Paying Cash? That'll Cost Extra

These surcharges infuriate me as well. My power company for instance, charges a fee of 2.95 to make a payment. The icing on the cake is that they charge this fee for every $500 of payment. So, to make a payment of $501, I have to pay the $2.95 twice!

Anyone ever see the movie How to Rob a Bank?
"Take charge of the surcharge...".

reply to post by hdchop


Time for a law suit. My dollar bills still say legal tender for all debts public and private. Call a lawyer

Originally posted by an0maly33
your title is misleading. she didn't get charged for using CASH. she got charged for PAYING IN PERSON. she would also have been hit with a fee if she put it on her credit card.

if you think about it, it makes more sense than paying a "convenience fee" for phone or online payments. the system is already there, you're just using it. but if you mail your payment and let a human open the envelope it's free. sounds backwards to me.

Not really Misleadiing - That is the actual Truth here & the Title of the article in the news source..

Maybe I should have went with the title of -

Walk-ins Welcome - As a courtesy to all of our customers there will be a $2.00 fee for walking in the door and paying your bill in "CASH" but if your using a Credit Card there will be a $2.00 fee PLUS your Credit Card Users FEE & if your using your DEBIT card Your bank will charge you AND if you use your Debit card as a Credit Card we will give you the fee they charge us ontop of the $2.00 we are going to charge You.. And we must not forget, if your paying by check there will be a $2.00 fee plus the surcharge your bank is taking from you every month for having a bank account..

But then again that title may be a little elongated,lol,lol

reply to post by Wildbob77


She was charged the fee for paying in person, not using cash. She would have been charged the fee no matter what method of payment she used.

My electric company doesn't charge unless I use the online payment system, where there's a "convenience charge," which makes no sense to me. It's an electronic transaction, which seems to me to be more convenient to the electric company. They get their money without me ever having to engage an employee who's probably paid by the hour. I save them time and money by paying online, and they charge me a fee. Luckily, right now, I work next door to the power company's payment office, so I walk across the street, stand in line, and pay with cash. Screw their inconvenience charge.

Originally posted by elevatedone
She was charged the fee for paying in person, not using cash. She would have been charged the fee no matter what method of payment she used.

and that in all rational is unethical

It just pips me off...

I am just about ready to run off into the country, buy a block of land and be self sufficient, I am sick & tired of being sick and tired.

Anyone notice the subliminal Prepay at the Pump if using gas scenario.

Used to be, you got a 4 cent discount if you paid with cash.

It's the subliminal, if you use cash, we don't trust you, thing, under
the guise of gas drive-offs.

Don't get mad...get even!

Turn the situation on its head and make money back from these companies in the same way...

Send a letter to the service provider stating that from now on all paper bills that require a person to open and then fill out and return will from now on be charged a handling fee of the same amount that they charge you, the customer.

Do not state whether you have access to the internet for them to circumvent the charge and send bills in electronic format, just in the same way that these companies charge additional extras to those who cannot pay by electronic direct debit/credit card means or have internet to do so

At the same time, get yourself a premium-rate 0891 phone number that charges the caller £1+ per minute and change all your contact numbers that your servive provider will contact you on, from your domestic telephone number to your 'dedicated enquiry line'. Now whenever the company has a query over your bill, wants to call you to offer new products, you will be earning money from them to contact you.

Additionally this will either earn you extra money when your details are sold to 'third party affiliates who may wish to contact you from time to time' (so don't check that tick-box saying 'no thankyou') or will halt all future telemarketing attempts as they wont want to pay you to be told where to stick their cold-calls

power to the people!

edit to add: and if you are sick of these companies flooding your mailbox with junk offers of easy credit etc, look to see if they have a 'freepost' return address envelope...find a brick, wrap it up securely, tape the freepost reurn envelope to the top, take into the post office and ask for it to be sent just as it states on the envelope...at the originating companies' expense! (it works a treat too!)

[edit on 25-4-2008 by citizen smith]

reply to post by Thurisaz



For the record, I didn't say or even mean to imply that I agree with the fee, just that it would have been charged regardless.

reply to post by citizen smith


Great idea the premium rate number here in the states is a 1-900-XXX-XXXX number and giving that out as contact to all your vendors that is a great idea...recently here in the states a guy went into a doctors office at 2 for his 2 o clock appt and the doctor didnt see him till 3:30 and hour and a half later..he sent the doctor bills for that time and they didnt pay so the guy sued in small claims court and won....there are ways to turn the tables.

i like that. wonder how well i would actually work.

I know I pay all my bills online so cost's me nothing,but with cash you usually get a better deal I have found,cash transaction's don't need to be put on the books,small buisnesses

Originally posted by elevatedone
reply to post by Thurisaz

 

For the record, I didn't say or even mean to imply that I agree with the fee, just that it would have been charged regardless.

oh I didn't think that at all, apologies if my post implied that!

nb:
The fact that a fee would have been charged regardless is unethical...

How frustrating that we are being milked dry! With the price of everything now sky high, many of us don't make enough money to pay even our normal monthly bills!

I hate to complain without doing something about it, but I don't know what to do.

What's next? A fee for speaking? A fee for swallowing? A fee for blinking? Oh...your hair and nails are growing. No, no, we cannot have that--we must charge you a fee for that.

I am sure if they can find a way to do it, they will.

The 900 number idea is truly a great one and seriously worth some thought.

i don't know how relevant you think this is but at the corner shop near my house there is an ATM that charges you £1.50 just for taking money out! so if you want ten pounds you end up with £8.50 complete BS if you ask me!

Originally posted by citizen smith
Don't get mad...get even!

Turn the situation on its head and make money back from these companies in the same way...

Send a letter to the service provider stating that from now on all paper bills that require a person to open and then fill out and return will from now on be charged a handling fee of the same amount that they charge you, the customer.

Do not state whether you have access to the internet for them to circumvent the charge and send bills in electronic format, just in the same way that these companies charge additional extras to those who cannot pay by electronic direct debit/credit card means or have internet to do so

At the same time, get yourself a premium-rate 0891 phone number that charges the caller £1+ per minute and change all your contact numbers that your servive provider will contact you on, from your domestic telephone number to your 'dedicated enquiry line'. Now whenever the company has a query over your bill, wants to call you to offer new products, you will be earning money from them to contact you.

Additionally this will either earn you extra money when your details are sold to 'third party affiliates who may wish to contact you from time to time' (so don't check that tick-box saying 'no thankyou') or will halt all future telemarketing attempts as they wont want to pay you to be told where to stick their cold-calls

power to the people!

edit to add: and if you are sick of these companies flooding your mailbox with junk offers of easy credit etc, look to see if they have a 'freepost' return address envelope...find a brick, wrap it up securely, tape the freepost reurn envelope to the top, take into the post office and ask for it to be sent just as it states on the envelope...at the originating companies' expense! (it works a treat too!)

[edit on 25-4-2008 by citizen smith]

Good Call - I did once pay a $500.00 bill all in pennies - Dumped the untied sack on the counter - They were not happy at all, but Oh Well, they got paid......

My car payment charged me $10 every time I did it over the phone. I hate sending checks so I put up with it.

Finally, I got sick of it, and set it up so that my bank sends the checks for me every month. Thank God for e-pay.

this makes me mad. what we need is a free service / website that brings customers together to harness there purchasing power.

If enough like minded people joined the site and created a profile listing the companies , products , services they used the site could cross reference the data to give an overall figure of what the corporations would lose if these people took action in a combined boycott.

The site would only be as effective as its customers willingness to take action, but i genuinely believe something like this would be good for the customer and help in clawing back a little bit of respect from these bastards.




[edit on 25/4/08 by tombangelta]

If we weren't all chick# to ruin our "credit score" we would all just stop paying ALL bills. someone would listen to us then.

I don't understand why everyone is so angry...

This was going to happen for the past 50 years, and it's finally being implemented.

It's called the AUTOMATION of the work force. Free if a human isn't involved... But you pay their wage if they are. This is how it's SUPPOSED to work... some think it's just the opposite.

It's how the company recoups losses on wages. While it's greedy, conniving, and low down; I personally think it's a good concept. Some companies just don't understand it, i.e. the example above.

Imagine Every company charging you for using automated services (which really hinder their business... As an example... do you ever tell your friends how polite your auto draft was on your bank account today? But I bet you've had one occasion where you did want to brag about your teller...) and providing face to face transactions for free...

ONCE AGAIN... I REALIZE THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT WE ARE DISCUSSING, but in some businesses this is the practice, and it is the sole purpose of having automation. To reduce burdens on the customers AND the employee.

Basically I don't get it. I Don't mind paying a little extra for personal service... NO PROBLEM... I do mind paying extra for nothing extra, thats just crazy... and I couldn't do business with a company who operated in that manner. Hell even my Comcast bill is cheaper to pay in person than online... and Comcast is a screwed up company (no offense)

Coven