I had a second "pig" propane tank set for my generator. Set last Monday, finally filled last Thursday and bill received today.

I knew it was going to be hefty as propane is ~$4/gallon for us casual users that only get 50-100 gallons at a time. I've bitched about that price gouge before.

I opened it while chatting with the Postmaster and gasped! $1198.xx. WTF?

A little further investigation revealed that they hadn't credited my last oil payment yet (~$700) so the actual bill was closer to $400 which was about what I expected.

Sure gave the ol' cardiovascular system a pressure test for a minute there!

Something similar happened to me circa 2004-05. My electric bill from Nevada Power was $1100. That's a little above average (like 15x) for a one-bedroom apartment, so I called them up to see what gives. "Oh, that was a mistake. You'll be getting the correct amount bill soon." I joked that I'd have to dismantle my kitchen aluminum ore smelter. I don't recall if he got it or not.

Had a customer a few years ago that had her Natural Gas cut off... when she called to inquire the customer service rep said it was because she had not paid her bill in 3 months and the reason was they, the gas company, had her zip code wrong and the bills were being returned.... it was all in the companies computer. They cut her off because they had the wrong mailing address and knew it.

My bill to fill when I did have a propane tank typically crossed the 1k mark. IT SUCKED. I was soooo glad the new place has a natural gas line.

My wife's parents got a surprise shock water bill a few years back for like $2,000 and the water company demanded payment immediately. When my FIL looked into it, he was told they had been underbilled for the past 20 years or so at that address and the water company "just caught it". Something to do with the meter being off or something.

FIL told them it wasn't his problem that their equipment was defective and he would be getting his lawyer involved. They backed down after a while and installed a new meter but he wasn't forced to pay for their problem.