IT manager pilot fish is responsible for internet connectivity at dozens of sites across the U.S. — and the networking ranges from cable to DSL to fixed wireless to T1, with a different provider for each location.

“We apparently had not received or paid an invoice for one location in quite some time,” says fish. “Usually if we are even a day late making a payment, I get a nasty-gram threating to disconnect service.

“But I hadn’t been contacted by this very large telecom company and, since the service was working fine at that location, it never came up on my radar screen that we had not been paying them.”

Then one day a past-due notice arrives. It’s for $975, which means the $75 monthly bill hasn’t been paid for 13 months.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here