Conference 7.286::digital

    Call DCU, explain the situation, and ask them to remove the charges. 
    Banks can be most obliging if the problem is obviously an exception to
    the way you handle your account.
    
    My guess is that they will remove the charges (forward the letter from
    personnel, if necessary) without any hastle.

    
    I tried the DCU.  They say it's not there fault. They don't
    pay me, Digital does.  It's Digital's fault.
    
      

    What about filling in a Miscellaneous Procurement Voucher?  Will your boss
    sign it?  This way you don't have to lie.  I had a coat stolen from a
    Digital closet and my boss let me put it through on this voucher.  
    
    
       

    
    
    	I agree with you that Digital should correct your 'hours', but the
    bounced check fee is yours. Writing a check against an account with
    insufficient funds is a no-no. It doesn't matter why there wasn't
    enough money in it. 
    
    ed

    If your state has a small claims court, file a claim.
    Enclose a copy of your base note.  You got a case.
    
    Mike
    

    same as .4 the money in the account is your problem.  as you said
    don't write checkes on money you THINK is there.
    
    pay the $15.00 and forget about it.  your sick time is sometihing else.
    

        Re .4/.6
    
        I think this is a load of garbage!! The whole idea of the wonderful
    "direct deposit" is alledged to be worry-free banking...I.E.: Evne in a
    blizzard, your money'll be in the bank on time. In this case the money
    was NOT in the bank because Digital Payroll and Personnel screwed
    up---big time! If the basenoter had spent more than her weekly
    paycheck, then I'd agree that it was her responsibility. She
    didn't...she paid bills based on her weekly earnings. Digital MORALLY
    owns the responsibility to make this right.
    
       I have had "experiences" with the Digital Bureaucracy as well. Back
    in the early '80's, I was a member of the National Guard. When I was
    away on my summer camp, the 'deal' that was in place was pretty fair
    and straightforward. Digital would NOT interrupt my pay, but the check
    that I would receive from the National Guard was to be submitted to
    Digital.. When I received this check, I tried repeatedly for over 6
    months to get Digital to TAKE THE DARNED THING!! I'd submit it, they'd
    send it back, I'd submit it, they'd send it back. SOmehow, they had NO
    vehicle to receive money in Payroll, just to pay people. It finally got
    so frustrating on BOTH sides of the fence that I requested and received
    a letter from the Office of the Treasurer & CFO of Digital AWARDING me
    the money that they were unable to receive. I talked to some pretty
    high level finance people about this, and they basically said it was
    more of a pain and would cost more to take this money than it would to
    simply forget about it. Based on the 'award' letter, I deposited it in
    my checking account...
    
    John McD

    Not the basenoters fault.  She sounds like the kind of person who, had
    she made a mistake, would have admitted it and rectified it.  Digital
    and the DCU should damn well be as upstanding.  
    
    I don't call the bank every paycheck to make sure it made it in either.
    That's WHY I have direct deposit.

    Two years ago when I was on maternity leave Digital messed up my
    paycheck (they actually gave me too much).  I went to personnel, and
    personnel told me (after trying to get it fixed), that it takes an act
    of Congress to try to get anything corrected thru payroll..." So why
    don't I just be happy it was in my favor and forget about it"!
    
    I had to admit after three months of trying to correct it, personnel
    was most likely right!

       I still have the letter from the Treasurer's office.....and I'll
    keep it till I die! I have this vision of some Troll in finance
    somewhere who will try to hit me for the amount when I retire, with
    interest compounded for XXX years, so the first retirement check is a
    BILL rather than a check...
    
       JM

My wife just started on maternity leave, and she has direct deposit, so I very
well understand the problem. Direct deposit should only be considered as
reliable as the verification you receive. My wife's checks are being mailed
to us while she is out (she is running down her accumulated vacation and sick
pay during leave), however, that can take a few days. Fortunately, our bank
provides an automated phone service that informs you of the last three deposits.
This service is very valuable right now. I would recommend that anyone 
doing direct deposit check with their bank for such a service, and use it
every Thursday when they are not able to pick up their pay stub. While
direct deposit is intended to make payroll deposit more convenient, don't
trust it until you have some confirmation that it actually took place as
you expected!

A bit of advice: try to keep an extra month's worth of expenses in your checking
account. If things get bollixed up, this gives you some breathing room
before checks start bouncing. Now, plenty of people will argue that they
would rather that money be in a better investment than a 2% interest checking
account, and if they are willing to live with the risk of maintaining
uninterrupted cash flow, fine. But it helps protect you from mistakes, 
regardless of who is at fault, giving you contingency protection. In these
cases, you are the only one looking out for your well-being, take defensive
measures so you won't have to take corrective ones. And if you're living 
from paycheck to paycheck, a common enough state of affairs? Make building up
that safety pad a priority as best you can. Returned check fees are certainly
not going to help you out.

Digital Payroll made the error, and they are responsible for correcting it.

Call the Manager of Payroll, and request, in writing, what s/he intends to 
do to correct the error, and when.

Never tolerate "Digital Administrivia" anywhere in this company!  It's 
the responsibility of every employee to identify areas where Digital is 
being less than efficient, and get as much high-level visability on the 
area as possible.   If you have a better idea, you should state it, but 
don't let anyone tell you that having a "solution" is a pre-requisite for 
pointing out a problem.   Its not.

Tree huggers, "trolls", empire protectors, and other form of leeches will 
not be tolerated.   "Because its always been done that way" is not an 
acceptable answer if a better way is possible.

And in this particular example remember, payroll is one of the easiest areas 
for a company to outsource!

Good luck....

Bob

    
    	No, she doesn't have a case in court. Just because you expect money
    to be in your account, doesn't mean you can write a check against it.
    
    You have to be sure its there
    
    ed

    Most banks will refund a bounced check fee if you call them and are
    reasonable.  Give DCU a call, you may be surprised.  Digital payroll is
    something else.

    
    I have talked and sent a written note to a head person in Payroll.
    I got no where on the phone with him. (he was nice to me) but 
    he did not help me in anyway.  I have sent a letter to him, but I
    have not heard a response as of yet.
    
    I wish I could keep some extra $ in my bank account for little
    emergancys...but being an Admin' Sec', I dont' make alot of money.
    (geee, I'm not even over the 25K a year yet), I live check to check
    every week.
    
    

Just before Christmas of '93, I had a similar situation happen....I sent in 
my timecard on a Wednesday and expected a deposit in my checking account th
next Thursday....

Well, surprise, surprise......Not one dime in the account....

I immediately called Payroll and they said that there was no timecard entered
for the previous week for me...

Well, guess who was really upsest by now...I explained that I did submit
a timecard for that week and  had a copy of it..The person in Payroll asked
me to fax over a copy of it, which I did immediatly.

In the meantime, many checks in my checking account with Baybank did the old
bounceroo....$240.00 worth of bounced check fees......

I spoke to someone at the bank and she told me that if I can get a letter from
payroll stating that I did not get a check for that week AND it was NOT my
error, then they will reimburse the fees.

I got a letter, faxed it to the bank and guess what.......they ate all the fees
and reimbursed my account for everything......says alot for Baybank and not very
much for the DCU...

Needless to say that my Christmas at first looked very grim but Baybank really
made it a merrier Christmas...

Mary-Ann

    Write a letter of intent to the president of DCU and Len Haug, who
    is the head of Payroll, that you intend to use another financial
    institution and that you intend to discontinue direct deposit and
    go back to using live checks unless the matter is handled by either
    or both of them.  

    
    
    RE: .0
    
    Who inputs the time cards for your building?!
    
    For instance, I sit in Marlboro and we are on the RTE (Remote
    Timecard Entry) which means that secretaries are the ones 
    submitting the hours...if they mess up while inputting, your 
    pay gets messed up.
    
    *At least* once a month there's a problem where one of the 
    secretaries inputting the hours messed up and the person
    didn't get paid correctly.
    
    It may seem a little far-fetched but may be something you
    want to look into.
    
    A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine didn't get paid 
    *at all* because the secretary inputting made a mistake.

I believe there's an automated service in Payroll that will tell you
how much was direct-deposited.  Payee-phone or something.

            hi,

    it is a good idea in general to keep more money in your DCU account just
    in case your pay check get a delay so you wont have to pay for bounced
    DCU checks.

    try to keep 2 x your_weekly_salary in the bank all the time, this way
    you have a good buffer against any errors.

    i think bounced checks fees just like socks for sure, but this is a fact 
    of life and we need for guard against it.

    also try to use your credit card instead of writing checks , so to
    avoid the bounced checks syndromes, i use my credit card now for almost
    every thing i can use it for, and hardly use my check book any more 
    (except to pay for my 2 credit cards bills) iam even starting thinking of 
    using one of the credit cards to pay the bill of the other credit card 
    and then use the second credit card to pay the bill of the first credit
    card with, and so fourth, i think this way i dont have to use my checks 
    at all and not having to worry about any bounced DCU checks any more.

    \nasser

I know this is after the fact and won't help you but having bounced checks
inadvertantly myself, I know how it feels. It is a good idea to keep extra money
in your checking account but, like a lot of people, I don't always have the cash
to spare so I have another alternative.

My solution at the DCU is that I have a CRT loan, which automatically gets
charged if there isn't enough money in checking.  In fact, that is the only
purpose of it for me.  There have been numerous occasions where I have screwed
up my balance or inadvertantly forgot to make a deposit or, for whatever reason,
didn't have enough money in the account.

Sure, they charge interest but if you resolve the problem promptly, its peanuts
compared to what a bounced check costs you.  Many banks have a similar set up
as well.

Also, I agree you should complain.  I recently had a check bounce at DCU (the CRT
was maxed out but that's another story) -- and then the fact that they charged
me the $15 overdraft fee caused another check to bounce before I found out about
it!  In any event, I complained and told them that I had made a payment against
the CRT loan the day the check bounced, but for whatever reason, the check had
already cleared by the time I made the payment (via Easytouch).  They did give
me the overdraft charges back.

I know this isn't exactly the same situation but sometimes protesting does work.

Larry

    
    I do not own a credit card and never will.  I can't afford a credit
    card.  If I can't pay for it now, then I don't buy it!  I use
    cash for everything excpet house hold bills and car payments.  I like
    to keep my life as simple as possible and I don't need any debts.
    
    I know how much money I get a week and I know what I can spend and
    what I can't spend.. so when digital tossed a monkey wrench into
    my little world, things came crashing down.
    
    I have talked and written to Len Haug already :-(
    
    I will try the Misc. voucher approach.  
    
    But, this whole thing is now become prinicpal.  I just want the
    folks who are responsible to be accountable.  I don't see why
    my CC should flip the bill when they did everything right!
    
    Personnel and Payroll were not in sync when it came down it!  They
    also would not listen to me when I told them there was a problem!  I
    think personnel and payroll should each give me $7.50 and a large
    appolgy
    
    and, yes I will no longer have direct deposit!
    
    Lou

>    I do not own a credit card and never will.  I can't afford a credit
>    card.  If I can't pay for it now, then I don't buy it!  I use
>    cash for everything excpet house hold bills and car payments.  I like
>    to keep my life as simple as possible and I don't need any debts.
>    

    Lou,

	I sympathise with you, I once had my bank account overdrawn by
	2000 $US because some asshole in Digital held up signing my expense
	claim because there was 10 $US in dispute. Nobody cared about the
	hardship it was causing me and I was away on a business trip for
	a few weeks. I had no way of fixing the problem on the phone. 
	Eventually some enlightened person in Finance made an advance of 
	6000 $US as a float ansd saved the day. The worry and pain I and
	my family went through for this. 

	Life is great when it is simple, keep it that way and I hope that
	everything will be sorted out for you.

	Best of luck.

	El Gringo

    > because some asshole in Digital
    
     OMIGOD !!
    
    \nasser

    >> I do NOT have direct deposit, and this is an argument in favor of
    >> keeping it that way!  

How is having a "live" check going to fix the problem if Digital's payroll cuts
it for the wrong amount (as seems to have happened in this case)?

    
    Re: .26
    
    > How is having a "live" check going to fix the problem if Digital's
    > payroll cuts it for the wrong amount (as seems to have happened in
    > this case)?
    
    It won't solve the problem of being paid the wrong amount, but it will
    certainly solve the problem of bouncing a check because you have to
    deposit it before there's money to cover the checks that you write.
    
    Steve
    

    soory, but i think DECeeeees who won't get credit cards on purpose are
    just like really weird and far out. 

    soory i have to say this, but it is really how i feel.

    plastic is soo convenient, makes your life so easy, you can't do many
    things without them, you can't travel easily, or book things up on the
    phone of buy stuff etc...

    i just dont get it, why some DECeees want to take the horn by its head 
    and take the hard way, when you can get a credit card (and any one can get 
    one if they really want to) and take the easy way of living and
    happiness for you and your loved ones?

    some times i dont understand some DECeeees at all !

    i hoped i did not raffle the leathers of some DECeees by saying this.
    
    \bye
    \nasser

>    i hoped i did not raffle the leathers of some DECeees by saying this.
    
    Not at all.  I love your ungainly metaphors and colloquialisms!

    re: .27
    
    	And it won't solve the problem of writing a check for more than
    your balance either.
    
    ed

>    <<< Note 3035.30 by SUBSYS::NEUMYER "Who says you can't have it all?" >>>
>
>    re: .27
>    
>    	And it won't solve the problem of writing a check for more than
>    your balance either.

True, but an account with overdraft protection (at no cost) WILL solve the 
problem of getting billed an excessive amount writing a rubber check.  It will 
still cost you the small interest charge since an overdraft is considered a 
loan, but that usually is better than the cost of a returned check.

For What It's Worth, according to the Universal Commercial Code, you have NO
legal recourse against a bank or credit union for the cost of an overdraft due
to an Electronic Funds Transfer that was SUPPOSED to happen, but did not.  You
are responsible for assuring that you have sufficient funds to cover your 
checks.  Your bank account is your responsibility, not Digital's, for instance. 

That said, and legal issues aside for what little they are worth, with a bank,
you often have the leverage of Customer Satisfaction on your side.  If you can
make a case for an "honest error" and that you really are the victim, and
particularly if you DO NOT have a history of bouncing checks, they usually give
you the benefit of the doubt and credit you for the debit charge. 

My own experience with the DCU as a new employee 10 years ago was that DCU and 
Customer Satisfaction were Oxymoronic terms.

Of course, you COULD sue Digital for the $15, but that is pure silliness.  You 
could fill out a travel chit for the amount, but that is fraud and, as you mum 
probably said, does not make the first wrong right.

My advice is that you get out of the DCU, get a NOW account with overdraft
protection in a real bank, and continue with EFT of your paycheck.  I would
also continue with professionally worded, non-emotional, non-vitriolic
nasty-grams to the "Gods of Bureaucracy" starting with the person who signs
your pay stub, our treasurer, stating what happened, why you feel wronged by
Digital and what you want DIgital to do to "make it right". 

As Always, For What It's WOrth,

Dave

    RE: .28  by STAR::ABBASI 
    
    >soory, but i think DECeeeees who won't get credit cards on purpose are
    >just like really weird and far out. 

    I think you are weird, but not far enough out.
    
    I get calls all the time offering me credit cards.  I've never had one
    and don't plan to start now.  The people importuning me to take their
    money don't understand that the reason I have good credit is because I
    don't use credit cards.
    

    	I believe DEC payroll made a mistake by not paying you the 16 hours
    sick time that was due you and would hound them until the end of time
    to get the money I was owed.  I also believe YOU made a mistake by
    writing a check you didn't have the funds to cover.  Pay the $15 and
    consider it a lesson learned.  Both sides of this made a mistake, learn
    from it and get on with your life.

    Joe

    Re .13:
    
    > 	No, she doesn't have a case in court. Just because you expect money
    > to be in your account, doesn't mean you can write a check against it.
    >
    > You have to be sure its there

    A person who writes a check has an obligation to the recipient to
    ensure the amount is paid by ensuring the money is on deposit, and they
    are liable for damages that result if they fail.
    
    But Digital is also responsible to the employee for making payment when
    it is due, and Digital is liable for damages that result when Digital
    fails, even if those damages result from the employee's reliance on
    Digital's proper performance.
    
    In many states, there are additional penalties for failing to pay an
    employee on time.  Digital should consider itself lucky if an employee
    asks for only $15 instead of triple the amount not paid.
    
    
    				-- edp
    
    
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    re .35
    
    Failing to pay an employee on time is one thing. I agree that you can
    go after DEC for that. There is NO reason to go after DEC for the 15 
    bank charge. A check was written with insufficient funds to cover it.
    It doesn't matter why!!
    
    It might be good PR for DEC to cover this but they have no legal
    obligation to.
    
    ed

re: .35

>    But Digital is also responsible to the employee for making payment when
>    it is due, and Digital is liable for damages that result when Digital
>    fails, even if those damages result from the employee's reliance on
>    Digital's proper performance.

Please tell us where this liability is so stipulated.

I agree that DIGITAL is responsible for correcting any errors they may
have made with respect to their payroll. At that point, their responsibility
ends. The bounced check fee is not DIGITAL's responsibility.

-Jack

    Surely the bounced cheque fee is a consequential loss, so _is_
    Digital's responsibility, at least in part.
    
    Would all those who've said that the base_noter should have verified
    the funds transfer, please assure the rest of us that they _always_
    verify their balance before writing cheques?

    Folks, we're talking $15 DOLLARS. Sheesh! Move on. Back to work!

    It appears to be a reasonable matter of principle.
    I have no problem with that.
    
    Mike
    

$15 dollars is a lot to some people.....

How sensitive of you .-1

    Usually when you bounce a check, you get charged the fee at both ends.
    If the car company can accept the letter from personnel and not charge
    any additional fees, why can't the DCU?
    
    Mike
    

    Re .36:
    
    > There is NO reason to go after DEC for the 15 bank charge.
    
    Yes, there is.  It is called "consequential damages".
    
    
    				-- edp
    
    
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    Re .37:
    
    > Please tell us where this liability is so stipulated.
    
    Consequential damages are a basic part of law.  For example, ABC
    Company contracts with XYZ Enterprise to deliver 12 tons of material by
    June 1.  Knowing the material will be available, ABC contracts with PDQ
    Delivery to provide them with 100 carts by June 30.
    
    XYZ fails to perform as the contract requires, delivering only 10 tons
    of material.  Because of XYZ's failure, ABC loses $10,000 of profit it
    could have made with PDQ.  XYZ is then liable for the $10,000, not just
    the lower value of the missing 2 tons of material.
                               
    The general principle, coming from centuries of common law, is that
    when somebody harms you (as by breaching an obligation), you have a
    right to be made whole -- all the damages you suffered _because_ of the
    breach should be corrected.
    
    
    				-- edp
    
    
    
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    I am disgusted by the arrogance and lack of sensitivity of some of the
    replies to this string of notes.
    
    Comments like:
    	- I have a credit card - so should you
    	- I have overdraw protection - so should you
    	- I keep a float in my account - so should you
    
    Well, not everybody is like "you" - perhaps an engineer earning $100k
    and driving a (uhg!) BMW.
    Sure it's fun to flame - but to the author of .0 this is a significant
    and worrying experience. Thankfully, some of the suggestions have been
    helpful.
    
    Colin

        .-1

    > I am disgusted by the arrogance and lack of sensitivity of some of the
    >    replies to this string of notes.
    
    >    Comments like:
    >        - I have a credit card - so should you
    >        - I have overdraw protection - so should you
    >        - I keep a float in my account - so should you
    
    hi \Colin,
    
          
    well, EXECUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

    we are trying to help by giving advice to a fellow DECeeeee, no need
    you come jump on our backs because of this !

    no one said "I have a credit card - so should you", and no one said
    "I have overdraw protection - so should you", and no DECeeee said
    "I keep a float in my account - so should you", some of the 744 DECeees
    who commented where only 'suggestions' these to HELP out, getting
    a credit card will not cost anything (if you look around) and will
    make life easier for you, and an overdraw protection at DCU is FREE
    too, and keeping some extra money in your account only makes sense and
    i think i said only if you can do it.

    this is all meant to help out another DECeeee and not to scream at at 
    one for crying it out loud  !! 

    plus like not every engineer makes 100K for sure, you must be like 
    dreaming or something, and iam just about had it with people screaming 
    at engineers, engineers have feeling and emotions and soles like every 
    one else, they are NOT hard cold robots walking in the corridors like 
    stones or something like that and they DONT drive a BMW or merceedeeis.

    so please stop bashing DECeee engineers.

    enough is enough. 

    \bye
    \nasser

    plus, this is a FREE country, if you dont want to get a credit card
    or a DCU over draft protection or have a DCU float account , this is your 
    own business, you dont have to do it if you dont want to !
    
    \bye
    \nasser

    
    Things have been resolved!  Thank you all for your suggustions. 
    and thanks to payroll for pitching in and helping me out.
    
    In a pinch, they came through and they were very understanding.
    
    Louisa

    .45 ("an engineer earning $100k..."):
    
    For a raise of that magnitude, I might persuade myself to endure the
    nasty remarks and drive a BMW.  Heck, for a raise of that size, I'd
    even consider buying one.
    
    Dick (an engineer)

    Interesting...unless everybody was writing all these replys during
    lunch or breaks (myself included), Digital spent much more than
    $15.00... hmmm
    

    Just shows to go ya...it's cheaper to do it right in the first place.
    
    Glad it's resolved, impressed she stood by her guns actually.
    
    							Tex

re: .44, Eric

>    The general principle, coming from centuries of common law, is that
>    when somebody harms you (as by breaching an obligation), you have a
>    right to be made whole -- all the damages you suffered _because_ of the
>    breach should be corrected.

That's interesting. Thankyou for the background.

Would I be correct in concluding, based on a lifetime of observation, that
that position (Consequential damages) doesn't necessarily always stand up
in court?

-Jack

    Assume you're a press photographer, and shoot _the_ $1,000,000 picture
    - and find out the film was defective. Try suing Kodak for
    consequential damage...
    
    In fact, I think in most countries, most business contracts (even
    Digital's) explicitely exclude any consequential damage.

    re .53
    Most legal systems limit damages due to negligence to that which was
    forseeable. Find a book on that wonderful collection of anecdotes that
    constitute English case law - the relevant case is usually refered to as
    "Wagon Mound" and deals with a broken mill-shaft in Australia.

    .0
    Glad you got it sorted,its cost 'em a bit by now mind,with all our 2c
    we could have clubbed in and given it to you in the first place!
    All the best,
    Geoff

    Re .52: 
    
    > Would I be correct in concluding, based on a lifetime of observation,
    > that that position (Consequential damages) doesn't necessarily always
    > stand up in court?
    
    I don't know what you mean by "position" in that context.  I would be
    very surprised to learn that any civil court in the United States would
    question the principle of consequential damages, except possibly in
    Louisiana.  (Louisiana law descends from French law rather than English
    law.)  However, there are other rules that may apply in particular
    cases, so a plaintiff may or may not be entitled to damages of various
    sorts.  For example, punitive damages are awarded only when the
    defendant is malicious or grossly negligent, et cetera.  Compensatory
    damages might be reduced if the plaintiff knew of the breach and failed
    to mitigate the damage.  E.g., if the employee _knew_ the money had not
    been deposited, a court would probably rule they should not have
    written the check.
    
    However, a court would likely rule that an employee is being reasonable
    in expecting that their regular pay is deposited in full by the day on
    which the employer has assured them it will be deposited, particularly
    when this is particularly required by law.
    
    Note that even if a court did not hold the $15 to be compensable
    damages, in many states certain damages for failing to pay are
    statutory.  In New Hampshire, for example, three times the withheld
    amount must be paid.  So an employee could say "Okay, don't give me the
    $15 for the overdraft.  Just give me three times the amount you failed
    to pay."
    
    
    				-- edp
    
    
Public key fingerprint:  8e ad 63 61 ba 0c 26 86  32 0a 7d 28 db e7 6f 75
To get PGP, FTP /pub/unix/security/crypt/pgp23A.zip from ftp.funet.fi.
For FTP access, mail "help" message to DECWRL::FTPmail or open Upsar::Gateways.

    I wonder if the controversy of this note and it's author had anything
    to do with the memo which just came out from Payroll that you can 
    access pay information one day earlier...if so, the author is thanked.

re: .57, Eric

Thanks, Eric. That explains it quite clearly for me.

re: .58

Which memo was that - don't think I've seen it yet?

-Jack

    
>>    I wonder if the controversy of this note and it's author had anything
>>    to do with the memo which just came out from Payroll that you can 
>>    access pay information one day earlier...if so, the author is thanked.
    
    
    Since when do things move that fast   ;-)
    
    Bob

    Fast Forward....  (skipped several replies).
    
    Lou (hi & hugs).  Had this happen to me back in '89.  
    
    o  Was in Colorado Springs -- working a large meeting for my boss
    o  BEFORE leaving for the meeting, duly turned in my WCII timecard in
       to a box designated for such purpose
    o  Called into the office on Thursday to ask that my paystub be given
       to my husband... ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL  However, there was NO paystub. 
    o  Called Payroll.  There was no paystub because I wasn't paid.  I was
       not paid because they didn't get a timecard.
    o  They didn't get a timecard because the (SHORT) security guard was
       unable to reach the bottom of the box which was mounted on the wall.
       Mine was one of the first in the box, and hence on the bottom.
    
    I hollered, BIG TIME, from Colorado Springs... because I was in the
    process of buying a house, and writing checks to everyone for all kinds
    of money.  I needed every dime.  Payroll's suggested solution?  That I
    fill out an advance and process it through Petty Cash for the amount of
    my paycheck.  This just about sent me off the deep end.  HELLO?  I'm
    calling you from Colorado Springs!!!!!!!
    
    The end of the story is that my boss - after having heard the story and
    seeing how visibly upset I was - made a few phone calls to some folks
    who made a difference.  The payroll was finally deposited into my
    checking account (which according to the people I spoke with was
    "impossible").
    
    I guess the moral to the story is don't just take everything at face
    value.  The easy answer is, "No, it can't be done."  
    
    Best wishes.