So my aunt called me last Sunday like she always does when something on her laptop looks weird. This time it was her internet bill. She had been staring at it for apparently three weeks trying to figure out why it was higher than she remembered and eventually just gave up and called me instead.

Turns out she had been getting charged a monthly equipment rental fee for a modem she bought herself years ago. The provider had just quietly kept billing her for it and she never caught it. When I looked at the account history it had been going on for almost three years. Not a huge amount per month but it added up really fast.

The annoying part is she had already tried calling them twice and both times just got bounced around and eventually hung up out of frustration. Which honestly is the whole business model for these companies. Just make it painful enough that people stop trying.

I didn't want to spend my Sunday on hold so I used an AI tool I had been trying out recently. Basically you just describe your problem to it, it figures out the best approach and then actually handles everything for you in the background. It makes the calls, sends the emails, follows up when companies ignore you, escalates when needed. You don't have to do anything after the initial setup. It just runs until the thing is resolved.

Gave it the account details, explained the situation and left it alone. It contacted the provider, identified the overcharge, pushed back when they deflected and kept going until it got somewhere. Two days later my aunt got a confirmation email. Full refund. Just over $600.

Honestly the whole thing made me realize how much money people leave on the table just because dealing with these companies is so deliberately exhausting. My aunt had already given up twice and that is exactly what they count on. Most people don't have the time or energy to keep pushing and these companies know that.

Anyway she has now asked me if it can handle her gym membership situation as well. So that's where we are.