Pay-by-phone fees on the rise
By Connie ThompsonIt used to be if you couldn't mail your bill payments on time, you could call customer service and make the payments over the phone at no extra charge. MultimediaBut in today's economy, many businesses are discouraging the pay-by-phone option and making you pay for the convenience. While pay-by-phone fees are not new, more companies are jumping on the bandwagon. The latest is Qwest Communications. Smash Nash (yes, that's his name) of Seattle always pays his bills by phone using his debit card. He's disabled, on a fixed income and has qualified through the state for a disability discount. But now, he has a problem. Qwest just started charging a pay-by-phone fee of $4. The company also has a new fee of $1 for one-time payments online. With a typical monthly phone bill of just over $10, that $4 fee would come to nearly half his bill and to Nash, that doesn't make sense. With his budget, every dollar counts. He doesn't have a secure computer service, and for both financial and security reasons, is leery about paying online. "With all the spy ware and all the other things, the last thing I can do is afford to have my computer repaired because I got a virus." said Nash. "Because of my medical situation, I don't write checks." Nash wants Qwest to make an exemption for customers in his situation. Qwest Spokesman Bob Gravely says the new fee is a way to encourage customers to sign up for auto pay or other more efficient options. "Having people make regular payments rather than calling representatives with one time payments is really what this is all about," said Gravely. "It's far more efficient for us to have people enrolled in regularly occurring payments rather than having people making one time special arrangements to pay their bill." Pay-by-phone fees are a growing trend. According to our random local survey, Qwest's $4 fee may be the least costly yet. At Puget Sound Energy, the fee is $4.95. It's $5 at AT&T. But those fees pale compared to what some retailers and banks are charging. In some cases, making a payment by phone through a customer service rep will add as much as $15 to your bill. American Express, Sprint, Verizon and Nordstrom are among the last holdouts with no pay-by-phone fee charge- so far. "I mean come on. I'm payin' my bill. I'm trying to pay my bill on time," said Nash. Qwest says it's new fee applies to everyone, no exceptions. So Nash did the math and came up with a solution. "If I have to, I'm going to pay it with like three months worth of bills," he said. He says he'll simply skip payments for three months, then pay the $4 fee only once. Even with late charges, he figures he'll come out ahead. When it comes to paying your bills, think of pay-by-phone as a last resort. If you don't know the polices of the companies you do business with, call and find out now to avoid a surprise later. This includes your local utilities. And if you don't want auto-pay or bill paying online, make sure you mail your payments at least five working days before the bill is due. Most Popular |
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February 9, 2012
- Coos Bay / North Bend, Oregon
