ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Lawsuit says Capital One sent woman $286 million bill

PHILADELPHIA

How much is in your wallet?

A suburban Philadelphia woman is suing credit-card company Capital One after she received a bill for just less than $300 million.

Patrice Perry sued the company last week, saying she endured months of harassment before receiving the massive bill in August.

Perry says the $286,651,237 bill was accompanied by letter threatening legal action if she did not submit her payment in the included envelope.

Perry’s attorney says his client received a bill last year claiming she owed about $4,800.

She received further bills with greater or lesser amounts but no reasons given for the changes.

Then came the whopping August bill.

Capital One tells the Philadelphia Daily News that human error sometimes leads to inaccurate billing letters.

The company says it is working to resolve the issue.

Copper thief burns down Ala. city’s Christmas tree

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Talk about a Grinch: Police say someone trying to steal copper wire burned down the city of Birmingham’s 35-foot-tall Christmas tree.

Officers say someone stripped electrical wires off the Norwegian Spruce at Linn Park about 4 a.m. Wednesday, then started a fire.

Police believe thieves were attempting to separate the copper wire from the plastic insulation on Christmas decorations.

But the fire spread to the tree, engulfing it in flames. Public works crews later used heavy machinery to remove the blackened limbs and trunk.

Parks director Melvin Miller said the tree wouldn’t be replaced, but a radio station donated a new one within hours.

Inmate seeking kosher meals cites his belief in Festivus

SANTA ANA, Calif.

A Festivus for the rest of us?

A convicted drug dealer in California thinks so. He cited his adherence to the holiday celebrated on a famous episode of “Seinfeld” to get better meals at the Orange County jail.

The Orange County Register reported Monday that Malcolm Alarmo King disliked the salami meals served at the jail, so he used his devotion to Festivus as a reason to get kosher meals reserved for inmates with religious needs.

Keeping kosher is not one of the tenets of Festivus, which was depicted on “Seinfeld” as celebrated with the airing of grievances and the display of an aluminum pole.

Sheriff’s spokesman Ryan Burris says King got salami-free meals for two months before the county got the order thrown out in court.

Associated Press