Bills great & small

When a booking is made via a travel agent, the Travel Agent collects a 10% fee from the supplier.

With accommodation the Travel Agent will make the booking, the guest will pay at checkout, and the agent sends the hotel a bill for 10%.

Mine Host recieved one such bill from a Travel Agent, carefully listing;
the name of the guest,
date of the guest's stay,
cost of the room,
and a request for 10%.

Hmmm,.. Mine Host privately grumbled, unsure if he is obliged to pay this 10%.
Never before in his life had he received such a bill.
Never had he entered into agreement with a travel agent.

According to the guest register, for the night in question and several days surrounding it, the only guests were regulars and long termers, and well known to Mine Host.

The bill was bogus.

So Mine Host ignored the bill. Every month the travel agent invested in a 45c stamp and an envelope, printed an itemised bill, and posted it to Mine Host. This continued for almost a year.

Every month Mine Host ignored the bill. (bogus bills are not a rarity in the pub trade)

$25 per night for a room was what Mine Host charged at the time.

The bill was for $2.50