited a cousin who lives in Toronto. At first, I was terrified at the thought that I somehow never paid for these flights. Then the amount sank in - sixteen dollars, not a hundred and sixty, not sixteen hundred, and Canadian dollars at that. Terror gave way to surprise at why the club didn't contact me directly. I called the club and asked what was the deal. When I tried to phonetically spell my last name, their accountant asked if I could use "letters" because she did not understand "that pilot thing". She said the charge was a landing fee at CYOW which I thought I'd paid for (I also bought fuel there), but I didn't have receipts from 2 years ago and didn't want to argue over such a ridiculous sum, so I just paid. This story has left me utterly bewildered. Naturally, an FBO should not pay renter pilots' landing fees. There is no disagreement there. But how Brampton chose to go about collecting this fee was... erm... surprising. Ari. -- Elections only count as free and trials as fair if you can lose money betting on the outcome. |
#4
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In article ,
says... Well, if you're not local (and I'm assuming you're not) a flying club doesn't have the resources to go looking for you. Our flying club hasn't turned over any outstanding debts to collections in my tenure, and instead we've wasted HOURS of volunteer time tracking down people who've moved. I think next time we're going to try the collection agency. And you can be sure they'll be HIGHLY motivated by the 15% they can recover! |
#6
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About twenty years ago, I did some work for a video store.
The owner would accrue late charges for three years ($1 per day for 1000 days). At the end of the three years, he would write off the bad debt, and send the offender ( and he IRS ) a 1099 for the amount. This was back when Massachusetts used a Social Security number for a license number. I changed my license number then next time I renewed. "Paul Tomblin" wrote in message ... In a previous article, (G Farris) said: In article , says... Well, if you're not local (and I'm assuming you're not) a flying club doesn't have the resources to go looking for you. Our flying club hasn't turned over any outstanding debts to collections in my tenure, and instead we've wasted HOURS of volunteer time tracking down people who've moved. I think next time we're going to try the collection agency. And you can be sure they'll be HIGHLY motivated by the 15% they can recover! Well, in this case they obviously got the attention of somebody who only owed $15, right? We had one guy who owed us $6,000 and we spent literally *all* of our club officers volunteer time for 6 months tracking him down and calling to get the money. We eventually got the money, but if we could have gotten half of that back with one phone call to a collection agency, we would have been far ahead. Read "Acts Of Gord" (http://www.actsofgord.com/) to hear about people who'd gladly default on something as stupid as a rented video game, and then come crawling back begging to make things right when they find that they can't get a car loan until they get the debt off their credit record. -- Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/ QUOTE OF THE DAY: ` |
#7
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(Paul Tomblin) writes:
In a previous article, (G Farris) said: In article , says... Well, if you're not local (and I'm assuming you're not) a flying club doesn't have the resources to go looking for you. Funny that, because the collection guy called me on the same cell number I left with Brampton as my contact number. Wonder where he got it from. And you can be sure they'll be HIGHLY motivated by the 15% they can recover! Well, in this case they obviously got the attention of somebody who only owed $15, right? We had one guy who owed us $6,000 and we spent literally That was exactly was ticked me off. I was not trying to defraud them out of their money. I was not aware that I owed them money (I was sure I paid the landing fee when I was buying fuel at CYOW). If they'd have called me two years ago, I'd have happily paid them then. If they'd have called any time during these two years, I'd have happily paid then. They could have just charged it to the credit card I left on file with them. Instead, they treated me like a thief. I don't know if they got a new eager accountant or what. Maybe at the time, they decided that the $15 charge wasn't worth the long distance call and the credit card overhead. And then when they got a new accountant she decided to go through their books and see what "debts" she could collect and just shipped them all off, wholesale, to collection. Ari. -- Elections only count as free and trials as fair if you can lose money betting on the outcome. |
#8
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In a previous article, (K. Ari Krupnikov) said:
That was exactly was ticked me off. I was not trying to defraud them out of their money. I was not aware that I owed them money (I was sure I paid the landing fee when I was buying fuel at CYOW). If they'd have Unfortunately I've never found a Canadian airport that lets the FBO collect landing fees - instead my flying club gets a bill in the mail some months later. It's very annoying, since everybody in the club knows I'm Canadian and fly up there frequently, so every landing fee bill gets billed to me until I can look up my log book and show it wasn't me. I don't know if they got a new eager accountant or what. Maybe at the That seems the most likely explanation. -- Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/ "Every computer crashes, because every OS sucks" - Three Dead Trolls In A Baggie, "Every OS Sucks" http://www.deadtroll.com/ |
#9
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(Paul Tomblin) writes:
In a previous article, (K. Ari Krupnikov) said: That was exactly was ticked me off. I was not trying to defraud them out of their money. I was not aware that I owed them money (I was sure I paid the landing fee when I was buying fuel at CYOW). If they'd have Unfortunately I've never found a Canadian airport that lets the FBO collect landing fees - instead my flying club gets a bill in the mail some months later I don't know if they got a new eager accountant or what. Maybe at the That seems the most likely explanation. I wonder how many other non-Canadian pilots were not aware of how landing fees work in Canada and got a call from the same collection agency. I wonder how many of them will ever rent from Brampton again. Ari. -- Elections only count as free and trials as fair if you can lose money betting on the outcome. |
#10
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On Wed, 13 Apr 2005, Paul Tomblin wrote:
In a previous article, (K. Ari Krupnikov) said: That was exactly was ticked me off. I was not trying to defraud them out of their money. I was not aware that I owed them money (I was sure I paid the landing fee when I was buying fuel at CYOW). If they'd have Unfortunately I've never found a Canadian airport that lets the FBO collect landing fees Vancouver International (CYVR), apparently. Haven't flown in there yet, but the PRO says to pay the landing fee w/ one of the FBOs. The other airports in the region seem to send the bill to the Club, which has GOT to be an accounting headache for the Club... Brian PP-ASEL/Night |
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