(also titled : Child for Sale)
wanted: a good home for a teenager with his first girlfriend. He eats a lot and often his brain doesn't work anymore. He's mostly harmless but sometimes you just want to check to see if he is plugged in.
I got the landline phone bill. $40 more than it should be. Ouch!! WTF??? There is a long distance call on his phone, which is under my bill. One of significant length. 2 hours to be precise. There's never been any charges on his phone so I asked him if he'd made any long distance calls. Nope.
Ok so I phone the phone company and we go over possible theories on how this charge ended up there. The handler was less than polite (but by the end of our chat together, I can't say that I was either). the handler accused me of lying by the end of the call at which point I asked to be transferred to his supervisor. I talk to a new guy and he isn't able to help me. Turns out he wasn't a supervisor. I laughed at that point and said "well I asked to be transferred to a supervisor and I got you. The first guy must have been getting even with you for giving me to you then :-)
At this point of the call, DS1 wanders in and gets an uncomfortable look on his face as he listens to my call.
Long story, short(er), turns out DS did call his girlfriend. She lives here in town but her phone is listed under her parent's in a different city. She is here for sports for the winter. I tell the phone company I will call back and hang up.
So DS is in trouble for making a $40 long distance call. He was sent immediately to his ATM to get me the money for the phone bill. He is in trouble for being on the phone til 1 AM after he presumably went to bed. His cell phone now comes upstairs at night. For how long? he asks. Until I am done being ticked at this, says his loving mother.
lord save me from this phase of his life :-)
Tuesday, Nice weekend!
2 days ago
10 comments:
Yikes. I think this is an experience that every parent of teenagers gets to go through. Just wait...there's more to come! :)
DD did the same thing with her BF a few years ago, but the phone bill was over 200.00... all the while it would have been free had she used the home phone! Lessons to be learned by our babies, eh?
I have 3 kids, the youngest is 15 so I have survived the pain you are going through with your son now.
It will probably get worse before it gets better....meaning the aliens that took your darling boy and put this teenaged imposter in his place won't be returning your son until he's 20 at least....might be longer, especially since it's a boy and not a girl.
Sorry to be the bearer of this news but hey!...It could have been much more financially painful, right?
Thanks for the chuckle reliving my WTF phone bill days.lol
At least he's paying for it and it wasn't $300 worth of texting!
I am sure he wont ever do that again... just make sure he's aware of the limitations of your phone/cellphone plans. Texting can get expensive really fast, and so can web browsing from phones (or getting ringtones, games, etc). Go easy on the kid. We all make mistakes, and the key is not repeating them over time!
ah yes... memories! :)
hang in there you're doing a good job, glad you made him pay for the cal, it will help him to think twice next time!
Oh my, you are so leading my life! But I have daughters! Fun when you find out you have shewed out a company and then never mind! I love that scenario. I have played the deranged mother so often.
I see that we are raising the same kid... good times! ;)
LOL I am glad I am not the only person who experiences this. I need to train well as DS2 isn't far away from the dating world too. DS1 handled his consequences well.
Your insurance for not having to deal with unwanted phone charges is giving him a phone in his name that he must pay for with his own money. When he runs up charges and is not able to use the phone because it's shut off he will learn the lesson very quickly about responsibility. It may lead to a few fights but at least you won't be footing the bill anymore.
Jerry absolutely your suggestion is ideal and in the off season he does pay his share of the bill. From Aug to....season done though, he plays at a high level of hockey and his schedule doesn't permit holding a part time job. He goes straight after school to practice. Home by 6 for supper and back to the rink for circuit training until 8 or 9. Home for homework (honour roll in AP classes and French Immersion). Most weekends are two games here, or a road trip away. A big committment that will lead to the next level of hockey where the scholarships kick in :-)
He washes dishes at a restaurant on his off night for hockey and will ref again if he has free time so that pays for gas etc.
He won't make the mistake again and if he does, he knows he'll have to find the money to cough up the cash
Post a Comment