Phone Company Error Nets Man $100,000

Richard Gossett isn’t normally given to mirth when opening his bills.

But last week’s GTE telephone bill - complete with a $100,000 credit - made him burst into laughter.

“I thought, maybe I have some rich benefactor who’s given me a lifetime of phone calls,” Gossett said this week.

Gossett, a psychotherapist in the Lake McMurray area south of here, is not a particularly high-volume telephone customer. His monthly charge for phone service was about $50. But it was more than offset by a bold credit for $100,052.93.

“I just laughed, it was so bizarre,” Gossett said. “Of course, it never entered my mind that I might get away with the money.”

Gossett said he called a phone company representative.

“I said, `I’m a rich man,’ and she said, `There must be some mistake.’ And I said, `Not necessarily. But I imagine so,”’ Gossett said.

GTE’s Melissa Barran researched the error and had an answer within the hour.

“There was a human error in manually keying his payment,” she said. “It’s extremely rare that this happens, and the customer did the right thing in calling us.”

Barran said Gossett’s account was the only one affected.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, we appreciate the customer’s patience, and that’s the end of the story,” she said.