Try to explain this

I got another call today from a collection agency. They weren't as nice this time. They asked me why I hadn't sent them any money. Naturally, I replied that they were mistaken. I had said I would pay the unambiguous portions of Linda's bill. I did that, and I have followed up with the insurance company to get the remainder paid.

They were amazingly uninterested in what I am doing to get Linda's account paid. Uninterested, that is, in anything but getting payments from me. I re-iterated that I had sent a check. They said they didn't get a payment. I told them that I would check with the bank before I took any further action, that I would absolutely not make any payments until I had verified that the payments I sent had not cleared my account.

I suggested that perhaps they had made a mistake somewhere. I got a pretty testy, "We don't make those kinds of mistakes."

Nobody is going to tell me that mistakes never happen, so I spat back, "You don't make mistakes, and I sent my payment. I'm not going to do anything until I check with my bank."

Well, that pretty much terminated the conversation.

I did check with the bank, and the check hasn't cleared. I asked what it costs to stop payment on a check; $20, and you can do it even a few days after it has cleared. Then she said, "You do know about the mailtruck that burned?" This little revelation was a big help. It turns out that a lot of mail posted on the day I sent my letter was destroyed.

Wow. You try to truthfully tell a collection agency that your check really was lost in the mail. Luckily, when I called back, I got voicemail. I left a message explaining what I believed and declared the intent to send a replacement check tomorrow.