Bad News: show me the money!!

(This is a long-overdue continuation of my "Good News" post in early November 2005)

The Good News was that my winning that Marvel Award was finally confirmed.

This came with a $$$ prize.

So... show me the money!!

First: the continually unhelpful Chem Dept:

I asked them "... isn't there some sort of cash award associated with it? If so, how would I go about claiming it, ten years later?"

Their answer "It was $200 or $250, I believe. As far as claiming, I would check in [an office just across from their lazy asses]."

Geez, can't they even give me a proper amount????

Anyway, in the end, I was advised to go to Student Loans department, thos I really wonder why, seeing as I didn't take out any loans here, I was under a scholarship mah? Nevermind... Let's see if this gets me anywhere...


Student Loans Dept

I finally find the friggin' building, talk to someone who is helpful but doesn't really know how she can help or why I was pointed to the Students Loan office. Figures. But she did try to get hold of someone who might be able to help, and so I gave my particulars & contact info.

A few hours later, I got an e-mail: "According to your Student Account record, you did receive a "xxx xxx xxxx-CHEM" scholarship credit on 05-24-95 for the amount of $200. A refund check was produced on 05-24-95. We have copies of your student account summary, if you wish to stop by and pick them up. Just make sure you have a picture ID."

Yahoo! Now the $$$ amount is confirmed! Now to figure out where the money went!"

When I picked up a copy of that statement, things were not as simple as that e-mail implied: In fact, what I saw there made me quite mad... it seems as if when I was making sure I didn't leave town without owing anyone anything,I was told I owed some $$ for telephone charges from the dorm, which I promptly paid. But according to that statement I got, the USD200 was already in the account at that time??!! Right then and there I should have been informed about the excess $$, or at least NOT ASKED TO PAY UP the phone charges!

Bottom line: TWO cheques were supposedly paid out to me totalling USD 200.

Really? When? Where? Why have I never gotten it???

The people at the Student Loans couldn't help, and said I should go to Student Accounts Dept instead.

The Accounts Dept

Showed the person at the counter the copy of the statement I got from Student Loans, and explained the situation. He seems quite willing to help, took down the particulars again, made a copy of the statement, and said he'd get back to me; but warned that it may take a while since it involves 10 y.o. records from a different system.

He soon emailed me saying "Just wanted to keep you posted on our research into this matter. I have passed along your request to University Payables for further research. I will let you know just as soon as I hear anything from their office."

How nice.

I followed up about a month later and he had no news yet.

Followed up again last week, and today got his reply: "I checked again with University Payables and they were unable to dig up anything on these two checks. Their records just do not go back that far. At this point, the only thing I can think of is for you to visit the bank you were using back then and see if they have any record of the checks being deposited."

bloody 'ell!

I don't even remember what bank I used when I was here as a student! And I closed that account, well, ten years ago, you freaks!

Stepping back... taking deep breaths... trying to think optimistically...

Y'know, I don't believe I've ever received a cheque from the University throughout my student life here - after all, all I ever had to pay them was for things like the phone charges while I stayed in the dorms, cos all other costs were borne by my scholarship...

... and it *was* termed a "scholarship credit" ... So maybe the sent the cheque to my future employer in Malaysia?

I suppose I'll never know... (unless the same now-EX employer actually gets its act together to claim that ~10% of my total cost of scholarship from me [seeing as I ended up working 9 years & 2 weeks out of the contracted 10 years], cos I would insis on a thorough accounting of the costs... which should show any "scholarship credits" eh?)

Well, if I *had* gotten and $$ after all this time it would have been a total bonus.

So, too bad, no bonus...

Life goes on....