Basic Trope: A utility or other service is shut off because payment has not been received.
- Straight: Bob didn't pay his cable bill this month. His service gets shut off temporarily.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob has never been late with his payment before, but his service gets cut off permanently. And he gets calls from the Evil Debt Collector several times a day.
- Every service Bob pays for is shut off.
- Bob is evicted or foreclosed because he didn't pay the rent or mortgage. Bonus points if this was the first payment he missed.
- Downplayed: ???
- Justified: The company on the other side of the utility or service isn't in business out of the goodness of their hearts, they're Only in It for the Money. So there's no point in keeping a customer who cannot or will not pay for that service.
- Inverted: Bob's cable service is cut off because he paid in full and on time.
- Subverted:
- Bob knew he'd be late making the payment this month, so he called the billing department to let them know the money would be late, and gets an extension.
- Bob makes his payments automatically.
- The bill isn't in Bob's name, it's in Alice's.
- The service is at Bob's lake house, which he only visits during the summer.
- Cable service is provided by Bob's landlord or property manager.
- Bob decided to get rid of cable and home phone, and just keep the Internet. He'll stream most of his programs through web-based streaming services, or watch over-the-air broadcast via an antenna.
- Bob makes a payment.
- Bob missed this month's payment, but they didn't cut off his service.
- Bob dropped the check in the mailbox on time, but the check got lost in the mail.
- Loss of service was due to a Power Outage Plot or sabotage.
- Double Subverted:
- He forgets to make the payment by the extended due date, and his service is shut off until he does.
- The auto-pay feature malfunctioned, with Bob none the wiser; he thought the bill was paid, when it wasn't.
- Alice forgot to make the payment, or was unable to do so, so service is cut off.
- Because he forgot to make the payment, service is shut off at his vacation home.
- The landlord or property manager didn't make the payment, so all the cable boxes in the apartment or condo complex go out.
- He decided to "cut the cord" because the cable company's prices are too high. He still owes for the cable, and because of that past-due balance, his Internet service is shut off until that portion of the bill is paid.
- The check bounces due to insufficient funds in Bob's account, so the cable company treats the situation as if Bob never made the payment at all. (Because he effectively didn't.)
- He doesn't pay next month either, so after some collection calls, his service is shut off temporarily with a warning that it will be permanently disconnected if he doesn't pay up ASAP.
- Because he missed last month's payment, his service is cut off until the check does arrive.
- Parodied: All of Bob's utilities are controlled by parking meters.
- Zig Zagged: Some months, Bob has cable, other months he does not, due to a shaky income.
- Averted:
- Bob makes his payment on time, and his cable stays on, so that he can watch all his shows and spend time on TV Tropes.
- Bob does not have cable.
- Bob does not pay bills.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "Oh, the cable's out. And so is the electricity, the water, the Internet, the heat..."
- Invoked:
- Bob loses his job.
- The bill was in his live-in girlfriend Alice's name. But then Alice and Bob split, and she moved out. Bob forgot to get the bill put in his own name.
- Bob's car broke down, and required an expensive repair. The money that was supposed to go towards the cable bill went towards the car repair, and Bob spends the next pay period or two or three trying to get caught up again.
- Exploited: A Con Artist sends Bob a letter (that looks real), saying that s/he is from the cable company and his service will be terminated if he does not pay up.
- Defied:
- Bob makes his payments on time.
- Bob lives a life completely (or mostly) off the grid. He doesn't have cable, satellite, or even any streaming services; he watches only what he can get via his antenna. He has well water and a septic tank, so no water or sewer bill. He generates his own electricity via solar panels he owns, so no electric bill. He doesn't have the Internet; if he needs to use it, he'll go to the library or cafe, where it's free. And he has a prepaid "dumb" phone, and no credit card.
- Bob contacts the billing department to let them know that there's a problem. They work with him to establish a new due date (permanent or temporary), or get him a lower, fixed rate on his service.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Back to Forgot to Pay the Bill
