Transcripts

Last Word: GM's $3.95M Mistake

SUSIE GHARIB: And finally tonight, in the "as if General Motors didn't already have enough problems" department, comes the story of JR Industries. That's the company that designed and built some testing equipment for GM, then sent the automaker a bill for $1,988. GM paid it, but paid 1,988 times that amount. It took several weeks for JR Industries to get GM to take back the check for $3.95 million, but the company finally did.

Apparently the mistake happened, Paul, when a GM employee typed the figure into both the quantity and unit price columns of a computerized billing program, and it turned out to be that huge number.

KANGAS: It seems to be a clear example that computers don't make mistakes, people make mistakes, big ones.

GHARIB: You are right about that. Yes, big ones.