Subscribe[flv width=”360″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WOAI San Antonio Getting Charged to Pay Bills 5-30-11.mp4[/flv]
Warning: Loud Volume Alert! Adjust your volume controls before playing.
An increasing number of phone and cable companies are introducing new “convenience fees” for customers making payments by phone or using the company’s online website. That is the finding of a new report from WOAI-TV in San Antonio. While few companies currently charge for payments scheduled well in advance, an increasing number are asking for fees ranging from $1.99 to $25 for using online bill payment systems or making last minute payments over the phone.
If your provider charges a fee, be sure to ask for it to be waived, especially if you have a good payment history. If you are charged the fee anyway, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which should get the attention of the executive customer service team empowered to refund it back to your account.
Paying to pay is just another way for providers to reap more revenue from customers, even when they are trying to make payments on time. (3 minutes)
This is outrageous, we all need to start kindly declining their services. On a related issue, last month my cable company, Mediacom, started charging me $5.00 a month for Modem rental and I’ve owned my own modem ever since I began having internet service with them. The first month it happened I just adjusted my payment by $5.00, Now this month they say I owe them $10.00. When I called them and asked them to explain they said they would have caught in an audit, when at the end of the year!. They did make the adjustment to my bill,… Read more »
Phil, Rochester Gas & Electric started charging $1.00 per month for generating bills for its customers. This started quietly several months ago. I contacted the company about this issue, but they claimed the state forced them to itemize this on customers’ bills. I don’t receive a paper bill yet still am charged. I guess that is the danger of having your utility company owned by a foreign entity (Iberdrola). So it’s not just the broadband providers performing these somewhat shady practices.
Paying to pay is ridiculous concept. I don’t care what the company says it is for, there is no justification for it. If you pay online, it is cheaper for them in the long run because they don’t have to pay a human being to process your payment. If you call in to pay, they already pay customer service agents to service your call so why should they charge extra for making a payment when they are already paid to help you out. Anytime a company tries to pull this scam on me, I tell them to take hike and… Read more »