Automated calls are erroneous, prompt apology

Like, apparently, a lot of Wilson residents, I received an ominous automated telephone call last night. The recorded voice warned that our utility bill was past due and, if not paid immediately, could result in our power being cut off. Less than an hour later, I was at a church meeting when the church's phone rang with the same recorded warning. My wife had already confirmed that the call to our home was erroneous. She had paid the bill by bank draft and verified that the city had collected the money.

I called the city's customer service line first thing this morning and got a busy signal. I tried again a little later with the same result. I tried a third time and heard the busy signal. Lots of people must have been calling about that threatening phone call. I went to the city's Web site and found this apology. That hardly satisfied my curiosity.

I e-mailed a contact at the city and asked: How many erroneous calls went out? Did all of the thousands of utility customers get this call? What happened to cause this glitch? Do customers who received the calls have to take any action to be sure the error has been corrected? I have not received any reply. Will city officials offer any real explanation?

These expensive automated calling systems are being sold across the country, and even cash-strapped local governments are buying them. Wilson County Schools has had a system for several years, and both the city of Wilson and Wilson County have also signed on. I've received calls about neighborhood meetings, road closings and garbage pickup. But these systems can screw up. Wilson County Schools had to apologize for one set of calls that went out late at night because the calling computer was set to Pacific Time, not Eastern Time. Now the city has apologized to an unstated number of utility customers who needlessly were threatened with disconnection of their electrical power.

Maybe automated calling systems aren't so great after all. Maybe they'd be a good place to cut the budget in these difficult times.