I have a smartphone billing question- please help?

Your story has touched my heart. Never before have I met anyone with more troubles than you. Please accept this token of my sincerest sympathy.


This is a theme I keep noticing in life. My problems are always simpler in the eyes of others, just like other people’s problems seem simpler to me than they make them out to be. If a friend came to me today with a dilemma and he didn’t know what to do, I’d have no problem telling him “What I’d do.”

Strangely, it’s almost always obvious what others should do, and less obvious what we should do ourselves. I’ve become increasingly aware of this phenomenon, both on the giving end and receiving end of advice.

The question is, who’s mistaken? Is it that others are always oversimplifying your problems, or is it that you’re always overcomplicating them?

I think there is, almost always, at least a bit of both going on. But I know that in my case, I’m normally the one with the more distorted view of my problem and I’d bet most people are that way too. It’s easier to be rational about other people’s problems than your own, because you’re much less emotionally invested in other people’s problems, so you can stay more rational about it.
 
When you go to another person to help you with a problem you’re having, often you’re not putting two heads together towards addressing the same issue. The other person is trying to come up with a way to solve the problem, and you’re trying to come up with a way of protecting yourself from your fears surrounding that problem. Often this means your solution is more comfortable for you in the short term, yet it prolongs the problem, and overall, creates a worse experience for you.

The most effective solution usually resembles a straight line between where you are and where you want to be, and this path necessarily ignores the emotional landscape that path must cross. If the straight line brings me to a steep slope overgrown with brambles, then so be it — it might hurt a bit but the directness of the route ensures that it will be over soon.
When I think of my own problems, I tend to look for the easiest path from here, emotionally speaking, which almost always makes for a more circuitous route, and often that route doesn’t even go to where I’m trying to get.

I think this is a normal human tendency. We make problems harder and more complex when they are ours. Sometimes others simply don’t understand what the problem feels like from the inside, or even what the problem is to begin with.

These are all ways of stepping outside your own, emotionally-derived view of the problem, in order to assess it again as if it’s still out there in the distance, isolated and finite. From the inside, problems tend to look interconnected to all of our other problems, and therefore they look endless. It is remarkably helpful to have someone else think about your problem, or even just to think about how someone else would think about your problem.


WWJD?

It might show up as pending - usually it takes some time to be processed and shown as being paid.

If you are concerned it is now later in the day - give a call up and check if it still does not say it is paid - you probably have the option of touching base with a customer service person.

Typically as long as you pay even electronically or through an automated service like this it will be noted as being paid on time. I have done this and never had an issue even with credit card companies who love to tack on additional fees.

Also typically they give you some sort of transaction or confirmation number when doing transactions like that - always write down the details (I usually make note of this on my bill - what I paid, the date and any other item of note like a confirmation number).

Also most services like this is there is some sort of confusion like you might have missed hitting a key on your phone to confirm payment - will reverse any additional late charges if you explain yourself, have been a good customer in the past, etc. However, they won't do this month after month. They want to keep good customers but they are also in the business of earning money.

I called Boost Mobile's customer service line when they were open the day the payment for the bill was due. They took the $80 I added to my account as payment. They told me the $50 that was already in my account will be credited towards my next bill payment. I can just add $30 to my account when the next bill payment is due.

I got a confirmation from Boost Mobile indicating my payment for this month's bill was processed. They gave me a confirmation number.

Thank you - my business was taken care of.