Part 1Trouble from a Mispaid Phone Bill

All because of two thousand dollars in phone credit, sent to my number by mistake. It ended with me cornered in my own home, my head split open, needing eight stitches to close the wound.

It all started with a phone call at six in the morning on a Sunday.

A woman’s voice on the other end of the line was already barking orders. She’d made a mistake topping up her phone credit. Not only had she typed the wrong last digit, but she’d also keyed in two thousand dollars instead of twenty.

Now, she was demanding I transfer the money back to her immediately. As for the two grand in credit—enough to cover my phone bill for the next sixteen years—well, that was just my lucky day, I guess.

Are you kidding me? My phone plan is ten dollars a month.

I took a deep breath and tried to explain. "You can just call your service provider. They can reverse the transaction for you."

Her response was a direct threat. "What's that supposed to mean? You're trying to keep my money? You think I can't find you? I'll cave your head in, you hear me?"

At first, I didn't believe her.

But when I found myself backed against my own front door, with eight stitches crisscrossing my scalp, I believed her then.

* * *

As a corporate drone trapped in the 9-to-5 grind, sleeping in on a Sunday is my only solace.

That Sunday, however, a series of calls at 6 AM shattered that peaceful dream.

I irritably swiped to answer, and a torrent of abuse immediately assaulted my ear.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you dead? Took you long enough to pick up!"

I pulled the phone away, confused, and looked at the screen.

It was an unknown number.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"Never mind who I am. I sent phone credit to the wrong number. I need you to send it back to me, right now. The account number is…"

A flicker of annoyance sparked within me. Disturbing someone's sleep is a cardinal sin. And to do it with such arrogance after making a mistake yourself? She was really stacking her rudeness buffs to the max.

Fueled by a week's worth of early mornings, I asked impatiently, "How much?"

"Two thousand dollars."

"How much?"

The last remnants of sleep vanished. I was sure I had misheard.

"Two thousand! What, are you deaf?" the voice on the other end shrieked.

Two thousand dollars?

Who in their right mind tops up their phone with that much money? They must be loaded.

My first thought was that this had to be a scam.

As if reading my mind, the woman on the phone started to explain.

"I meant to put in twenty, but I hit the zero key too many times, and before I knew it, I’d entered my PIN. And on top of that, I typed the wrong number. Just send me the money, and you can keep the credit for yourself."

Two grand in phone credit?

That was completely useless to me.

My plan was a bare-bones, ten-dollar-a-month deal. Two thousand dollars would last me for over sixteen years. I work out to keep from dying of a heart attack at my desk, but I’m not confident I’ll live another sixteen years, let alone need a phone for all of them.

Besides, my monthly salary is only three thousand. Who would be stupid enough to dump nearly a full month's pay into their phone?

"That's way too much," I said. "I'll never be able to use that. You should contact your service provider and have them reverse the charge."

"Why should I? It's my money! Why won't you give it back to me?"

I patiently explained again. "I have no use for that much credit. But you can go to one of their stores with your transaction record, and they'll cancel it for you."

The woman was relentless.

"I don't know how to do that. The money went to your number, so you have to give it back to me. If you don't, I'll call the cops on you. Two thousand dollars is enough to put you in jail for a few years, you know."

I had to laugh.

This lady knew a little bit about the law.

Very little.

"Do what you want," I said, and hung up.

Woken up at the crack of dawn, and then yelled at for no reason. Even a saint would lose their temper, let alone a sleep-deprived wage slave like me.

After hanging up, I blocked the number.

She made the mistake. Why should I be the one to pay for it?

I tossed my phone aside, pulled the covers over my head, and went back to sleep.