Fees often added to customers’ payments

[The Straight Story]

Fees often added to customers’ payments
Verizon plan was far from unique


After just a day of heated complaints by angry consumers on social networking sites, Verizon Wireless last week shelved plans to charge customers a $2 fee to pay their bills with credit or debit cards. Despite the outrage over Verizon’s “convenience fees,’’ similar charges are almost everywhere.

Such fees are routinely imposed by telecommunications providers, electric utilities, lenders, schools, and government agencies on consumers who pay bills with plastic or get help from customer service employees.

RCN, a cable television company that serves the Boston area, charges $1 to make a payment through its website, $4.50 to use its automated phone system, and $6.95 to make a payment through a customer service representative on the phone. NStar, one of the state’s largest utilities, charges customers a $4.95 “convenience fee’’ to pay via credit card or debit card and $1 to make a payment in person at certain stores or outlets.

HarborOne Credit Union in Brockton recently started docking borrowers $9.95 to make a loan payment with a credit or debit card.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2012/01/05/verizon_wireless_raised_furor_with_2_fee_but_charge_wasnt_unique/

[ejpoeta]

1. sounds like some are charging a fee no matter how you pay.

use the website there's a fee. Go to a store there's a fee. Pay over the phone there's a fee. I remember being charged a fee to pay my electric bill over the phone. It was like 2.50 or something. I HAD to do it though because it was late. But still. Just another way to squeeze you.