TAKOMA PARK, MD – Leonard Flowers enjoyed a good chuckle this morning when he opened a statement from Chase Bank stating he owed $824 on his credit card balance.
“Oh man, those guys really got me this time!” laughed Flowers. “I can always depend on credit card companies to make me fall for a good prank when the world is falling apart.”
Given the country’s current economic crisis, Flowers and many other Americans assumed that their credit card bills, mortgage payments, and other invoices received today were just part of one big elaborate April Fool’s joke on the entire nation by large corporations.
“I wasn’t sure if I actually owed my mortgage payment or not, so, like a sucker, I called customer service at Capitol One just to double check,” stated Karen Gross. “I was amazed to discover that their entire staff was in on the joke, because they all said payment was definitely due. Hilarious!”
Not falling for the prank, Gross said she won’t pay her mortgage this month to prove to her bank that she’s not a “gullible fool”. When asked if it’s possible she could be mistaken, she reiterated her faith in big banks to always do the right thing. “I’m not worried at all. I trusts these banks have a sense of humor when it comes to customers struggling to pay bills,” she added.
In an effort to keep the prank going, several CEOs made public statements and even took to social media to remind everyone that bills received today were, in fact, real, and that any unpaid amounts would accrue interest and penalties.
“Let me be clear: this is not an April Fool’s joke,” joked Wells Fargo CEO Charles W. Scharf. “We take these matters very seriously and would never, ever trick people on issues concerning money.”
