From New Straits Times - Malaysia
PENDANG, KEDAH: A meat importer had a shock when he received a hefty telephone bill — for RM800 trillion.
Yahaya Wahab, 63, said a debt-collection company, commissioned by Telekom Malaysia, had sent a bill for RM806,400,000,000,000.01 to his late father’s house, which has been vacant since his death.
Yahaya, from Kampung Pauh, Kubur Panjang, said he nearly fainted when he saw the bill, which stated it was for outstanding arrears.
The letter, from a debt-collection agent based in Sungai Petani was dated April 3, and demanded that the house owner settle the bill within 10 days or face legal action.
He said he had settled the previous bill of RM84.82 at the Kedai Telekom on Jan 13 and requested that the telephone line be disconnected since no one was living in the house.
"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I’m ready to face it. In fact, I can’t wait to face it," he said.
He said it was careless for the company to send a bill without checking, since the amount was larger than the total telephone bills of the whole country. Yahaya said his parents were among the first in the whole kampung to fix a telephone line.
He added that the bill was also addressed to Alor Star, Penang instead of Kedah.
"It’s illogical. There is no Alor Star in Penang," he said.
